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Rachael Promoted
to another Final

The June WISPA rankings issued earlier in the day showed that the Alex Girl, Engy Kheirallah, had moved up a further place to sixteen in the world; while Rachael Grinham had dropped to four, just dipping under sister Natalie by a wafer.

Kheirallah has shown sustained improvement this year, something she puts down to playing more with men. “I used to have a very soft game but I have been trying to harden it and be more attacking” she commented during the event.

Only a month ago at an invitation tournament at Gezira in Cairo Kheirallah had beaten Grinham so confidence was not an issue.

The evening was very warm, but a little more breezy. While scientists could have a field day explaining the forces which cause a ball to swirl a little in the back corner, all that mattered to the players was that it did. Sometimes they would hold up a little, others would deviate, but only slightly so not problematic.

The stands were packed with local enthusiasts together with a sprinkling of tourists who had spent the day prostrate on sunbeds, bemoaning the lack of a giant spatula service to turn them over every hour.

Grinham featured Boomerang Café, Sharouk City on the back of her shirt, thus using the power of national TV to advertise her joint venture in the coffee shop business with coach Maha Zein.

The name of her opponent was promoted in a different way. The regional chief minister, the Governor of the Red Sea (whose area apparently includes some adjoining land e.g. Hurghada as well as the sea!) had distributed cards to the spectators with Kheirallah’s name, which were waved with abandon until the end of the first game.

Kheirallah had started well, indeed raced to a 6/0 lead.

She was playing with pace and purpose. She got closer to the magic nine but having reached 8/5 seemed to lose a little of her purpose and allowed the elfin Australian to clamber back to setting and then take the game with a rasping forehand drive that the Egyptian could only wave on its way.

From then on the momentum was with Grinham, and despite her opponent's well known stubbornness the remainder of the match was fairly procedural. That said, with the three games lasting 56 minutes – of which the first took 24 – it was strong on rallying.

Grinham had moved to one match way from a hat-trick of Hurghada wins.
  

World Champions Clash ...

The second encounter would see just how far along the road to a finished article the 17 year old world junior champion already is.

The visitors from Alexandria had stayed as Raneem El Weleily, like Kheirallah, comes from the Mediterranean city.

Her opponent Omneya Abdel Kawy may only be three years older, but has been playing at a high level for so long that she is almost a veteran in terms of experience. So how would the younger player fare in the pressure of the situation? Since they had not met in a match of any sort for two or three years it is not as if they are even familiar with each other's game in the close quarters of inside the court.

Abdel Kawy settled first and reached 6/1 in the first before El Weleily mounted a comeback which was the first of many switchbacks on the path to the finish. The next time Abdel Kawy served was at 6/8 down,….. knocked back by a welter of winners. She got back to eight all with a couple of strokes induced by tight drops which could only be scraped back at the younger Egyptian. However El Weleily profited from a tinned drive and finally a rash half court backhand volley drop that arrowed into the bottom of the tin and El Weleily was ahead.

The second was close until the latter stages when El Weleily faltered by losing her shape. She was clearly not back on an even keel in the third as she peppered the tin to lose it 9/0 in a mere five minutes. She continued in this vein until she was 7/0 down in the fourth and so two points away from defeat. At that point a switch in her head was tripped and she started to play constructive squash again.

Helped by Abdel Kawy rushing rallies to flop over the finishing line she crept up the scoreboard. El Weleily managed to save four mach balls after setting was reached employing an audacious long straight drop twice and profiting from Abdel Kawy snatches. Indeed Abdel Kawy was so keen to close out that twice she was moving across to shake hands when the award of a stroke to her rather than a let was not likely to be entertained by the referee.

Having not managed to enlist the help of the referee she then lost the game to another straight drop.

Both players were prepared for the decider by their brothers who were in the corners, but Omneya’s brother Mohamed won this battle as his sister kept up the pace and overran the tired younger player to take the match in 65 minutes.

El Weleily gathered up her bag and rushed from the court, distressed by the defeat. Meanwhile, the winner was basking in the adulation of the crowd that were chanting her name.
  

Raneem ends Fernandes' run

As darkness arrived abruptly ... no lingering dusks allowed in these parts, the first quarter final match began.

It featured 17 year old Raneem El Weleily and 22 years of age Nicolette Fernandes, both of whom are upwardly mobile talents on the WISPA Tour.

The Egyptian is certainly shooting forward even with the intrusion of schoolwork; she has another year to go before deciding on her next educational / playing career step.

Apart from her fleetness around the court and delightfully assured racketwork there is a serenity about her on court that is unusual in one so young.

Opponent Fernandes is no slouch either. A good athlete, assiduous trainer, and in a different way assured too. Her relaxed approach to the trial of match play is redolent of her region. How many players do you see smile wryly and applaud a genuinely great get by her opponent. She does.

El Weleily leapt out of the blocks and didn't let up. Some sublime shots, quality rallying, forcing errors, often strokes, characterised the progress of the match.

Yet Fernandes was holding her own in the first. It was towards the end that the Egyptian began to hold a winning hand, one that held good for the remainder of the match.
   

Omneya on track on TV

Next up to try to halt the home juggernaut was experienced campaigner Tegwen Malik. This time she sported a shirt with Cymru also translated as Wales to give the national live TV audience a clue to where she hails from. However they will have only had eyes for their darling Omneya.

Abdel Kawy did not let them down, racing to a comfortable 2/0 lead. Both players were floating the ball, and generally playing all manner of crowd pleasing shots, but Abdel Kawy was the dominant force. Malik was lively and chasing, but found it difficult to accumulate points while generally keeping her opponent away from the front as much as possible.

The twice former Hurghada runner up from Cairo never stopped taking the ball early, volleying superbly and employing her trademark backhand cross court flick. Malik tried all of these too and did pick her way out of a potential whitewash in the second with a little flurry of points, but she was two behind after 26 minutes.

By now the crowd were chanting ever more loudly. "Omneya, Omneya", they sang, clapping and swaying in rhythm to provide a backdrop unmatched elsewhere on the Tour.

But the third game took a completely new turn as Malik raced to a 7/0 lead in one hand after doing nothing else than going in short. Abdel Kawy looked completely nonplussed. It was only after a missed drop that she regrouped, found her own length and steadied the ship to win in 38 minutes.
   

One too far for Salma

Now, the Kheirallah / Shabana clash was up.

However, what looked to be a really fascinating prospect turned into a straightforward and comfortable win by Kheirallah, the world number seventeen.

Watched by newly arrived fiancé Karim Darwish she had little trouble in beating the mother of two who had clearly come a match too far after her stirring performances in the event.

"I was nervous before the match. She has had some good wins and seemed to be playing better than before. "I am so happy to make the semi finals and will be doing my best to make it an all-Egyptian final."

Honorary Egyptian in semis

The last match of the evening was also a shortish affair. Botwright the Younger playing Grinham the Elder.

Rachael Grinham, top seed, former world number one and winner of the last two Hurghada events had been out of the spotlight which had been focused on the Egyptian contingent, but her unique style was working as well as ever. From the start Becky Botwright was digging in and digging deep.

Though she is deceptively swift too often she was chasing shadows. Clearly the bonus of a first round walkover had worked against her as she had no match on the glass court before running into Grinham.
    

El Weleily too hot for Crome

As ever, the sun was on duty. For New Zealander Louise Crome, “This is the hottest place I have ever been” she avowed. Her match against Raneem El Weleily would be the first time that she had played on an outside court, so a second challenge.

The latest princess of Egyptian squash – there is no female equivalent to pharaoh, though phaoette should be considered – may only be seventeen years of age but has already done this and so much more in her teenage years - becoming World Junior Champion for one thing. She is young enough to try and retain it next year, something that her predecessor Omneya Abdel Kawy managed but fellow competitor Rachael Grinham could not.

Crome has recently given up full time work as an airline financial analyst for full time squash and three weeks ago fetched up in Amsterdam taking the well trodden route towards a centre of squash elite population in order to fulfil her potential. Her fellow Kiwi Jaclyn Hawkes, who was also on the first round bill for the evening, has similarly moved into Europe and is currently ensconced in Telford in the English Midlands.

As the match began, Crome found the combination of playing outside, a breeze and the fervent home support an unsettling combination to deal with. She was soon back at her bench taking advice from Hawkes and the black clad player certainly fared better in the second. She sped to 8/2 up before El Weleily cut loose with a spectacular welter of audacious winners before making a mistake at 6/8 and allowing Crome to close out.

But there were to be no starts offered in the next two games as the Egyptian sped around the court, holding so well and was soon into the last eight.

Omneya Impressed & Impressive

Omneya Abdel Kawy was watching her younger countrywoman and was asked about her attributes. “She has very fast hands and is so deceptive too”. She could so easily have been talking about herself!

The same febrile audience were behind Omneya Abdel Kawy as last years’ runner up went on against Manuela Manetta. If the sun is as bad for you as is said, then the Italian is a very sick girl indeed! While the sun had been eschewed in preparation for her match, earlier days in Cairo and yesterday had certainly sent her several shades darker.

But Manetta is not about anything other than improving. She is actively pursuing an intention to move from her home base of Parma to consolidate her improving game. There is something of a pattern here since not only the Kiwis and Manetta, but also later match player Nicolette Fernandes has done the same. But more of her later.

The Italian started effectively enough but having built rallies she was unable to take the chance to win them. To often half court floating lobs left her exposed. The one thing you do not do is allow Abdel Kawy the front of the court.

With the first lost Manetta began to fail to even put the building blocks of rallies in place and the Egyptian cruised home. In victory she found time to praise her opponent saying, “She played well in the first and third but in the second she was not there. She may have been scared by the crowd a little and could play better still.”
   

Malik makes the Quarters

Crome was back to return the coaching compliment for Jaclyn Hawkes, but after a bright start where the tall New Zealander pressured her way to the first, Tegwen Malik began to reel her in with her neat footwork, tidy play and general tightness around the court. Or so it seemed.

Having levelled she forged ahead in the third feeding on the same blend of float and drive, but then a few lax rallies later she was 2/1 down instead.

The Cymru player (which was featured on Malik’s shirt but the meaning - Wales - may have eluded many local watchers!) was coupling her own attacking boasts with some better length to go ahead again, and although she still leaked points this time was able to stay in front as the game Kiwi began to get slightly ragged with fatigue.

Hawkes was still contesting in the decider but the initiative had been wrested away and the match was lost.

The fifth seed had justified the placing and would face Abdel Kawy in the quarters.  Tomorrow she will have the crowd as well as a testing opponent to deal with.
  

Fernandes finds her best win

Nicolette Fernandes, now aged 22, had become too big for the tiny squash pool of Guyana where she reckoned there may be no more than a hundred regular players, outgrown the Caribbean field too, and so moved to England to gain access to the intensive coaching she needed.

Progress has been steady and she has now become a fully rounded player who can pose problems to those ranked above her current ranking of 45.

She certainly did so for third seed Pamela Nimmo as she fought her way into a two game lead in their match. She settled early despite her inexperience and solid volleying and athletic mobility did the rest.

She perhaps shouldn't have squandered the first having reached 7/6 only to find herself stretching a little too far and tinning. But Nimmo is a fighter, and verbally geed herself up while reducing her error ratio to bring herself back in by taking the third. Indeed, she climbed to 6/2 up in the fourth before a combination of pressure from the nimble Caribbean player coupled with more tinned errors brought her back to match ball in a single hand. The first was saved when the ball drifted out on the side, but the second wasn't and with both arms aloft she celebrated.

As the dejected Scot left the arena Fernandes was ecstatic, and will now play El Weleily, but perhaps the most eagerly awaited encounter for Egyptians and internationally too will be to see whether the Cairo Comeback Mum can take continue.

Salma Shabana against Engy Kheirallah; a match-up to savour ...
  

TWO AND A HALF EGYPTIAN WINNERS
IN HURGHADA...
WISPA reports from Cairo

Salma Shabana, Engy Kheirallah, honorary Egyptian Rachael Grinham, and Becky Botwright were the winners on day one in Hurghada ...

A glass court set in the middle of the promenade that punches its way through the Red Sea resort of Hurghada; bounded by holiday hotels and all manner of emporiums; where the main draw of the Hurghada International is again being played out.

The players left the cool interior of their hotel, the very comfortable Sindbad Aqua Park Hotel, on their way to daytime practice.

 With the temperature hovering a degree or two shy of 40c, the floor of he court could have been better employed for frying eggs than squash, but professionalism dictated that a feel for it was necessary.

As the evening approached and darkness arrived, the cooling breeze began to get the upper hand….only just, and conditions became more conducive to competitive play.
 

   

      Stoker suffers...

         

There was no final match in the top half as Georgina Stoker was forced to pull out of her all British clash with sixth seed Rebecca Botwright as the virus that had begun to tug at her during her successful qualification began to get a grip.

After morning practice she reverted to the horizontal in her room, got the benefit of medical confirmation and eventually conceded later in the day that she would not be able to give it a shot.

Botwright was now in the semis to face Grinham.

[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus)
9/1, 9/4, 9/0 (22m)
Triciah Chuah (Mas)

[6] Becky Botwright (Eng)
walkover
[Q] Georgina Stoker (Eng)

[4] Engy Kheirallah (Egy)
9/6, 9/2, 9/4 (38m)
Sarah Kippax (Eng)

[7] Samantha Teran (Mex)
9/4, 9/1, 9/0 (30m)
[Q] Salma Shabana (Egy)

Louise Crome (Nzl)
9/1, 6/9, 9/4, 9/2 (38m)
[8] Raneem El Weleily (Egy)

[Q] Nicolette Fernandes (Guy)
9/7, 9/1, 4/9, 9/6 (46m)
[3] Pamela Nimmo (Sc0

Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl)
3/9, 9/6, 6/9, 9/7, 9/1 (59m)
[5] Tegwen Malik (Wal)

[Q] Manuela Manetta (Ita)
9/1, 9/0, 9/3 (25m)
[2] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)

26-May, Qualifying round one:  

Manuela Manetta (Ita)  bye
Amnah El Trabolsy (Egy) bt Dagmar Vermeulen (Ned)    9/0 9/4 9/4 (22m)

Salma Shabana (Egy) bt Eman El Amir (Egy)                 9/3 9/6 9/1 (34m)
Lauren Siddall (Eng) bt Farida El Dahab (Egy)                9/2 9/0 9/1 (18m)

Hend Osama (Egy) bt Lucie Fialova (Cze)                      10/8 9/7 9/7 (39m)
Georgina Stoker (Eng) bt Lina El Tannir (Egy)                9/1 9/7 9/5 (25m)

Daniela Schumann (Ger) bt Toyin Emmanuel (Nig)         9/5 9/0 9/6 (34m
Nicolette Fernandes (Guy) bt Heba Alaa El Torky (Egy)   9/5 9/4 9/4 (27m)

WISPA reports from Cairo

The pressure to qualify is hard enough. Prize money and ranking points await those that succeed. But for the Hurghada International a third factor was included that were heated things up ... much like the 38c outside the Cairo Stadium courts where the action took place.

As it would only be the winners that boarded the evening flight down to the sparkling Red Sea resort of Hurghada to play the main draw, nobody wanted to wave the others off and then leave Cairo for home.

Four matches, eight players but only four could be winners. And all watched by a live TV audience. As ever, where else would qualification matches receive such coverage?

Italian number one Manuela Manetta was top seed and so closer than the rest to an automatic main draw slot. For her it would have been even worse to stumble now. Her opponent, 21 year old Amnah El Trabolsy is better than her ranking, being a sporadic competitor as she studies industrial engineering in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

El Trabolsy made too many mistakes overall, but made life difficult for the Italian who combined a light touch with some tins of her own. But in each game she took control in the middle section and stayed ahead to book her plane seat.

Salma Shabana had seemingly done the more difficult job by eliminating third seed Eman El Amir yesterday, but seventh rated Lauren Siddall was as keen as anybody to take the flight. However, the right handed sister of the leftie men's World Champion didn't let her nervousness about her lack of match play stand in her way. Siddall spent too much time changing direction as the Egyptian displayed many of the skills that had made her the Egyptian number one before she started a family.

"I'm pretty inexperienced on the Tour so hadn't actually seen her play until yesterday," said Siddall, who had rushed to the airport straight from a Sports Medical Science exam back in England to reach Cairo.

                  Three Egyptians, one qualifier

Fast improving Georgina Stoker, who had played on the Stadium courts as a member of the England junior team at the worlds there in 2003 had more local opposition to contend with, and managed to deny Hend Osama an eve of 21st birthday present when she picked up her game, the pace that Osama was generating and took control to win 3/1. Osama, a biomedical engineering student solved the conundrum of what on earth that was when asked, explaining that it involves the design and maintenance of medical devices. No wonder the talented play hasn't too much time to train!

Stoker reported, "I played well in France last week so I felt really good and was quite confident". In the Open de la Cite she had beaten Rebecca Botwright, and by the law of interesting rematches was later drawn against her a week later here!

Finally, second seed Nicolette Fernandes was the last name into the hat for the main draw when she saw off the German challenge of Daniela Schumann after saving a game ball in the first. From that point the challenge petered out and the Guyana player was able to book her place.

For all the winners there would be time for a shower, a meal and then the evening flight to the coast. The glass court at the resort awaits.
 

"I really just wanted to get fit to coach well, but Omar said I was playing well so why not target Hurghada ..." Salma Shabana

Like the other winners, she is now one win away from the main draw, and with it a flight down to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada where it will be played.
 

2005 Event