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Hisham walked onto the court today with confidence; Alex had a marathon match yesterday.

The outcome was somewhat predictable. In the first game, both players played tight squash, Alex playing a considerable amount of drops from the back of the court, which Hisham counter-attacked with a series of deceptive trickle boasts.

In the second game, however, Hisham seemed to have let up a little and Alex took what seemed to be an even game, levelling the score at 1-1.

The Egyptian came into the third game firing his nick shots whenever he had the opportunity at the front of the court, and even though Alex tried to counter drop, he was just covered well by the Egyptian who took the third game and seemed back on track.

In the fourth game Alex didn’t seem to put up the same kind of fight we saw yesterday, and the Egyptian raced to 11-4, taking the game, match and tournament title, the result of a solid performance all week.

 

DRAW & RESULTS

"Yesterday’s match with Abdulla took its toll on me today. The first and second games were quite tight, but in the third and fourth I just couldn’t keep up in the front of the court. "Overall, the tournament was well organized, it’s just a shame I couldn’t win this last match."

"I struggled a bit with my Achilles tendon, and I really don’t think I played my best squash, so in a way I am glad I won the match. "Kuwait is one of my favourite places to be; the people are very hospitable, the tournament organization was good, the Refereeing was very good…. "I am very happy to have won this inaugural tournament, and hope to come back to Kuwait soon."

Reda Limps Out

Mohamed Reda played a good solid varied game, but Ashour dominated the game, moving Mohamed around the court enough to cause stress to his injured right heel.

Some very fine front court action from both players, but it could be seen that what Reda lacked in experience, he made up for with spirit, and early in the second the took what probably a wise decision to rest a heel that has been troubling him since his previous tournament in Sweden.

Stait battles back ...

This game was a typical match up of experience and the lack thereof. As the Englishman showed a great sense of persistence and perseverance, Abdulla showed his skill and ability ... for the first two games only.

Mezayen took the first two games using a nice combination of lengths and front court-nicks, but he did show inconsistency. Alex, however, showed his experience and tactics, as he was very consistent and well collected throughout the match, even when down 2-0. An example of Abdulla’s inexperience was a possible stroke that Abdulla did not ask for at match point in the third game, instead, Abdulla chose to go for the nick….and tinned it.

It was then that Abdulla’s confidence and concentration were shot. Alex took this chance to fight back, and he did with such consistency and accuracy, digging his heels in  and battling through to the final.
  

DRAW & RESULTS

In what was probably the toughest 3-0 game in the tournament, Hisham Ashour was slightly out of form today in beating his compatriot Sherif. Sherif did, however, make the best of the situation and put up a good fight in each game.

Both Players started out the first and second game very cautiously, extending the rallies with very tight rail shots. In the third, however, both players knew that they had to attack in the front a lot, which made for some very intense retrieving in the front on both sides of the court. The game could have gone either way, but it seems that the younger player was able to endure and outlast Bader. He will meet tournament top seed Hisham Ashour in the Semi Finals.

Even though Suarav is currently ranked higher than Abdulla, his record with Abdulla is not a winning one. Today, Abdulla proved exactly that. While Suarav’s intention was to play long rallies, and conservative squash, Abdulla’s flair was just not what Suarav had planned for. Abdulla made use of his racket skills in moving Saurav well around the court, killing the shot at the right times. Abdulla raced to take the first game using his front-court tactics, but a slight change in his strategy led to him to try to play Saurav’s game of extended rallies, and Saurav won the second in a long-rally game.

Abdulla went back to play his front-court game in the third and fourth and will now head into the Semis against Alex Stait – whose match against Julier Balbo was postponed to the next day at 4:00 pm), with the score at 9-9 in the third with Stait leading 2-0.

DRAW & RESULTS

In the first game, Hisham seemed to be very patient, playing a long game and waiting patiently for a kill.

However, it seemed that Castagnet was retrieving very well, which made Ashour re-think his strategy in the second game by attacking in the front more.

A good effort by Castagnet, but Hisham was just too strong in the front court.

In what seemed to be an even and unpredictable match, Abdullah and Romain were almost head to head in the first game, Abdullah doing a good job of “twisting and turning” Romain early in the rallies. This tactic seems to have worked, as in the second game, Abdullah dominated the game and was making very good use of his remarkable retrieving and racket skills. In the third, Mezayen came out blazing, and Romain’s right foot sole seems to have simply quit on him, causing him to retire, and deny the home crowd the entertainment that Abdullah can usually provide.

In the first upset of the day, Julien Balbo upset Mark Krajcsak rightfully. Mark’s shots were loose, and Julien took full advantage of that.

In addition, a three minute break was given to Mark to try to remedy a foot problem, which may have had an effect on his performance today.

The local crowd knows Bader. He is simply a fighter with an unbreakable spirit. He is also known to win most of his matches in five games (remember his five games with L.J. Anjema in the Kuwait Open Final round of Qualifying), which always makes for a gut wrenching match.

After a slow starting first game, where Rob dominated with good length and patient long rallies, Bader was playing reactive squash, trying to formulate a strategy against the Welshman. After some well-thought coaching from his young coach Khalid Atlas Khan, Bader started to play a front court game in the second. It seemed that this threw off Sutherland, and the strategy worked. Bader took the second and third 11-4, 11-6. Sutherland collected himself in the third, and Bader didn’t seem to put up a fight, perhaps a habit from being accustomed to winning in five! In the fifth game, a few calls shook both players’ confidence, it seems, but in the end, it was Bader that came through to win 11-8, becoming the second local player to make it through the first round.

Top seed Hisham Ashour
with tournament organiser
Mahmoud Al-Jazzaf
 

Thompson was the “lucky loser” in this draw, as Amr Mansi withdrew from the tournament and Ryan took his place. Mohamed Reda had been complaining from a heel problem, and he later said that his heel kept getting worse throughout the match. The young Egyptian seemed to be in full control of the game though, finishing the rallies at will, with Ryan struggling to stay in the rallies. Still, to Ryan's credit, he did retrieve some tough shots in the back court, and looked to be having a little problem with the hot court.

Alex Stait dominated the match, showing off his very deceptive and accurate short game. Bader tried to counter with length, but his opponent moved well and responded with a varied arsenal of lengths and drops.

As expected, Suarav played a solid-length conservative game, attacking patiently. Nasser however seemed to be too eager to attack, going to the front very early in the rallies, costing him many unforced errors, points and eventually the match.

Too many Errors from Ali Al-Ramzi. Solid Game from Sheriff, consistent and calm.

Bader Hussaini & Khalid Atlas Khan

Alex Stait

9/11, 9/11, 11/10(2-0), 11/7, 11/6

Abdullah Almezayen

Qualifying finals, 08-Mar:
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) bt David Barnett (Eng)      11/7, 11/9, 11/8 (50m)
Mohamed AA Reda (Egy) bt Glen Wilson (Nzl)         11/4, 11/8, 11/9 (27m)
Rob Sutherland (Wal) bt Mohamed Hajeyah (Kuw)   11/3, 11/6, 11/8 (31m)
Romain Tenant (Fra) bt Ryan Thompson (Nam)       11/5, 11/6, 11/8 (27m)

Round One:
Ryan Thompson (NAM) bt Ahmad Al-Randi (KUW)    11/2, 11/4, 11/6
Romain Tenant (FRA) bt Neil Hitchens (ENG)            11/8, 11/8, 11/3
Graeme Wilson (NZL) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)  6/11, 9/11, 11/6, 11/7, 11/9
David Barnett (ENG) bt Falah F Mohammed (KUW)   11/9, 11/5, 11/8