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4th July:
It was asking a lot for Kuwait's four qualifiers and one wildcard to
progress far into the Sheikha Al Saad Kuwait Open, but they all did
themselves and their country proud ... |
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A Great Day for
Kuwaiti Squash
from March 2005
MEN'S Qualifying Round One:
Peter Barker (Eng) bt Nassar B Ali-Ramzi (Kuw) 11/7,
11/3, 11/3 (23m)
Mansoor Zaman (Pak) bt Mohammed Hajeyah (Kuw) 11/7,
10/11(2-4), 11/5, 11/5 (41m)
Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt Bader Al Hussaini (Kuw) 11/8, 11/4, 7/11, 1/11, 11/10(4-2) (41m)
Wael El Hindi (Egy) bt Ali Al Ramzi (Kuw) 11/6, 8/11, 11/5, 11/5 (35m) |
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THE KUWAIT PLAYERS:
AN EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE
Framboise reports from Kuwait City
I tried to watch the four Kuwait players in particular, as there was a
good chance that I wouldn’t see them again in the next round.
Well, Amir Wagih, an Egyptian who has been Kuwait National Coach
for a few years now, can be proud of his players. They all performed
pretty well and honoured their country by playing superb, disputed and
squeaky clean squash… |
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Good show from Nasser
Don’t get fooled by the score. This was a pretty well-contested match,
with long rallies. Peter Barker kept his time pushing his opponent
to the back, playing relentless lengths and crosscourts.
Nassar Al Ramzi fought well, but his legs let him down after the
first game. Shame, as you feel that he is extremely motivated and a good
fighter. Maybe a bit more following up after his drop shots, but overall,
a good performance…
Peter Barker bt Nassar B Ali-Ramzi
11/7,
11/3, 11/3 (23m) |
 "I
played well in the first, then I got tired, Peter was playing at a
very fast pace, he is very quick. I don't think I should have played
so many drop shots. I need to improve my stamina.
"I played the best I could today, and I don't think I could have
done better. I just need to go back and work hard on my fitness."
Nassar B Ali-Ramzi |
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 "The
game was as hard as I needed it to be. The court floors are very hard, and
my ankles and calves were aching, so I was happy to finish the match in
three. It's a perfect score, I didn't want to work too hard on the
court..."
Peter Barker
PETER'S DIARY |
Nasser assisted by Kuwait National Coach Amir Wagih |
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MATCH OF THE DAY:
LJ Anjema v Bader Al Hussaini
Great suspense,
great crowd support, never any bad atmosphere.
Great respect between the players, and a fantastic finish. |
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 "The
first two games were very quick. I got a bad start, and could never
recover. Before I knew it, the game was over! I haven’t played many
matches for a while.
"So, I was a little nervous, but once I was able to
play my shots with more confidence, I started winning. I was able to play
my shots, and it worked. Normally, I’m what they call “a defence player”.
But today, I changed my game, and attacked the ball a lot in the last
three games. And it worked.
"LJ is a top player, he is so polite, so respectful of me on the court. He
is a very nice man, and he plays beautifully.
"I’m 21, I have been a PSA member for a year now. I train with Amir, our
National coach. My goal is to become a top 50 player. But you know, in
Kuwait, you study first, and the squash always comes second. I’m studying
for a diploma (Baccalaureos) in accounting.
"My father didn’t come today to watch me play, and I’m not too unhappy
about it, because already, I’m very nervous naturally, I get all exited.
And my father is the same, so if he had come, I would have been so
nervous…"
Bader Al
Hussaini |
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What a finish!
Already, it was a very pleasant match throughout, with LJ taking the first
two games, and maybe relaxing a bit (he is just getting over a bad flu…),
allowing his opponent to play a good attacking game, in conjunction with
good length and some lethal volley drops shots.
But the last game was just outstanding. We had it all. A full house, great
suspense, 4/4, 5/5, 9/9, 10/10, 11/11.
There, a great disputed, seesaw rally. The ball ends in the top right
corner, Bader playing the last counter attack on himself. LJ has now match
ball.
Nope. As he picks up the ball, the young Hollander encourages himself with
a loud “come one” that started with “for f… sake”.
Oups.
The Ref couldn’t do anything other than to give a conduct stroke.
“What are you doing to me?” shouted LJ. “This is match ball”. “I don’t
care what ball it is”, replied the ref. “It’s still a conduct stroke”.
So, reverse situation! Instead of LJ having a match ball (a match point,
as they say over here), it was the Kuwaiti who had it! But a few
extraordinary rallies later, Bader could only shake his opponent’s hand
and accept defeat.
It was a superb performance from Al Hussaini, who lost his nerves a little
at crucial times, and made some unforced errors, but who played
magnificently, with great determination. A few more matches like this will
give him the needed experience, and he could get some pretty good results…
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 "First
of all, I want to give Bader a lot of credit, he played beautifully well
today. I was a bit slow, still a bit tired from the flight (arrived
yesterday morning). But especially, I had a bad flu in New York, and I'm
just getting over it now. So I haven’t played at all for a week, this was
the first time I touched a racket since the ToC. I was very slow, and he
took full advantage of it.
"I
was so stunned to get a conduct stroke at 11/11 in the fifth. And it’s my
fault, I should not have said the F word, but it was to encourage myself,
I was not unhappy or angry, I was just encouraging myself “Oh for f… sake,
COME ON”, I said, and I had just won a very long rally, that had given me
match point, and suddenly, I was match ball against me!
"Thank God I kept
my calm… I come from Holland you know, and in Holland, EVERYTHING is
legal…!
"So, I just hope that tomorrow is going to be a better day. Sometimes, you
have a horrible start, and then, the next day, you play very well.
"Let’s
hope that this will be one of those days…"
Laurens Jan
Anjema |
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Wael El Hindi v Ali Alramzi
One of those matches where a young wolf is giving it all in front of his
people… Wael El Hindi, not at the top of his form, made a few tins,
a few unforced errors. His young opponent Ali Alramzi had all to
gain, and was playing with all guns blazing, attacking every shot, and
quite rightly, got game balls in the second 10/6. Wael saved two, but lost
the game 11/8 on a superb volley drop from his opponent.
The last two games lasted 15 minutes, and Wael got through them somehow.
“Where was your brain today”, I asked him at the end of the game, as it
was obvious that the man was not all there. “Back home” he replied…
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 "I’ve
got a bad flu that I picked up in New York, like LJ. I can’t think, I
can’t breathe. It’s very difficult to stay focused.
"Ali is a young player, he’s got nothing to lose, he can go for his shots,
the pressure was not on him, but on me. I was the one that could look bad
on court…"
Wael El Hindi |
Wael El Hindi bt Ali Al Ramzi
11/6, 8/11, 11/5, 11/5 (35m)
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ABDULLAH: HIS FIRST STEPS…
Framboise reports from Green Island
David Palmer (Aus) bt Abdullah Almezayen (Kuw)
11/9, 11/6, 11/5
I know, it was a lot to ask from the young boy… Here he was, on the
glass court, in front of the “who's who” of Kuwait, his family and
friends, filmed, photographed, the noise, the expectations…
But he did pretty well, the schoolboy did. He didn’t lose his head, he
played some great rallies, and won some well deserved points against
“the Marine of Squash” David Palmer, as Robert Edwards introduced
him …
The first game was the closest, 11/9, and even if it didn’t last that
long, it was a pretty intense game, with Abdullah placing some good
backhand volley drop shots (he is left-handed by the way). In the
second, the boy was still very feisty, but in the third, quite
logically, his energy had run out.
Still he enjoyed his moment, and was quite calm headed about his future
in squash.
“I’m not sure what I will do when I’m older,” he said to me, “I love
squash very much, but we will see how my results are going, and I will
trust my coach, Amir Wagih, to decide if I’m good enough to try and get
on the professional circuit. My results will dictate the future…”
But a pretty good opening to the official tournament, and a memory that
Abdullah Mezayen will remember for the years to come.
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"It's never easy to play that kind of
match, as you don't have a clue what to expect, it's hard to prepare
for it really. Sometimes, you start to take it easy, you start to
relax, and you can get some surprises... But Abdullah played very
well, in particular in the first game, he played some great shots...
"I was surprised by the temperature on the court really. Sitting
around the court, I thought it was quite chilly, but in there, it's
quite warm.
"So, it takes a bit of time to get used to everything
really, the noise, the court, the settings, the lights. So, it's
good that I got to play today, it gives me a chance to get used to
the conditions..."
David Palmer |
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from
March 2005 |
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