May 17, 2011Egypt’s
top-ranked squash player Ramy Ashour remains on course to win his
fourth successive Hurghada International title – but the
world
No2 from Cairo was stretched for 78 minutes before overcoming fellow
countryman Omar Mosaad in the quarter-finals of the men’s PSA
Tour International 70 event in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
Unseeded Mosaad, the
world No16 from
Cairo, took full advantage of a series of errors from the top seed and
had four game balls to open up a first game lead.
But Ashour held off the
challenge,
ultimately clinching the opener 17-15 before going on to recover from
dropping the third game to win 17-15, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6.
Ashour’s next
opponent will be
career-long French rival Gregory Gaultier, also a former world number
one. The third seed from Aix-en-Provence, ranked six in the
world, brushed aside Egyptian opponent Mohd Ali Anwar Reda, beating the
world No27 11-5, 11-4, 11-1 in 38 minutes.
Raneem El Weleily
provided local
success in the quarter-finals of the women’s WISPA World Tour
Silver 20 event after triumphing in straight games against Dane Line
Hansen.
It was nip and tuck in
the opening
game which reached eight-all before fourth seed El Weleily, the world
No12 from Alexandria, moved ahead to take the game.
It took just 25 minutes
for the
Egyptian to book her place in the semi-finals, winning 11-8, 11-4, 11-6
to set up a clash with three-time former champion Rachael Grinham.
The top-seeded
Australian, who was
based for many years in Egypt, took on Egyptian rival Engy Kheirallah,
the No7 seed from Cairo currently ranked 33 in the world.
Grinham, ranked three
in the world, took control of the opening exchanges and soon built up a
two-game lead.
“Rachael was
controlling the
pace and using the forehand boast and volley boast very
well,”
said respected Egyptian coach Hesham El Attar.
“Apart from
two errors, she dominated and looked the stronger of the two when
attacked.”
But Kheirallah, a
former world No11, came back in the third - and finally clinched her
fourth game ball to reduce the deficit.
The fourth game was
again close
– but it was Grinham who ultimately prevailed, winning 11-4,
11-5, 11-13, 11-8 after 43 minutes to earn her eighth appearance in the
event’s last four.