Carol Weymuller Round-of-16 Update: El Weleily Surges Past Hansen 
by Rob Dinerman

Dateline October 3rd --- In a dominant display of court coverage and ball mastery, third seed Raneem El Weleily strode confidently to an 11-9, 3 and 4 victory over qualifier Line Hansen Thursday evening in the first main-draw match of the 40th annual Carol Weymuller Open, a Gold-level stop on the WSA professional women's tour hosted as always by the Heights Casino Club in Brooklyn. El Weleily, the 24-year-old Egyptian star who won this tournament (in a straight-set final over two-time Weymuller champ Jenny Duncalf) two years ago and reached the final last year, will play fifth seed Joelle King, a straight-set winner over Omneya Abdel Kawy, in the quarterfinals on Friday.

   Hansen, who flew straight from a tournament last weekend in Los Angeles, had a pair of praiseworthy qualifying-round wins over first Olivia Blatchford and then Lisa Aitken --- but she was no match for El Weleily's pace and placement, though the Danish torch-bearer was able to fend off three game-balls-against to draw to 9-10 in the opening game before falling victim to a precise serve-return cross-drop on the ensuing point. Perhaps a bit deflated by this turn, Hansen yielded a seven-point El Weleily run (from 3-2 to 10-2) that accounted for the second game, whereupon El Weleily, her first-game quintet of tins now fully behind her, ran out to a swift and imposing lead in the third game and closed it out with a flourish. Her hands are so supple that she can do a lot with the ball very late in her swing, executing subtle directional changes, especially in the front part of the court, that can make matching wits with her an extremely perilous venture.

   She seems to glide effortlessly to the ball, appearing remarkably unhurried even in the hectic maelstrom of a high-paced point, and this match --- as well as her happy recent history in this venue --- should leave her well positioned to meet the more testing challenges that lie ahead in the next few days.