Weymuller Open Day 1 Report by Linda Elriani
photos Jean Ervasti
January 2, 2020
Hi Everyone,
The 2020 Carol Weymuller Squash Tournament is now underway with the
first 8 matches of the 24 draw format. The matches started at 5.30pm on
our Heights Casino squash courts. We have an amazing 11 countries being
represented in our tournament with players from literally all over the
globe from as far as New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and South Africa.
We have 2 players in this year’s draw that have been previous Weymuller
Champions with Alison Waters winning it in 2014 and Nour El Tayeb here
to defend her title from last year. Alison is the player in the draw
that competed in the Weymuller the most times and we have been lucky
enough to have her here in Brooklyn gracing our courts for a whopping
11 years!!!!
We are streaming the whole event live so it's exciting for everyone to
be able to see matches even if they are in different countries, or
can't make to the matches.
Please also follow the Carol Weymuller on instagram, facebook and twitter #CW2020
To follow the streaming live please go…. https://video.ibm.com/channel/KJDVvcPjyE9
The squash reports and photos (photos taken expertly by Jean
Ervasti) from the Weymuller will also be on various squash websites
including www.squashsite.co.uk
The first matches started at 5.30pm and on the east court was Nele
Gilis the world #18 from Belgium and her opponent from Australia, Donna
Lobban, who is currently world #51. Donna had knee surgery and has only
recently come back to competitive squash. Her previous ranking was well
inside the top 20 in the world , so it was going to be interesting to
see who could came through victorious with them both having had a
similar ranking at one stage before Donna’s injury.
Donna is left-handed and she used her strong forehand to put pressure
on Nele’s backhand winning several points deep and short on the
backhand side. Nele tried to vary and pace and get control of the T,
but Donna was taking the ball too early and pinning Nele in the back.
There were some great rallies with wonderful shows of athleticism from
both players, but overall Donna accuracy and relentless pressure was
just too much for Nele. Donna came through 3-0 11/6, 11/7, 11/5….
Her next opponent is Alison Waters tomorrow at 5.30pm.
When I asked a beaming Donna how she felt after her match she said “I’m
really pleased with that. I’m probably my own harshest critic but I am
pleased with that. I was a little bit loose in the 3rd but for the
first 2 games I did a good enough job of keeping it tight and that gave
me my opportunities. I think I found a good balance of attacking and
positivity but not headlessly. I haven’t played Alison in a PSA
tournament for a long time but we played in PSL league in England a few
times and always have a good game. It’ll be nice to play someone I
haven’t played for a while.”
The second 5.30pm match on the west court was between world #56 Finnish
player Emilia Soini and French player and Penn graduate, Melissa Alves,
who is ranked #34 in the world.
In the first game with Emilia was hitting too many tins and Melissa
used her length and kills from the front to capitalize. In the second
game Melissa started using more drops and shots keeping Emilia off
balance. Third game started with Emilia getting a string of points by
sending Melissa the wrong way and varying the pace. At 1/4 down Melissa
got her game back and started pushing Emilia deeper in the court and
came through to win 3-0 11.6, 11/6, 11/7.
Melissa’s next opponent tomorrow is #1 seed Nouran Gohar at 1.30pm after the luncheon.
Melissa said after her match when I asked how she felt, “Good! I won! I
have played her a couple of times and she has an interesting game. It’s
different as she like to lob and slow down the pace. I tried to do the
opposite and hit the ball as hard as I could. I played at a pace that
would suit me more than her and taking it in short as soon as I could.
I am very excited to play Gohar as she is one of the top 10 players
that I haven’t played yet. You live for this moment and train so you
can play one of the best!”
The 6.15pm match on the east court was between young Egyptian Menna
Hamed who is world #59 against England’s Victoria Lust, who is the
world #15.
The first game was closely contested, but in the second Vicky played a
precise and accurate game, really containing her young opponent, but as
the match went on there were a number refereeing decisions that made
for a more difficult game. In the third game Menna was 10-7 up and it
looked like she was going to win the game but Vicky had a different
plan and suddenly came out stronger and squeezed the third 12-10 to
take the match 3-0 11/9, 11/5, 12/10.
Tomorrow she will play Salma Hany at 6.15pm.
A smiling and happy Vicky said to me when I asked how she felt
“Relieved! It’s not been the best season. I played 2 matches and then
got injured. I am now back and this is the 1st win since I’m
back. It was a little messy but I managed to win in 3 so I am
happy. I am excited to be back playing and playing with no pressure
against Salma. The 3 times I’ve played Salma it has gone to five games
and 2 of them 12/10 in the fifth so it should be a great match.”
The second 6.15pm match on the west court was an all Egyptian affair
with Zeina Mickawy who is world #23 and Menna Nasser who is ranked #53
in the world.
Both players played an attacking and fast game. Overall it was Zeina
that played the most winners and the least errors, though Menna really
tried to impose her game over Zeina and move her around the court and
in the second game she managed to do this taking it 11/9.
In the third and fourth games Zeina used her great backhand hold to
wrong foot her opponent on several occasions and she hit her shots to
the open spots on the court precisely. Zeina went through to win 3-1,
11/9, 9/11, 11/6, 11/7.
Zeina plays ToC Champion, Camille Serme, tomorrow at 7.00pm.
Zeina said after her win “I’m feeling relieved after winning. I haven’t
played her before. We started the match and it was very tight at the
beginning. She is a very experienced player and she’s been playing for
so long and she has really good hands. I tried to keep going in the
match and pick up every ball I can. I’m happy to be though and I am
looking forward to play Camille. I played her in Manchester and I lost
in 3, but I’m really excited to do much better tomorrow.”
In the first 7.00pm match we had Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold who is world
#43 playing against Egyptians Yathreb Adel who is currently ranked 16
in the world. This was definitely the most exciting match of the
evening with both players playing such attacking squash that there the
rallies were incredibly short for a match of their caliber. Every game
but one went down to the wire and with both player choosing to play
such severe and aggressive squash it made it very nerve racking to
watch!
Each player was determined to shut down the other players chance to
shoot first and there were many courageous winners played by both
players. In the fifth it was Rachel that got match ball first at 10-9,
but it was not over yet. A tin from Rachel and a stroke gave Yathreb a
second chance to grasp the match and she sealed it with a magnificent
forehand volley boast! Both players walked off the court looking
perplexed but it was Yahreb that pulled through to win 3-2 in an
incredibly exciting 55 minute match 11/13, 13/11, 10/12, 11/4, 12/10.
When I spoke to Yathreb after her match she said “I feel so relieved!!!
It was one of those days when I went on court and she was player better
and sharper. Anything she was doing was a winning shot so it was hard
to find a rhythm. I started a bit flat as well. I was just trying to
fire myself up throughout the whole match and play more deep shots and
try to avoid the volleys. Then it opened up for me and some loose shots
to take it in. I think Joelle and I have only played once a couple of
years ago, so I look forward to playing her and going out to my best,
and hopefully it will be a good match.”
The second 7.00pm match on the west court was between Egyptian Mariam
Metwally, who is world #30, and the wildcard from France, Marie
Stephan, who is world #89.
Mariam played aggressive and attacking squash and controlled the first
and third games with her range of shots, but in the second Marie pushed
Mariam to 11/9 managing to get Mariam off the T and play her game.
Mariam came through to win in 3, 11/4, 11/9, 11/6.
Mariam will Joshana Chinappa from India on Friday at 6.15pm.
When I asked Mariam how she felt, she said "Actually I am feeling good.
1st half of the season my head wasn’t ready. I had some ups and downs
and I had some health issues too, so after the world champs it was a
wake-up call. So I had a month working on myself mentally very hard and
changing my game and getting my confidence back. I think it worked very
well, I was working with a sports psychologist on some stuff. As you
see Marie played very well. She has good hands, but I was trying to
stick to my game plan as much as I can and I did that.
On Friday I’m excited to play Joshana as we have played 3 times and I
have won 2 times, so I’m looking forward to it and just enjoy my game.”
There was a very enthusiastic crowd at 7.45pm on the championship court
when home grown Haley Mendez, world # 45, played Malaysia’s Low Wee
Wern, ranked world #24. Haley has grown up playing and learning squash
at the Heights Casino and so she seems very comfortable on her ‘home’
courts and certainly got some incredible and much deserved support.
Haley did herself proud and managed to push Wee Wern very hard and make
her feel the pressure of playing someone with a home advantage.
Haley played great squash and stayed steady with Wee Wern throughout ¾
of each game and it was only a point here or there that separated the
players. Haley made a few errors at some vital times in the match which
really made the difference and gave Wee Wern the conclusive points to
take the match 11/9, 13/11, 11/7.
All the Heights Casino members are very proud of Haley and her fantastic effort tonight and also her accomplishments so far.
Wee Wern plays Amanda Sobhy on Friday at 7.00pm.
Wee Wern said afterwards "It’s good to be back (having been out injured
with 3 knee injuries for 3 years!). To be honest the game has changed
since I came back with the tin being 17 inches. Also with the referee
rule change I’m a bit at a loss and confused as you never know what
call you’re getting! It was good to have a clean match and I’m just
trying to enjoy my squash again. To be honest, I probably didn’t
appreciate top level squash when I was 5 in the world and now it’s a
long road back but it’s my goal. I’ve not played Amanda in a while and
she’s been injured too we are both hungry to get back on court.”
The 7.45pm match on the west court was between young Egyptian Farida
Mohamed who is world #55 and still in the U19 age group, and her
opponent Alexandra Fuller from South Africa who is world #41.
Alex started the match playing controlled squash but as the match went
on Farida injected more pace and forced some errors from Alex. From 2-1
down Alex kept strong and fought off a match ball in the fourth, but
Farida dominated the fifth with her hard hitting game taking the match
9/11, 11/8, 11/8, 10/12, 11/4.
Farida plays defending Carol Weymuller champion Nour El Tayeb on Friday at 7.45pm.
It was a truly fantastic evening of squash to start off the 2020
Weymuller. Congratulations to all the winners and we look forward to
the second tomorrow where the top 8 seeds start to play.
We have our Weymuller@Lunch luncheon at noon followed by the first
second round match at 1.30pm between #1 seed, world #3 and US Open
Champion Nouran Gohar from Egypt and her opponent Melissa Alves from
France.
The rest of the second round matches run from 5.30pm in the evening. We
are looking forward to hearing Alison Waters speak at our luncheon
tomorrow so our members can hear about her inspiring and successful
squash career.
Good luck to all the players for their upcoming matches.
