Ashour Leads Home Hopes Into Second Round At El Gouna by Nathan Clarke April 14, 2014
- Egyptian squash superstar Ramy Ashour remains on course to retain his
EL Gouna International Squash Open title after romping to a 3-0 victory
over Finnish challenger Olli Tuominen in his opening match in the 2014
event. The World No.4, who
won the last staging of the PSA World Series event on the Red Sea in
2012, took just 37-minutes to see off Tuominen 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 and
will take on dangerous German Simon Roesner in the second round
tomorrow. “Sometimes the first
round in events like this can be more pressuring than finals and Ollie
made it very tough for me today,” said Ashour. “I knew it was going
to physical and he pushed me hard. I had to be really focused and
concentrated from the first point all the way to the last point and
maintain my rhythm so I’m pleased to get through. “It’s amazing to be
back in El Gouna and playing a World Series event in Egypt. It’s great
for the country especially at this moment in time and it’s thanks to
tournament organiser Amr Mansi who has worked very hard to put this
event on and to help raise squash in Egypt.” Former World No.1
Karim Darwish kept up his hopes of overturning his recent run of poor
form on the PSA World Tour and winning a first World Series event since
the 2010 Qatar Classic by beating compatriot Ali Anwar Reda 3-1. The World No.9, who
admits to reducing his training regime in recent months, failed to
progress past the first round in the recent Windy City Open and Canary
Wharf Classic but is aiming to put in a strong run on home soil. “Overall this season hasn’t been that great as far as my squash is concerned,” said Dawrish. “I know I’m not
training as much as I should and previously did but I still don’t want
to lose and especially not in Egypt and not with my wife and baby here.” 2014 EL Gouna International Round One Results – Bottom Half:
[4] Borja Golan (Esp) bt Adrian Grant (Eng) 3-1: 13-15, 14-12, 11-6, 7-0 rtd (79m) Omar Mosaad (Egy) bt [Q] Max Lee (Hkg) 3-1: 11-6, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5 (64m) [6] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt [Q] Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-8 (53m) Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy) 3-1: 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 12-10 (72m) Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [Q] Fares Mohamed Dessouki (EGY) 3-2: 11-9, 13-11, 9-11,7-11, 11-5 (74m) [5] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 11-7 (46m) Simon Rösner (GER) bt [Q] Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 (41m) [2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (37m) 2014 EL Gouna International – Second Round Draw:
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Stephen Coppinger (RSA) Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v [8] Daryl Selby (ENG) [7] Peter Barker (ENG) v Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) [Q] Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) v [3] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) [4] Borja Golan (ESP) v Omar Mosaad (EGY) [6] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) Simon Rösner (GER) v [2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) Tarek Momen (EGY) v [5] Amr Shabana (EGY)
