Round One

Photos

[1] Nouran Gohar 3-0 Nour Aboulmakarim 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (21m)
Fayrouz Aboelkheir 3-0 [Q] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 (16m)
Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 3-0 Salma Eltayeb  11-6, 11-6, 11-4 (24m)
Hana Ramadan 3-1 Rachel Arnold (MAS) 11-6, 11-5, 5-11, 11-7 (40m)
[6] Nour El Tayeb 3-1 Sana Ibrahim 11-7, 2-11, 12-10, 11-9 (49m)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-2 Jana Shiha   5-11, 11-7, 11-5, 10-12, 11-6 (42m)
[14] Salma Hany 3-0 [Q] Malak Khafagy  13-11, 11-4, 11-7 (41m)
Amina Orfi v Ineta Mackevica (LAT)  11-6, 11-6, 11-3 (23m)
Farida Mohamed 3-1 [Q] Ainaa Amani (MAS) 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9 (38m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Kenzy Ayman  11-1, 11-9, 11-7 (25m)
Lucy Beecroft (ENG) 3-0 Zeina Mickawy  11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (29m)
[11] Nele Gilis (BEL) 3-0 [Q] Zeina Zein  11-6, 11-4, 11-3 (26m)
Yathreb Adel 3-1 Ka Yi Lee (HKG)  10-12, 14-12, 11-9, 11-6 (45m)
[7] Olivia Fiechter (USA) 3-0 Nada Abbas   11-7, 11-3, 11-4 (28m)
[8] Rowan Elaraby 3-0 Grace Gear (ENG)  11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (20m)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-1 Mariam Metwally   5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (35m)
[9] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 3-2 Nadine Shahin  11-5, 10-12, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8 (50m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini 3-0 Hana Moataz   11-4, 11-2, 11-6 (24m)

[1] Mostafa Asal 3-0 Leandro Romiglio (ARG)  11-5, 11-5, 12-10 (41m)
Omar Mosaad 3-0 Balázs Farkas (HUN)  11-6, 11-5, 11-9 (39m)
[9] Mazen Hesham 3-0 Lucas Serme (FRA)
Karim El Hammamy 3-1 Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG)  13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-8 (79m)
Aly Abou Eleinen 3-0 Nick Wall (ENG)  11-6, 11-6, 12-10 (34m)
[15] Grégoire Marche (FRA) 3-0 Mohamed ElSherbini   11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (38m)
[4] Ali Farag 3-0 Ramit Tandon (IND)  14-12, 11-4, 11-3 (26m)
Youssef Ibrahim 3-0 [Q] Simon Herbert (ENG)  11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (25m)
[10] Fares Dessouky 3-0 David Baillargeon (CAN)  11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (36m)
[Q] Mohamed Abouelghar 3-0 George Parker (ENG)  11-6, 12-10, 11-9 (41m)
[7] Tarek Momen 3-0 Charlie Lee (ENG)  15-13, 11-6, 12-10 (43m)
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy 3-1 Shahjahan Khan (USA)  12-10, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 (64m)
Karim Abdel Gawad 3-0 [12] Youssef Soliman  11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (46m)
[16] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-2 Yahya Elnawasany   5-11, 11-6, 11-13, 11-6, 11-3 (59m)

Reigning champion Nour El Sherbini began her attempts to lift an incredible seventh PSA World Championship title as the World No.2 overcame Hana Moataz. El Sherbini is hunting a fifth successive World Championship crown and her total of six titles puts her second to only Malaysian legend Nicol David, who has eight to her name, on the women’s tour.

Chicago has been a happy hunting ground for El Sherbini in the past – with both World Championships held in ‘The Windy City’ going the way of ‘The Warrior Princess’ – and she got her title challenge under way today with a comfortable 11-4, 11-2, 11-6 win over World No.38 Moataz.

“I’ve never even seen Hana play before, so I didn’t know what to expect,” said El Sherbini, who will overtake Nouran Gohar as the World No.1 on Monday. “She’s playing full-time now and I’m happy with the way I played.

“I’m pleased to be going back to No.1 but it’s still a long week and a very important one for me. I just want to take it day-by-day without thinking about it that much. But of course I’m happy to be back to No.1 and hopefully I can keep this spot.”

El Sherbini will go up against France’s Marie Stephan in round two after Stephan defeated Malaysia’s Yasshmita Jadishkumar in five games.

 

World No.1 Nouran Gohar produced a comprehensive display to seal her spot in the second round, overcoming her Egyptian compatriot Nour Aboulmakarim. Gohar was relentless throughout, as she wrapped the match up in just 21 minutes to set up another all-Egyptian clash in the second round against Fayrouz Aboelkheir, who saw off Marta Dominguez Fernandez by the same scoreline.

“I’m happy with the way I played today and the way I dealt with the match. Obviously there’s a lot of nerves going into the first round of the World Championships – the biggest event of the year – but happy with the way I was relaxed and I enjoyed myself on court today,” Gohar said afterwards.

“Every day is different so I’m not taking it for granted as some days can be more difficult than others. It’s in the match of the day and how you feel to work around it.

“I’m very excited to be on the glass court. The venue we played at, about four or five years ago, so it’s very exciting to be back a great venue.

“I’m not really thinking about it (winning the World Championships) but it’s a lifetime dream. I think I’ve achieved all the titles except the World Championships so it would mean a lot. I’m not really thinking about it – I’m just thinking about winning every match I’m playing.”

Defending World Champion Ali Farag got his title defence off to a perfect start after defeating Ramit Tandon 3-0. The three-time World Champion edged a tough battle in the first game, winning 14-12 in the tie break.

Farag, who recently lifted the British Open crown a few weeks ago, then clinched the second and third games 11-4 and 11-3 to prevail and reach the second round.

“I’m very happy to be through. Ramit and I played so many times in our college career and we played once on the PSA World Tour and he got the better of me. He was ahead in the head-to-head, I was happy to get one today and it was close in the first, I won that one and I think I was on top for the rest of the match.

“In all respects the movement after my injury and my squash, and my mental capabilities, it’s been perfect timing to gear up for this one and I’m looking forward to the rest of the week.”

Amina Orfi marked her maiden appearance at the World Championships with a 3-0 win against Ineta Mackevica.

“I feel really happy. This is my first World Championships and I wanted to make it into the main, luckily I got an invite from the PSA. I’m really happy and I’m just going to play with no pressure,” said Orfi.

“I didn’t expect it. I thought I was going to be playing on the Challenger Tour for a while until I made it, but when I had the opportunity to play Squash on Fire as a wildcard I went and took the risk.

‘I played with no pressure because I’m still still and enjoy it as much as I can before I become one of the top and get pressured by the rest.”

Nour El Tayeb

“I thought it was going to be more enjoyable than this. Coming back after being away is very tough. I thought I knew how tough it would be, but I didn’t really understand that until I was in the match. Sana played very well and made it tough all the way through.

“I knew I had to go back to basics, I lost my length and my focus in the second game. After winning the first game, I relaxed too much. Now I’ve won this match and got it out of the way, I think it will help.

“It’s the biggest tournament on the calendar and it’s the title everyone dreams about. Hopefully, my leg will get me through and I hope I can play well here.”

Hania

“It was definitely a tricky one. Kenzy is an up-and-coming youngster and has been doing really well in the junior tournaments. I had to keep an eye on her performance and study her as much as possible.”