Windy City Open

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Finals

[2] Nouran Gohar3-0 [3] Hania El Hammamy 15-13, 11-9, 11-8 (62m)
[2] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-2 [9/16] Youssef Ibrahim 7-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-7, 11-9 (96m)

Windy City Open 2022

 

Semis

[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-2 [1] Nour El Sherbini  5-11, 15-17, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 (66m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-2 [4] Tarek Momen  12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-5 (89m)
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-0 [5] Joelle King (NZL)  11-5, 11-4, 11-3 (32m)
Youssef Ibrahim 3-2 [6] Marwan ElShorbagy  11-5, 6-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-0 (56m)

Youssef said

“I expected the match to have a lot of mind games involved. The last time we played the same thing happened and I unintentionally get dragged into his game and he’s the best at playing that type of game so I have to give this to him. I’m happy that I dealt with it, after the third game I lost and I had to keep the rallies going, playing tight and high because anything in the middle he takes too much space. I’m happy that when I stayed on court after the third to get my mind right I was able to deal with it today.

“I didn’t expect to make it this far, I came with my girlfriend and told her that we probably were going to stay 2 days, I actually have midterms this week and I’m trying to get an extension! Reaching the final means a lot but I hope I don’t fail midterms in my final year!!

But there’s no pressure. Paul just became World No.1 and Tarek is one of the best in the world so I’m just going to enjoy and have one more push tomorrow.”

Quarters

[2] Nouran Gohar 3-0 Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 11-4, 11-9, 11-1 (33m)
[4] Tarek Momen 3-2 [8] Fares Dessouky  11-2, 6-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7 (75m)

[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 [6] Salma Hany  11-8, 11-8, 11-5 (37m)
[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-0 [7] Rowan Elaraby  11-7, 11-3, 11-2 (29m)

[9/16] Youssef Ibrahim 3-0 Iker Pajares (Esp) 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (34m)
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy 3-1 [1] Ali Farag 6-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7 (61m)

World No.7 CIB Marwan ElShorbagy has sent defending champion and World No.1 CIB Ali Farag out of the 2022 Windy City Open Presented by the Walter Family after coming from behind to win their quarter final fixture at the University Club of Chicago earlier today.

Farag was on an 18-match unbeaten run in Chicago following his triumph at the 2020 Windy City Open as well as the 2018-19 and 2020-21 PSA World Championships held in the city, but his recent form against ElShorbagy has been mixed, with ElShorbagy winning their last three matches.

After a closely-contested first and second game which left the match poised at 1-1, Farag surrendered three game balls in the third to hand ElShorbagy a crucial lead following a trio of uncharacteristic mistakes from the No.1 seed. It was a lead ElShorbagy wouldn’t relinquish as he hit his targets at the front of the court to record a 6-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7 victory.

“Just to get another win over Ali means a lot to me,” said Marwan.

“Ali is a great player, he’s the World No.1, he sets his standards very high and he makes everyone on the tour work very hard and he’s improving our own games. I’m just very happy to get the win today. When I woke up this morning I just had a good feeling today.

“It’s always tough playing Ali, it’s always tense, but I just tried to keep my composure, we were both arguing but I think it’s part of the game, we’re in such a small space, interference will always happen but Ali is such a great player and I respect him a lot. He’s a two-time World Champion and has been World No.1 for many months, and I know he’s losing it to Paul [Coll], but he’ll be determined to get it back.

“I was giving Sheldon some tough times today but I do this to all the referees. It’s always tough playing Ali, it’s always tense, but I just tried to keep my composure, we were both arguing but I think it’s part of the game, we’re in such a small space, interference will always happen

“Youssef is such a tough player to play and read, he’s just coming up and he’s so exciting to watch. I’m really looking forward to playing him, we played 12 months ago and that went my way but he has improved a lot since then so I will need to figure out my tactics to play him but for now, I just want to focus on my rest day tomorrow.

“It’s not over yet, I have good memories on this court, I have been struggling in the past few months so you never know how far I could go this week.”

 

 

 

Round Three

[8] Fares Dessouky 3-2 [9/16] Mazen Hesham 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 11-8 (66m)
[7] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-1 [9/16] Karim Abdel Gawad  11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 (74m)
[4] Tarek Momen 3-0 Omar Mosaad  11-2, 11-9, 11-1 (33m)
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-0 [9/16] Joshna Chinappa (Ind) 11-0, 11-6, 11-8 (30m)

Tarek said
“Who would have thought that out of all the players in a long day, I would be the one who would play the short match. I know Framboise [Gommendy] will be giving me a comment on that when I talk to her!

“It’s always been special because Omar is my oldest friend and oldest rival on tour. In our junior career we were the same age so we used to compete against each other all the time.

“When I play Omar it’s a different match than any other player on the tour, we go way back with more than 20 years of competition, so today was a special day. I’m very happy how I came out at the beginning of the match. The second game was littered with errors from both of us but he stepped it up.

“I was very happy to sneak that one out in the end. Unfortunately for him, in the third he made a few errors which gave me a big lead and I couldn’t recover from that.”

Fares said

“Mazen is one of the most talented players on tour. I have so much respect for him. We’ve been competing since we were very young and I’m happy today that I won, I felt he was the better player at times and I got a little lucky at the end I think.

“I’m just enjoying every match, happy to be back here again competing on this court. I’m trying to find my way again and happy to be in the quarters.”

 

[6] Salma Hany 3-0 [9/16] Nadine Shahin  11-9, 11-6, 11-6 (28m)
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy 3-0 Todd Harrity (Usa)  11-7, 11-8, 11-9 (38m)
[7] Rowan Elaraby 3-0 Alexandra Fuller (Rsa)  11-9, 11-6, 11-6 (28m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Mariam Metwally  11-7, 11-6, 4-0 retired (23m)
[9/16] Youssef Ibrahim3-2 [3] Mohamed ElShorbagy 8-11, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-6 (75m)
[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-2 Tinne Gilis (Bel)  10-12, 11-2, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 (56m)
[1] Ali Farag wo [9/16] Saurav Ghosal (Ind)

PSA Report about the match Youssef/Mohamed
Ibrahim Completes Stunning Comeback to Send ElShorbagy Out of the Windy City Open

World No.17 CIB Youssef Ibrahim made it three wins out of three against former World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy as he came back from two games behind and then overturned two match balls to reach the quarter finals of the Windy City Open Presented by the Walter Family.

ElShorbagy has found it difficult against Ibrahim over the past two years, with Ibrahim claiming huge upsets at both the 2020 and 2021 Qatar Classics, with the latter win seeing ElShorbagy take a four month break to prepare for the second half of the season.

The two-time Windy City Open champion returned with a title-winning display at the Squash on Fire Open last week and was good value for his 2-0 lead against Ibrahim, with the 31-year-old playing tight, controlled squash and profiting off his opponent’s errors.

Ibrahim went up another level in the third game though as he started playing winners from all areas of the court. Initially, ElShorbagy couldn’t respond as he surrendered the third game, only to get back on top in the fourth to hold a match ball. A tin from the World No.3 handed Ibrahim a lifeline though and he made no mistake in levelling the scores, overturning a further match ball.

A promising start to the fifth from ElShorbagy saw him lead 4-1, but Ibrahim’s powers of recovery were evident once again as the 22-year-old – who is currently studying at Princeton University – launched yet another comeback, taking 10 of the next 12 points on offer to seal a huge win.

“What a week,” Ibrahim said afterwards. I’m playing one of the best players in the history of the game and it’s such an honour to be on court with Mohamed.

“I knew it would be such a tough game and he did everything he could to win. I got caught in the first two games, but I stayed calm and I tried to stay with him in the third and with every game being so close it was so mental.”

What Nour El Sherbini said

“To win this match I had to really dig deep. She was playing so well and getting everything back, it was an amazing match and I’m really happy to be through, these matches give you confidence and belief and I’m just really happy.

“I would say consistency is the most important thing and I always try to be like this and play good squash whilst learning and improving still.

What Hania said

“It’s not the way I want to be reaching the quarters, I wish her a speedy recovery. But I was playing well the first two games and was feeling good on court so I’m happy to be through.

“I think from growing up watching the top Egyptian players I learned that you need to be consistent in this game to reach World No.1 or be successful so that’s something I think about.

“I’m really looking forward to playing Salma, she’s been doing really well recently. I haven’t played her for a while and I think we’re both playing well so it should be a good match and I’m looking forward to it.”

What Rowan said

“It’s always tough against Alex, but I’m really happy with how I played today. I’m feeling good on court and playing well. I love playing here in Chicago and I can’t wait for the quarter final, hopefully, I can go further as well.”

“My junior career was everything I could have asked for, I did everything I could do. So now I’m just building and trying to play better in the senior game.”

What Marwan said

“Todd and I used to train and live together in Bristol, and also we train in Egypt, we know each other’s games very well and this is the first time we’ve played on the PSA World Tour.

“There was no structure to the match today, I don’t know why that was but I just had to adapt. I just thought about hitting and running and getting the win and I’m just happy to be through in three.

“He’s been having a great season and I’m really happy for him. Hopefully he can get into the top 20 in the world soon as he’s definitely capable of it.

“I’ve been working on my game trying to improve, I always enjoy this event and coming here and hopefully I can get another breakthrough this week.”

What Salma said

“I feel great with how I played today and how I bounced back from yesterday’s match. I saw today as a new day, it’s such a beautiful day and I just tried to push the negativity away and I’m just glad it worked out. Last year was good for me and I’m glad about my improvement. I try to not focus on the ranking and improve the little things, I’m working with my coaches all the time and I’m happy to be in the quarter finals. I’m just enjoying my squash at the moment and looking to make more semis and finals.

“Thank you to everyone who came today, I know it’s early but it really makes a difference.”

 

Round Two 

[1] Ali Farag 3-0 Raphael Kandra (GER)  11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (34m)
[6] Marwan EShorbagy 3-1 Gregoire Marche (FRA)  11-6, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7 (50m)
Youssef Ibrahim 3-1 Leonel Cardenas (MEX)   8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (40m)
[3] Mohamed ElShorbagy 3-0 Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)  11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (36m)
[4] Tarek Momen 3-1 Miguel Rodriguez (COL)  11-13, 12-10, 11-7, 11-5 (56m)
Omar Mosaad 3-0 Greg Lobban (SCO)  11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (45m)
Mazen Hesham 3-0 Borja Golan (ESP) 11-7, 11-3, 12-10 (35m)
[8] Fares Dessouky 3-1 Youssef Soliman  11-7, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7 (63m)
Karim Abdel Gawad 3-0 Nicolas Mueller (SUI)  11-9, 11-9, 11-5 (34m)

[3] Hania El Hammamy 3-0 Rachel Arnold (Mas) 11-8, 11-1, 11-4 (23m)
[6] Salma Hany 3-2 Tze Lok Ho (HKG) 11-4, 6-11, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10 (63m)
[7] Rowan Elaraby 3-1 Lisa Aitken (SCO) 11-5, 2-11, 14-12, 12-10 (43m)
Joshna Chinappa (IND) 3-0 Sana Ibrahim  11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (25m)
[2] Nouran Gohar 3-0 Danielle Letourneau (CAN)3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (27m)
[1] Nour El Sherbini 3-0 Julianne Courtice (ENG)  11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (22m)
Tesni Evans (WAL) 3-2 Hana Ramadan  9-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (53m)

Nour El Sherbini said

“I’m really happy with the way I played. I’ve never played her before and it’s the first round also for me. I just wanted to get on court, get used to it and I’m really happy to be through.

“It’s one of my favourite places to play, I love playing here, I love this court and I have very good memories here. I always try to have good memories at every tournament, but this one is very special and I love playing here, I play my best squash here and hopefully I keep going this week.

Ali said

“I step on court just trying to win and win every point. If it’s a win it’s a bonus and if it’s a 3-0 win then it’s even better, but you can’t think too far ahead of yourself. Raphi loves to play very open squash, it’s not easy to maintain. It was a tough day watching Nour play a tough five-setter, very emotional one and doing so well, and then having to come back less than two hours later.

“Raphi plays a very unique brand of squash, I had to be on my metal and I was a little subdued and I knew it but I didn’t want to fire myself up because I think that was the best attitude to go forward today.

“Nour and I were roaming the streets of Chicago and taking pictures with Farida, as if she would remember anything. It’s fun to be on the streets again, even if it was much nicer weather in July! We rented the same apartment that my parents were staying in and reliving the memories and hopefully one day we can show her where she was born while we still play.”

Tarek said
“There was this one shot at 8-10 or 9-10 when I hit this dropshot from the back and I don’t know what I was thinking. It came right on top of the tin. I stopped thinking I guess because it was a poor performance from my end in the beginning, not the whole time, but there were patches when I thought I should be pushing harder. I wasn’t feeling energetic today at the beginning but I tried to hang in there. In the first game I felt flat but I kept pushing, I lost it on the tie-break but it was ok.

“In the second game I was very disappointed until 10-6 with the way I conducted myself on court and then it turned around and I was extremely proud to manage to squeeze that one out to stop it being a 2-0 deficit is really tough to pull off.

“Miguel didn’t make it easy for me, I had a 6-0 lead in the third and he came back again and the ball started to cool off, it wasn’t going to the back anymore. It was a matter of who would sneak the next winning shot, I’m very pleased with the way I pushed through, I’m hoping to feel better and play better. I’m happy with the win.

“I managed to celebrate my birthday yesterday. We went to a nice place with the family and I’m very happy to have them here. It’s the first year they’ve travelled with me for a tournament and I’m very happy I didn’t lose today because I want to spend more time with them here.”

Mohamed said

“Castagnet has a lot of experience and we have played so many times in so many different venues. One of them was here a few years ago. He’s always going to fight until the last point, he’s a huge fighter and I’ve witnessed him when he was playing in the top ten. He’s had some good wins against me and I’ve had some good wins against him. It’s great to get on court with him and I hope we can play again in the future.

“Everyone is saying I’m making my comeback, I only won a 50K event. If I win a Platinum event then people can say I’m making a comeback, but so far I’ve made no statement whatsoever. I feel it was a warm-up event for me to get back to the level that I know how to play. I’m looking forward to playing against all of the top players here. Last year, things didn’t go that great towards the end of it. Everyone said it was a bad season but if someone else had of played that season last year it would have been the best season of their life.

“People expect me to be in finals all the time, certainly I expect myself to be in finals all time before everyone else. I’m here to try and regain the top spot again and there are certainly a lot of great players playing well at the moment, it’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had to face in my career but I love a challenge.”

What Hania said

“Playing against Rachel is never easy. I’ve played against her a couple of times and it always tricky playing against her. She’s very talented and she likes to throw you in front a lot and I had to be very sharp from the -beginning. I’m happy with the way I was able to manage the win.

“I’m really excited to be playing in Chicago, really happy to be back. I took some time off after Black Ball, I wanted to get ready and try to take some time off, reflect on how I did in 2021. We have a lot of tournaments coming up, hopefully the rest and preparation I had will pay off.”

Round One (US Times)

Tze Lok Ho (HKG) 3-2 Zeina Mickawy 11-7, 6-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-6 (58m)
[9/16] Nada Abbas 3-0 Nicole Bunyan (Can)  11-8, 11-3, 11-4 (29m)
Sana Ibrahim 3-1 [9/16] Haley Mendez (Usa)  10-12, 12-10, 11-1, 11-4 (35m)
[9/16] Mariam Metwally 3-0 Marie Stephan (Fra)  12-10, 11-7, 11-7 (33m)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-1 Yathreb Adel  14-12, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5 (51m)
[9/16] Hana Ramadan 3-0 Liu Tsz-Ling (Hkg)  11-9, 11-4, 11-8 (24m)

Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) 3-0 [9-16] Karim El Hammamy  11-8, 11-1, 11-8 (54m)
[9/16] Omar Mosaad 3-1 Nathan Lake (Eng)  11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 (60m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-2 Moustafa El Sirty 11-2, 11-8, 9-11, 11-13, 11-6 (76m)

Mosaad said

“To play against Nathan, it was going to be really hard. He is a big guy like me, so I knew I had to move as much as I could. Of course, he just moved to Chicago, so everyone was cheering for him, hopefully for me tomorrow!

“I am really happy for my win today, and I think the last few tournaments, I have started to play well, and I hope to keep this going with the next match.

“I started training really hard the last couple of matches. I think I am good now. I just needed to play some matches and I think I will back it up soon! I will try to do my best and hopefully I will win!”

Sana said

“I am so happy, and it’s my first time playing this tournament and I am so happy to win. I was nervous because she is a big player, I love her play so much!

“It is not easy to play her in her hometown but I am so excited and I am happy to win because so many times I have lost in the first round so this means so much.”Preview

The draws for the 2022 Windy City Open have been released for the women’s and men’s events at the University Club of Chicago. The Windy City Open is one of the richest events on the calendar, with the PSA World Tour Platinum event boasting $500,000 in total player prize compensation.

World No.1 Nour El Sherbini returns to the scene of her fifth PSA World Championship triumph following her win over Gohar last July. Nour will take on either Wales’ Emily Whitlock or Chicago-based Haley Mendez in round two, while she is predicted to take on No.3 seed CIB Hania El Hammamy in the last four.

Meanwhile, CIB Nouran Gohar World No.2 and two-time semi finalist is seeded to meet US Amanda Sobhy, 28-year-old, is based in Philadelphia, is a four-time Windy City Open quarter finalist and is seeded at No.4 for this year’s event.

Like El Sherbini, CIB Ali Farag also tasted PSA World Championship success at the University Club of Chicago during the 2020-21 season, and he returns to defend his crown following his victory over New Zealand’s Paul Coll in 2020.

Ali will find himself up against either Germany’s Raphael Kandra or Mexico’s Arturo Salazar in the second round and is seeded to play two-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy in the semi finals in what would be a repeat of the men’s 2020-21 PSA World Championship final.

Former World Champion CIB Tarek Momen should meet Paul Coll, the new World Number One in March, in the semi finals.

 

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