Men’s top seed Ali Farag was put through his paces by Indian qualifier Veer Chotrani in a gripping contest at the PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family this afternoon as play began at Chicago’s Lakeshore Sport & Fitness.
Farag – who this week is aiming to become the first Egyptian man to win five World Championship trophies – had no answer to Chotrani’s flair game in the opening game as the World No.57 outplayed the World No.2 in front of a captivated crowd.
The Egyptian fought back to go 2-1 ahead, but Chotrani wasn’t done there. The 23-year-old’s racket skills were exquisite as he pulled ahead to 10-8, however Farag’s experience shone through as he halted his opponent’s momentum and took four points in a row.
“In the middle of the fourth I looked at Karim [Darwish] outside and asked him if I was playing against Ramy Ashour,” said Farag afterwards.
“I was on the receiving end in that fourth game and for most of the first game and a half too. I got the hang of it in the second and the third was somewhat comfortable. I told him after the match that I’ve not been outplayed like that in a long time.
“All credit to him and I’m very proud to get through. He lived in Egypt for a bit back in the day and I played with him when I was younger. I followed him a little bit at Cornell, but I wasn’t watching him.
“Nothing can prepare you for such a tricky swing. He was consistent too, I thought a few winners would come off and then he would hold back a little bit, but he never did.
“I tensed up a little bit, but not much. I wasn’t in panic mode and I knew what I needed to do.”
Farag will play Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas in the next round after the Mexican got the better of England’s Curtis Malik over at the University Club of Chicago.
Elias Downs Rodriguez
Reigning men’s World Champion Diego Elias is also through after he overcame fellow South American Miguel Rodriguez in straight games.
[su)quote]“I’m feeling pretty good and I’m happy win my first two rounds,” Elias said afterwards.
“It’s a pleasure playing Miguel, he’s been the best South American for so long and I’ve always followed him. It’s great to play him one more time on the PSA.
“It’s a very long tournament and it’s tough playing lower-ranked players at the World Champs. They have no pressure on them. I’m enjoying it though, so hopefully I can keep winning this week.
“When I got to World No.1, people said it was because Ali [Farag] was injured and [Mostafa] Asal was banned. I went to Egypt, I went to their home and I beat both of them [last year]. That felt pretty good, and I hope I can do this again this week.”
[/su_quote]Gohar Marches On
World No.1 and defending women’s champion Nouran Gohar moved through to the third round as she stormed to a 3-0 victory over Malak Khafagy. Next up for Gohar is a meeting with fellow Egyptian Fayrouz Aboelkheir, who overcame 17-year-old Indian Anahat Singh.
Gohar said: “If anything, it [winning the World Champs before] relieves the pressure. I want to win it multiple times, but it’s already in the bag and it will always be there. My shoulders are more relaxed and I want to enjoy it this week.
“It’s no secret [that hard hitting is her strength]. Not a lot of players did that in the women’s game when I was coming up. Now, a lot of female Egyptian girls do the same.
“It used to be the complete opposite, I was known for being weak, I was light weight and I couldn’t hold the racket. I spent a lot of hours soloing until I got it. That’s not the only part in my game right now, I try to add other stuff, but it will stay one of the biggest things in my game, for sure.
“Every single match is a threat. Whether you’re the defending champion or World No.1, I’m the hunted one. Every round is dangerous and I can’t take anything lightly. This isn’t a cliche, it’s real.
“I’m taking it a point and a game at a time and I’m trying to execute my game plan well.”
El Hammamy Earns Win Over Turmel
No.3 seed Hania El Hammamy – who is seeded to meet Gohar in the semi-finals – also enjoyed a 3-0 win, beating England’s Lucy Turmel. The 24-year-old will line up against Belgiums’ Nele Gilis-Coll for a place in the quarter-finals, with Gilis-Coll beating Emily Whitlock of Wales 3-0.
“I’ve played Lucy a couple of times this season already and I know the way she plays,” said El Hammamy.
“It’s tricky being first on court today, I didn’t get much of a chance to play on the glass court, so I’m pretty happy with how I dealt with the circumstances. I’m looking forward to the rest of the event.
“I’m pretty pleased with the conditions, it’s a nice take and it takes a good shot. It’s a fast front wall, but it will reward quality shots, for sure.
“I’m just trying to focus on every match and trying to build up in every round. I’m trying to work on the things I’ve been working on coming into this event. I want to think about one opponent at a time and hopefully I can go further this year.”
[/su+quote]Results – Men’s Second Round:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Veer Chotrani (IND) 3-1: 7-11, 11-7, 11-3, 12-10 (32m)[15] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt [32] Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 15-13, 11-5 (61m)
Jonah Bryant (ENG) bt [14] Fares Dessouky (EGY) 3-1: 5-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-1 (43m)
[5] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [18] Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-2: 10-12, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8 (86m) [8] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) bt [30] Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-2: 11-9, 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 11-8 (57m)
[9] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 (44m)
[12] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Abhay Singh (IND) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 (30m)
[3] Diego Elias (PER) bt [19] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 (37m)
Results – Women’s Second Round:
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [27] Malak Khafagy (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 (21m)[13] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) bt Anahat Singh (IND) 3-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 11-3 (28m)
[11] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt [21] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 3-11, 14-12, 11-7 (44m)
[6] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt [22] Tesni Murphy (WAL) 3-1: 11-8, 5-11, 11-4, 13-11 (51m) [5] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [18] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 16-14 (45m)
[14] Nada Abbas (EGY) bt [19] Melissa Alves (FRA) 3-2: 11-6, 2-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 (53m)
[10] Nele Gilis-Coll (BEL) bt Emily Whitlock (WAL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (45m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [25] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (37m)
To watch highlights and full match replays from the afternoon session – and to watch the evening session live – head to SQUASHTV.
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