Abdulla Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-2 Greg Lobban (SCO) 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8 (67m)
PSA said
Qatar’s Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi recovered from an indifferent start in which he made a number of errors to edge Greg Lobban in five,
Abdulla
“I had nerves at the start, in that first game I think I made nine mistakes!” Al Tamimi said afterwards. I was so nervous at the start and I knew he was going to have a gameplan against me, to slow the pace. It was all in my head, especially as I’ve never beaten him before. I’ve been up and lost, which was in my head as well. I just had to up the pace to get rid of the nerves.”
“In the fifth, it was all about keeping my focus and keeping it above the tin. I knew he was tiring so it was a case of just needing to find a way to win at the end without hitting the ball well or playing well. I was glad to win this match when I wasn’t playing well.
“It feels great to win matches when you’ve played below your level. It gives you confidence because you can’t play worse in the next round and you know you can play better.”
[WC] Kenzy Ayman (EGY) 3-0 [32] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 12-10, 12-10, 12-10 (33m)
Fram reports
12/10, 9m, 12/10, 9m, 12/10, 9m. That’s sorted.
Incredible pace from both girls, incredible intensity, incredible match. I didn’t know Jaz could scream that loud!
There was not a single rally where they took it easy. Or didn’t try to outplay the other one. By tactics, or by power. And on a personal note, I’m very happy with the fact Kenzy has stopped the blocking she was doing when I saw her play in the little PSA last year. She comes out of a win in Bermuda – that’s how she qualified for the event. She is learning. Only thing that needs to be looked at by her coach now is the excessive swing on the forehand. “It’s my style” she defends. It might well be, but it has got to change habebty….
The young Egyptian – still a junior, 18 – forced a few errors at crucial times, and that gave the youngster a mental incentive. And the strong support for the local played its part, as ever.
Lee Drew, in charge of the refereeing from PSA point of you, had to have a word with the support camp as their shouts seemed to him a bit too specific and could be assimilated to coaching. The whole Egyptian camp followed the instructions, and supported their girl during the tie breaks.
Jaz didn’t have a game ball in the second nor third, although I didn’t see the first. It was a very tough battle, toss of a coin, heart-breaking for the English who never put a foot wrong…
Kenzy
The pace in PSA is really hard. It’s so much easier in the juniors!
Today, I was focusing on each point, not thinking about losing or wining. I wanted to enjoy my game.
It’s my first time playing in a big PSA event, my first worlds. I took a lot of experience from my event in Bermuda, I won it. It showed me how I can learn to play like Raneem El Welily and Hania El Hammamy, like a professional squash player, and I hope that one day, I can play like Nouran Gohar, all the top players. And I’m so excited because I get to play Nour El Sherbini, on the glass!
Satomi Watanabe (Jpn) 3-1 [19] Lucy Turmel (Eng) 12-14, 13-11, 11-6, 14-12 (73m)
Satomi
“It was a really, really tough match, both physically and mentally. When so many games go to deuce, I was pleased to get through those and win today. I’m really looking forward to the match against Hania [El Hammamy]. She’s a really good player.
“Because of COVID, I didn’t play a tournament for two years, so I’m really looking forward to how far I can go against her. I’ll have to give all I have.
“I feel like I’m slowly coming back [to match sharpness]. I’m on the right track and that makes me confident in how I’m training, because I wasn’t really sure when I was doing everything in Japan for two years.”
