Local wildcard Adam Hawal recorded one of squash’s greatest ever upsets as the World No.252 stunned World No.3 Paul Coll to reach the third round of the CIB Egyptian Open.
Hawal was one of a number of players to record shocks today in Giza, with Qatar’s Abdulla Al-Tamimi upsetting English No.7 seed and former World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy and Egypt’s Kareem El Torkey taking out Malaysian No.12 seed Eain Yow Ng.
The CIB Egyptian Open, a Diamond-level event on the PSA Squash Tour, is taking place from 12-19 September, with an incredible all-glass court being erected in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza, alongside traditional courts at Club O West.
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17-year-old Hawal came into the event a rank outsider, but caused headlines yesterday with an upset win over World No.32 Curtis Malik.
Today, though, he recorded arguably the greatest ever shock in PSA history, overcoming a 249-place deficit in the PSA World Rankings to down former World No.1 Coll.
Coll completely dominated the first game on the traditional courts at Club O West, taking the opener 11-3 as he looked to get off court quickly.
Hawal was inspired in game two, though, upping the tempo as he levelled 11-9.
Coll had game ball in the third, but could not convert, with Hawal digging in to come through the tie break 13-11.
More game ball opportunities came and went in game four for Coll, who had two chances to level the match at 10-8.
To the roars of the home crowd – and the fury of Coll, who will feel, perhaps with some justification, that he was on the wrong end of a number of marginal calls – Hawal saved both, hitting four unanswered points to record an historic win as Coll completely missed his return of serve.
Hawal will face compatriot Fares Dessouky on the stunning glass court by the pyramids in the next round.
Afterwards, Hawal said: “I can’t believe I beat him, he’s a very good player. He’s amazing and a tremendous player, on and off court. I talked to him this morning and I can’t believe it!
“After that first game I just thought I’m going to put 100 percent effort in, I was jumping on every ball and it paid off.
“I was just a little kid watching this tournament at the pyramids and it’s such a privilege to play there. The ancient pyramids are in our DNA and I get to be a Pharaoh tomorrow!”
Coll was one of four seeds to crash out today, with all upsets taking place at O West. In a top-quality performance, World No.22 Tamimi got the better of World No.7 ElShorbagy, recording a 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 victory over the 2021 finalist.
Afterwards, Tamimi said: “It’s a dream I had. I have pictures with him when he used to win all those Qatar Classics. I remember when we played in Qatar, he told me after the match ‘you can’t beat me, because I feel like I’m playing at home!’
“So I’m really happy to play in his old home here in Egypt and beat him here. I’m dreaming. I’ve never thought I will ever get close to his level, to reach the time in my career to actually beat him in the court. I’m really happy I can call him my brother off the court. But on court, there are no friends, no brothers.”
El Torkey, meanwhile, was on form as he hit back after dropping the first game to defeat Ng 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 in 56 minutes.
In the women’s event, matches went to seedings. In one of the best matches of the day, Sana Ibrahim followed up her stunning campaign last year with a hard-fought victory over France’s Melissa Alves.
Ibrahim’s shock run to the quarter-finals last year served as a springboard for an uptick in form and rise up the rankings, and the 22-year-old World No.17 showed more grit today as she fought back from 1-2 down to record a first win in five attempts against World No.22 Melissa Alves.
“I was so nervous today!” Ibrahim admitted afterwards. When I saw the draw from the beginning, it was a very tough match, because it’s not just about the physicality or squash, it’s more mentality.
“I’m in the top 20 and I want to be top 10. Why not? I feel like I’m really, really close.”
In the evening session at the Pyramids top seeds Nouran Gohar, Nour El Sherbini, Mostafa Asal and Diego Elias all won in ttraight games.
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Round three of the CIB Egyptian Open takes place tomorrow, 14 September. Play on the show court at the Great Pyramid of Giza begins at 19:00 (GMT+3), while play on the traditional courts at Club O West will begin at 13:00.
