‘Childhood Dream’ fulfilled as Aboelkheir and Bryant storm into Quarter-Finals at the Pyramids
Young stars Fayrouz Aboelkheir and Jonah Bryant booked their first appearances in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza after storming through to the CIB Egyptian Open quarter-finals.
Both produced dominant displays at Club O West, Giza, with Egypt’s Aboelkheir upsetting No.5 seed Satomi Watanabe of Japan and England’s Bryant downing Qatar’s Abdulla Al-Tamimi to reach a major PSA Squash Tour quarter-final for the first time.
Elsewhere, France’s Victor Crouin took out English No.5 seed Marwan ElShorbagy, Egyptian World No.2 Nour El Sherbini came back twice to defeat USA’s Amanda Sobhy and Fares Dessouky ended the giant-killing run of Egyptian compatriot Adam Hawal.
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 hosting matches in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza, while early rounds took place at the traditional courts at Club O West.
Three months ago, at PSA Squash Tour Finals, Aboelkheir came close to defeating Watanabe, only for the Japan No.1 to save match ball and inflict a painful defeat on the 19-year-old.
Today, the Alexandrian was far more consistent, showing a sure touch at the front as she took a deserved lead 11-8.
Watanabe appeared frustrated with her opponent’s movement throughout the match, and her concentration slipped, with Aboelkheir taking full advantage as she doubled her lead 11-7 and then, following a contributed-injury delay to Watanabe in game three, completed the rout with an 11-6 victory in game three.
“I’ve been watching this tournament since I was 12 and it was always my dream to play at the pyramids,” Aboelkheir said afterwards.
“Today I came out with a goal, more than revenge, to just go and win it!”
Bryant, meanwhile, dominated to down Al Tamimi in just 28 minutes.
Much has been made of Bryant’s promise, with the 20-year-old touted as a potential future World No.1 after a strong start to his professional career.
On today’s showing, the Englishman could well fulfil those expectations, with Bryant in complete control for the entire contest against Al-Tamimi – who had earned his spot in today’s clash with a comfortable victory over World No.7 Mohamed Shorbagy.
Bryant made a strong start to the match today at Club O West and never let the momentum drop, confidently dispatching the Qatari 11-5, 11-5, 11-4.
Afterwards, Bryant said: “My first major quarter-final; I’m really happy to be there but obviously I’m not done yet.
“It was good to get over the line and enjoy the win but all the focus is on the next round and I’ll just be trying to get my body in gear and my mentality in gear. I try not to look too far ahead. You can’t get too carried away with yourself, I’m still 26 in the world and have a long way to go.
“The court at the pyramids is obviously one of the most iconic venues in squash.”
Another player looking forward to a match on one of squash’s most iconic courts is Crouin, who will play on the pyramid court for the first time since 2019 after ending a three-match losing streak against ElShorbagy thanks to a hard-fought 11-8, 13-15, 11-6, 11-8 win.
Defending women’s champion El Sherbini, too, came through a tough encounter, with the World No.2 putting in an uneven performance but eventually prevailing against an impressive Amanda Sobhy, with El Sherbini coming from behind twice to triumph 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4.
In the last match of the evening, Dessouky booked his spot in a major quarter-final for the first time since the 2024 Qatar Classic as he outclassed wildcard Adam Hawal.
17-year-old Hawal had stunned earlier in the week with wins over Curtis Malik and World No.3 Paul Coll, but taking on former World No.7 Dessouky proved a step too far today, with the 30-year-old claiming an 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 win to earn a place in the last eight.
Afternoon @ O West
[11] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (Egy) 3-0 [5] Satomi Watanabe (Jpn) 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (39m)
Jonah Bryant (Eng) 3-0 Abdulla Al-Tamimi (Qat) 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 (28m)
Siva Subramaniam (Mas) 3-1 [16] Jasmine Hutton (Eng) 12-10, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5 (47m)
[11] Victor Crouin (Fra) 3-1 [5] Marwan ElShorbagy (Eng) 11-8, 13-15, 11-6, 11-8 (60m)
Evening @ Pyramids
[2] Nour ElSherbini (Egy) 3-2 [9] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4 (57m)
[2] Diego Elias (Per) 3-0 [10] Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) 11-6, 11-5, 11-1 (43m)
[4] Amina Orfi (Egy) 3-0 [14] Farida Mohamed (Egy) 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 (43m)
[15] Fares Dessouky (Egy) 3-0 [wc] Adam Hawal (Egy) 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
The quarter-finals of the CIB Egyptian Open begin tomorrow, 16 September. Play on the show court at the Great Pyramid of Giza begins at 19:00 (GMT+3).
