[1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) 3-1 [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (70m)
Let’s be clear. My money was on Nouran – sorry Nour. Nour doesn’t enjoy outdoors conditions generally, and those ones were not any different: hot, a bit of a breeze. But most of all, her match against the Gazelle the night before. At the start of the season, after the preparations of an Egyptian wedding – you have no idea until you’ve been to one – her body might have been a bit out of shape. Her draw hadn’t been the easiest either.
And so, when the first 13-minute game went to a dominant and in-control Nouran, I thought that, for once, my first thought was correct. 4/1, 5/3, 11/5. The second proved me wrong.
A close game, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7 8/8. Both players being warned for not allowing the other to get to the ball. But Nour seemed to find an extra layer of brain cells at that point, playing her cat and mouse squash to perfection, levelled 11/8.
18m game, 7 winers for Nour, 6 for Nouran.
Momentum flowing, 4/0, 5/1, 6/3 for the Princess in the crucial third. The rallies are pure gold, between the sheer power from the Terminator and the mixing of shots from the Princess. Nouran comes so close to levelling at 7/8, but won’t be able to save Nour’s second game ball, despite a rally that defines Squash rallies at 8/10.
11/8 Nour, leading 2/1, 10 winners, Nouran 5.
The Princess took a good start in the 4th, 3/0, only to see her lead washed away by a fighting to the death Nouran, 5 points in a row! She will lead with a couple of points until Nour levelled at 7/7.
Funny moment at 5/6, Nouran was warned for time wasting when in fact, she was trying to explain the light on the left service box of the glass flooring had gone. She got the apologies from the ref, who then thanked her for her help. Awwwwh….
The Terminator was also penalised 4 times for her movement off the ball, two of those being with the Video Ref toward the end of the game, at 6/7, and another one at 8/8.
9/8. Another incredible rally, we all hold our breath, a volley drop shot for the Princess, match ball 10/8. One is enough, 11/8 in 16m.
PSA notes:
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini ended a four-match losing run against in-form World No.2 Nouran Gohar as she captured the first ever Diamond-level title on the PSA Squash Tour with victory in the final of the 2024 CIB Egyptian Open.
Tonight’s match was the 35th instalment of a spectacular rivalry between the pair, and the 22nd in a final, with the two engaged in a fascinating wrestle for the honour of being World No.1 in recent seasons.
Cairo native Gohar went into the match with a fantastic recent record against the Alexandrian, winning their last four contests, with all four of those coming in major finals, including a spectacular performance on this court four months ago as Gohar denied El Sherbini an eighth world championship to win the title for the first time.
Gohar had won 29 matches in a row ahead of today’s clash.
Nouran : I don’t think it’s a surprise at all. She is the world number one. Obviously, lately I’ve been playing very well, and having good results. But it happens.
Sherbini and I have been battling throughout the years. Sometimes, she will play better on the day. Obviously, I wouldn’t say it’s the best match I played in my life obviously, but it wasn’t the worst either.
It was one of these days where I played ok, but she played the big points much better.
I think at the very end of the games as well, I had some not very nice calls, in the fourth especially, which changed the game.
But then again, I’ve been winning, and one day, I would have to lose, and the day is today. It’s ok, I still made it to the final, not a bad result!
Obviously I always like to win. What I need to do now is regroup, think about what I did – maybe not today, maybe tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow – with my team about what we did.
You know, we may play again next week! We are having a pretty busy schedule, so maybe the one who wins at the beginning is probably not to an advantage actually!!! 🙂
No, it’s ok. Let’s call it a good wedding present for Nour!!!!
Nour :
“It’s very special of course, the first event of the season, the first Diamond event, and of course in Egypt. It’s always special playing in front of this amazing crowd and in front of your team, family and everyone coming all this way to watch.
“I’m glad we had a good match for the crowd to watch.
“She’d got me the last four times and was the best player to be honest in the second half of last season. I turned the page and I just wanted a new plan and a new way on court. I wanted to relax and play my shots more and I think it worked today!
“It’s my first championship after getting married, winning it means a lot for both of us and I’m so happy he was here watching this!”
Atef Sherbini (Nour’s father)
She needed this win for sure, because the last four times, she lost. And we needed to build her confidence back.
Also, we were worried because this summer, the preparations for the wedding cut her training a bit short. So I think she did very well today.
Amr Elhelw (Nour’s husband)
We thank God for the win today. We were kind of worried about the three four matches she played last year against Nouran. But she was so confident, psychologically, she was ready for this tournament, even if she was not prepared really well – only five weeks before the tournament.
But it was enough for her to get her fitness back. And as for the squash, she knows her magic, she know how to do that.
We studied her four last matches with Nouran, and looked at was right, and wrong. She had to concentrate with no pressure in her mind. She can get her magic on.
Yesterday, we were worried about her knee, and about her 86m match against Hania. And playing against Nouran who closed the season so well last year. Plus the lack of preparation. But we knew that if she put in her mind to play really good squash, then she would put it all in, and out there.
I promise you, this year is going to be a really good year for Nour.
