Barb Sameh (EGY) 3-2 [9] Menna Walid (EGY) 11-5, 11-8, 11-13, 9-11, 11-6 (61m)
What a battle the two young Egyptians had. Although they left everything on the court, they showed both a fair attitude and never blocked or tried to influence the ref. Great sportsmanship from both. Their coaches should be proud, Omneya Abdel Kawy for Barb, and Karim Ali Fathy for Menna, and both girls are an asset for the future of Egypt, I feel.
Menna showed incredible grit today. Down 1-0, she got injured—self-injury—on her already taped right ankle in the middle of the second, 6/4, and lost that second game 11/8.
I walked away to see Rana and Asia battling on the next court, thinking that the match was pretty much over. Well, the heck it was! Menna fought tooth and nail and clinched the next two games, 13/11 and 11/9.
She had a little drop of energy in the middle of the decider, from 4/5, 8/4. But she kept at it, fighting fair, and only bowed 11/6. What a great match, making squash look pretty good.
As for the winner, Barb confirms her great form, she took French #2 seed yesterday, and confirms today she has a huge potential.
Barb : It was our first time playing together. She played a great game of squash today, playing through injury and so well, all credit to her.
She surprised me in the third. But I kept fighting today, with my coach Omneya Abdel Kawy, I kept pushing, and stick to the game plan. Pretty simple plan, hit the ball hard in the back corners, to prevent giving her any loose shots in the middle, as she has really amazing skills in the middle. I also tried to take my volley, change direction as well.
I’m really happy with the way I executed the game plan, especially in the 5th game, it was really, really tough. She came back at me every time I had a lead. 80% of the game is mental and today was no different…
