[11] Moustafa Elsirty (EGY) 3-1 [5] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 7-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (56m)
It was a good, clean match, with good refereeing. There is nothing to say but two tall boys playing the same type of squash, hit-and-run, with good racquet skills. A special mention to Yannick for his extremely quick moves and retrieving! He only made a few crucial errors in the 4th, which took away the pressure he managed to put on his opponent.
The only worry for the rest of the event was the humidity, which seemed to invade the court. This forced the cleaners to step on the court regularly, slowing the pace of the match.
This is a good note for Moustafa, who has trimmed a lot—yesterday, he thanked his coaches for that result—and seems to have calmed down on the blocking/pushing front, as well as chatting with the ref to get his breath back. Good effort, much nicer to watch. Keep working in that direction. You are definitely on the right track.
Moustafa : Sometimes, my head goes places… But to be fair, I’ve been working on that during my summer training. Even in practice matches, I have to focus so much and my coach pushes me to give it my 100% in all my sessions. That’s what I’ve been trying to do today.
In the first game, I made a few errors too many, I wasn’t really for what he offered on the court. I forced it, and I realise it was unecessary. I realise I had to keep playing my game, play a normal squash and keep the ball to the back first. Once I realised that, the game became a little easier for me.
I tried as much as possible to keep him in the back, he is an absolutely INSANE athlete! So fast, and around the middle, we play a similar style, if you play the ball in the middle, he is going to punish me, and the same for me, if he plays in the middle, I will punish him.
He hits the ball so clean as well, he doesn’t give you many errors. I tried to get him around and make him move around me, making him do the hard work. It works well for the last three games.
I’m thrilled to be back on the first ever Diamond tournament, it’s important to be there, I’m really happy to test myself amongst those big players again, and try to get back where I was. I was there. I know how they play, and I need to keep pushing to get back to that ranking.
