[5] Victor Crouin (Fra) 3-0 [14] Yahya Elnawasany (Egy) 11-6, 11-1, 11-8 (36m)
Victor: I like the idea that my opponent didn’t feel like playing me today. It should also reassure me that this is what we’re trying to work on in my mental preparation and in my squash as a whole. I should be aware that when an opponent steps on court with me, he’s afraid to play me, because he knows my strengths, and he knows how difficult and how big a challenge it is to beat me and really win that last point, like Velavan yesterday. That should give me confidence.
In these early rounds, rather than focusing on the tactics I’ll use against a particular opponent, I don’t think it’s arrogant to say I should focus on myself and really express my game, as I managed to do very well today.
So yes, it’s a pleasure to play this kind of squash today, and it shows how important it is to go and win a match like yesterday’s, because the next day you may not be at your best, but you can still be at a very good level on court. It’s great to have come through again today with so much control.
There are always little hiccups in every match.
At 8-2, there was a first decision that was a bit petty and, factually, totally unfair on me, but I can still laugh about it. It went to 8-3, and in the end it did put me off a little, and I lost my footing a bit. At 8-3, he probably relaxed a little and played some good shots. I had quite a few openings that I didn’t convert, and I even got countered. Then there was another decision, and I lost my footing again, thinking, “That’s two, what’s happening to me, when the whole match has gone rather well?” And in the end, it was when he came back to 8-8 that I got the jolt I needed to get back to basics: lengths at the back of the court, good lines out to the front that gave me good attacking chances, which I took.
So yes, it’s great. It’s always the same: there are little hiccups, but when they’re well managed in the end, you can turn them into something positive. It’s a small challenge within the match itself that’s finally handled well. I may well make the same mistake again and again, and I’ll still manage to get out of it, because I’ve already had that experience, I’ve already faced that problem and found the solution. It’s an eternal cycle.
It’s always good to come through in three games against an opponent who is still very dangerous. Today, for example, if I hadn’t played to my strengths and put him under pressure, he’s very strong. He showed it from the very first point, where he was volleying and not moving.
He pushes hard, he’s a bit younger than me, and he’s doing a good job. I know what I have to do, and I also know I can use my own strengths to get through, as I did today with a lot of control. And then we move on to the next round, at the Pyramids.
The quarter-final is probably against Paul Coll at the Pyramids.
I have a day off tomorrow. I’ll have to manage the logistics and adapt to the conditions of the court to go and get Paul in the quarter-final, as I managed to do in Qatar. That’s the challenge.
It’s what I said after Qatar: we’re lined up to play each other again, in Egypt, then at the US Open. Each time the conditions will be different: indoors, outdoors, fast courts, cold courts. For me, that’s so much experience and data to help prepare for what comes next, because Paul is a direct rival for the Games.
So I’m really looking forward to playing him again, trying to produce the same performance or better, and trying to do a bit of what Youssef did in 2025-26: Youssef Ibrahim beat him three times in a row, even though Paul is world number two.
I can’t wait for the Pyramids.
