R2: Nour plays Malak… again…

[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 3-0 Malak Khafagy (EGY)  11-8, 11-2, 11-5 (33m)

God Bless the young Egyptian ref that was taking the hot seat today. She was struggling a bit, but thanks to the video ref, it was not too damaging for the players, as most of her errors were corrected Actually, one of her good calls (a stroke for Malak) was overturned by the Video ref. Go and figure.

Actually, poor Malak, who had an tape on her leg because of a niggle, fell in the second game and the fall made the niggle pretty bad. She asked for injury time – the physio after the second game – and “yes you can have the physio” was the reply, although poor Malak never got the three extra minutes and was called back on court after two minutes despite the desperate attempt from an official to make her change her mind. We all had to learn…

The first time they played, was in Gouna a few weeks ago. I remember it because Malak had a hell of a journey to reach the court for her first round, didn’t sleep a wink coming back from Pakistan, managed to clinch her opening match that was moved as late as possible, played without her own gear/racquet as her bag hadn’t arrived, only to play the World number one the next day!! I remember thinking that I would love to see her play the Terminator while fresh…

They played again a few days later in Chicago for the Worlds, and then again today! Blimey, what are the probabilities of that??

Today, the first game today was really interesting. Malak was playing a strong squash, playing through the interference, I’m not going to say with no respect for the World number 1, but taking her space and moving as she felt she was entitled to. And the opener was close, 3/3, 7/6, 9/8, with the former World Champion closing the game 11/8 in 11m.

Malak was in pain in the second, and didn’t really defend her chances after that, although she tried to give it a last push in the third, but Nouran was too much in control and accurate to be under any kind of pressure.

Nouran : “It’s quite tough because you’re always being hunted and no longer the hunter. I am the better-ranked player every time I step on the court, so it’s tough. With the amount of matches and tournaments we play, it’s always tough to back up performances.

“So far this season, I broke an average ranking that was held from 2016, so I think that shows my consistency. Having the Palm Hills Open now is the perfect time for me, after losing out in the PSA World Championships.”