R2: Zakaria beats his first sparring partner

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[7] Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) 3-0 Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY)  11-9, 11-6, 11-6 (46m)

Zakaria : “ElSherbini, he was the player who really began playing with me when I was at the club when I was younger. He was the player who first let me on court to play with him. He played with me for six points, and I played very well, and then he wanted to play again! That was the first time that I really played with any pro.

“He’s the guy that took my hand and held me go up, so today was really hard mentally, more than the game.

“Even though it was 3-0, the points were really long and I think I was drained a bit. I’m very happy with the way I was able to change, really see the court, and see where I was leaving it open and where to take it down.

“I thought I was smart.

“I’ve been doing a lot of physical work lately and I think it is starting to pay off. The rallies were so long, and they were across the whole court, not just to the back.

“So we were covering all the court, so it was a lot tougher. I’m really happy with how I closed it out.”