R1 : Alex, Hollie, Olivia and Sivasangari win
13.00 Matches :
Alexandra Fuller (Rsa) 3-0 Nadia Pfister (Sui) 11-2, 11-4, 11-9 (19m)
Hollie Naughton (Can) 3-1 Hana Moataz (Egy) 11-7, 12-14, 11-8, 14-12 (41m)
Olivia Fiechter (Usa) 3-0 [wc] Habiba El Dafrawy (Egy) 11-3, 11-1, 11-4 (19m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam (Mas) 3-0Sana Ibrahim (Egy) 11-7, 14-12, 11-8 (32m)
Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-1 Sana Ibrahim (EGY)
Siva : Sana is a good player, she got a good win in Black Ball, [against Donna Lobban] so I was definitely prepared for it, I didn’t take it easy. Yes the second game was crucial, I actually had to dig deep as she was leading a few points. I had to stay focus on my match, more than on what she was going to do on court.
I’m training in the US with David Palmer so I could come here without any trouble. It’s very disappointing for the Malaysian team, they haven’t been playing for a while now, and I was quite excited forward to meeting with them…
Tesni is a top player, she’s been at the top for a while now. Again, I just want to give my best, and as my semester is over now, I can focus on my game. Normally I come on tournaments with my laptop, my books.. But this time round, it’s only me, with my racquet, that’s one burden away, I can relax, and play my game away…
Sana : A bit disappointed with my mental state today. When I was in the second game, when I lost the game, it really affected me mentally. If I had won it, I would have wanted to play more, but as I lost it, it seemed to affect me a lot. And it shouldn’t.
And I’m not happy with my movement, I’m so slow, I didn’t play my squash at all today.
Only positive, I can go to the beach now…
Olivia Fiechter (USA) 3-0 [WC] Habiba El Dafrawy (EGY)
Olivia : It is my first time in Gouna I heard so much about it, the expectations were high and they’ve been exceeded, it’s so beautiful.
I’m happy with my performance. I knew nothing about Habiba’s game. We just had a practice yesterday, so I had a bit of a feel of her game. I could tell she was talented, had good hands, as all the Egyptian players!!
So I knew I had to be on my toes, I knew I had to be on my T position, and I kind of wanted to use my experience over her, and shut the court down, come out, and find my lines. I just enjoyed being out there.
Tomorrow, Nele awaits. We actually played quite a lot in the juniors as we are the same age. She is one of the biggest fighter on the tour.
I have been working very hard during the off period, I mean really really hard, I feel I’m fitter than I ever been, so I’m definitely ready for the battle and looking forward to a tough clean match. I played her in the TOC right before the COVID hit, I lost 3/1 in a tough one, different court conditions here so really looking forward to that one.
Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 3-0 Nadia Pfister (SUI)
Alex: I played Nadia a few times in 5k a few years ago, so I knew what to expect out of her game, I knew what I had to do with my game.
I rarely feel comfortable on court with my squash, only sometimes.. So today it’s nice to have a bit of a confidence boost.
I just wanted to get through that match first before thinking about my match tomorrow again Salma Hany. I played in Egypt a couple of years ago, so at least I have some experience of how intense and well she can play. And I’ll have to make sure I’m on the top of my game.
Right now I really want to enjoy playing, I don’t have any pressure, and when I don’t have any pressure, I can play my squash, I enjoy my freedom. So I just want to enjoy every second I’m out there….