R2 : Makin edges out Manchester finalist Eleinen

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[4] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-1 Aly Abou Eleinen (Egy) 13-11, 1-11, 12-10, 11-7 (77m)

PSA report

In his first major event as a top four seed, Joel Makin has reached the quarter final stage after coming through a hard fought match with World No.12 Aly Abou Eleinen.

In a closely contested opening game, both players looked to be feeling out the conditions of the glass court given the breeze that was flowing through the El Gouna Conference and Culture Centre and tried to find their bearings on the court. The pair stayed close to each other on the scoreboard until Makin earned two game balls to draw first blood. Eleinen responded but Makin fought back to close the game out 13-11.

The Egyptian showed his class in game two and stormed into an early lead by firing balls into the front corners and tidying up Makin’s loose returns. Makin had no answers for the squash of Abou Eleinen as the World No.12 levelled at 1-1 winning 11-1.

The score reached 8-8 in the third game after several long, tough rallies but it was the younger player who earned the first game ball at 10-9 but an uncharacteristic unforced error brought the No.4 seed back into the game. He then benefited from a No Let then another Abou Eleinen error to take the game 12-10 and need just one more to claim the win.

Spurred on by claiming the third game, Makin continued his momentum in the fourth and looked focused on getting the job done in four games. He raced out to a 6-1 lead by battening down the hatches and making himself tough to beat. Abou Eleinen wouldn’t go away however and continued to be a thorn in the Welshman’s side. Makin hung tough as he so often does and moved to 10-7, match ball. Another costly error from the Egyptian closed the match out with Makin advancing to the last eight to face fellow Brit Mohamed Elshorbagy.

 

“It was freezing,” said Makin after his win.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be this cold, it’s been boiling all day and the temperature really dropped after the first and he caught me off guard. I had to readjust and bring some energy myself back in the game but I’m happy with the way I did that.

“You’ve got to be able to play in any conditions, it was dead today so you have to explore the front a bit more. There wasn’t much joy at the back of the court so I had to re-set, he’s tricky around the middle, he’s got fast hands and fast feet and can get around you and counter so he’s a tough player to match up with.

“I’ve got a rest day tomorrow so I’ll get myself ready for that. I’ve had two high quality 3-1s over the past two days so the rest day will be good to recover and go again in the quarters.”