R2: Rowan is back and hungry, Amina too strong though….

Posted on by

[3] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt Rowan Elaraby (EGY)  11-6, 11-2, 11-6 (41m)

I knew Amina took Rowan very seriously when I heard Rasha, the mum, going “yaaaaaah” as Amina took the first game. They didn’t take anything for granted, and Amina rightly gave Rowan all due respect.

It’s a balanced game that first, 2/2, 4/4, 5/5. A little drop of energy for Tinkerbell at that point, and Amina makes sure to make the rally as tough as possible. It works. She zooms to 9/5, and closes the game 11/6 in 12m of hard and accurate squash.

The second game, I guess Rowan, lacking of match fitness, got a bit slower, plus, she felt some pain in her foot, and at the end of the 7m game, she asked for the physio.

When she came back, back against the wall, she played her best squash, moving well, controlling the rallies, nothing between them up to 4/4. There, she ended up on the wrong end of very long rallies, 10/4, match ball. She will save 2, but Amina, clinical, closes it 11/6.

Last game alone was 18m. That’s what we call a battle. Rowan is back, and we are soooo grateful.

Rowan : It’s only my second tournament back, and to be honest, I wouldn’t call Pittsburgh my first. For me, this is my first. In Pittsburgh I was like… testing the water, testing myself.

Here, it’s a big event, it’s in Egypt, and everyone is watching. It’s different, so I consider it to be my first.

Playing on a big stage, against the world number 3, on a glass court, it’s a bit overwhelming. I’m just happy to be back, happy to be playing.

But you know, humans, we always want more! So I didn’t come here just to enjoy myself. I came here to try and win. Now, I don’t want to put any extra pressure on myself, I’m lucky to be back on court, and playing, and performing.

I just want to test myself to see if the work I put in, the rehab I’m doing, is working. The foot is still painful, so I’m not one 100% back still. I’m always on the edge.

Playing well, and seeing her edgy as well makes me proud for pushing myself every day.

Amina : “I think she played really well for just her second tournament back since injury. I think she was at No.6 or No.7 in the world before, so for my second match to be playing someone like that, it was a tough match.

“I’m just happy to be through and ready to focus on my next match.

“I’m excited to play Satomi in the next round. We’ve played a lot and I’m looking forward to playing here in front of my home crowd.

“After a big gap before this event I’m happy to be focusing on my squash.”