BlackBall, Les Hommes

Finale

Paul Coll bat Ali pour la deuxième fois consécutive…

[2] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-0 [1] Ali Farag (Egy)  11-7, 11-5, 13-11 (61m)

Quarts de finale

[4] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-0 [7] Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 (51m)
[1] Ali Farag (Egy) 3-1 [9/16] Gregoire Marche (Fra) 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (53m)
[2] Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-2 [6] Joel Makin (Wal) 8-11, 10-12, 11-9 rtd (75m)
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (Egy) 3-1 [3] Tarek Momen (Egy) 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3 (47m)

2021 Gold : Men’s Quarters

Deuxième Tour

Gregoire Marche  3-0 [8] Mazen Hesham (EGY) 11-9, 13-11, 11-8 (47m)

Après un début de saison un peu compliqué, Gregoire Marche retrouve la forme qui était la sienne en 2020-2021. Cet après-midi, le n°1 Français s’est qualifié pour les quarts de finale en battant Mazen Hesham (n°12 mondial, soit deux places devant lui).

Une victoire référence, étant donné les résultats récents de celui que l’on surnomme le « Black Falcon »  et qui vient de signer avec un nouveau sponsor, CIB, LE sponsor du squash en Egypte. Comme il l’a dit lui-même au micro de SquashTV, les trois jeux ont été disputés mais Grégoire a été plus solide dans les moments importants. Le Français a réussi à prendre sa revanche sur l’Égyptien, qui l’a battu il y a quelques semaines à l’US Open.

Demain, le Drômois disputera son deuxième quart de finale consécutif dans un tournoi Gold, après le Canary Wharf il y a quelques semaines. Ce sera probablement face au numéro 1 mondial Ali Farag, si ce dernier s’impose face à Iker Pajares.

Greg a dit

“I feel really relieved after all the waiting that we had to do before the match. I think we had a little bit more than two hours delayed, so I was in the changing room for three hours waiting for the match. There was a tough battle before us so it was not easy to get ready. I was trying to eat anything I could, a lot of bananas!

“Winning 3-0 against Mazen, it’s not what I was expecting. Every game was tough but I think I was a bit better mentally at the end of each game, not making any errors, which he did a bit too much today. I put enough pressure on him and I am happy with the way I moved, and I hit the ball in the corners today, so it was a good match.
“Physically, we train hard every day to be ready for that kind of battle, so I will be ready for tomorrow. I need to do a good recovery, eat some good food, get some rest and I hope they will have a big battle, Ali [Farag] and Iker [Pajares], and then we’ll see.

“It has not been an easy time at home for me, it’s been a tough year but my physical coach and all my team, my physio, they have done a good job for me to make my legs ready for me. Even mentally, I have been working a bit more and we can see it is finally paying off after all these years. I am not young anymore and I need to take full advantage of the years coming up!

2021 Gold : Day SIX

 

Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-1 Victor Crouin (FRA)  11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 11-0 (42m)
[9/16] Omar Mosaad (Egy) 3-1 Mathieu Castagnet  9-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-8 (68m)
[9/16] Gregoire Marche (Fra) 3-0 [wc] Abdelrahman Nassar (Egy) 11-0, 11-2, 11-5 (26m)
Iker Pajares (Esp) 3-1 [9/16] Baptiste Masotti  11-5, 12-10, 6-11, 11-8 (61m)

Grégoire a dit

“You never know what to expect. In Egypt against these young boys, I knew I had to be at 100% to be ready for the first round because you never know what to expect with these guys. I tried to find my length at the beginning and tried to find my rhythm. I was just looking at him in the warm-up because I’d never seen him play before. I’m happy with the way I managed to win the first two easily and I could be a bit more relaxed in the third. It’s a good match to get ready for tomorrow.

“I felt good with my backhand and the length was good. It’s easier when the rhythm is not that high but that’s something I’ve been working on. I felt good on this court, I like it and let’s get ready for tomorrow.

“It’s not that cold on court, it is outside -it’s not usually like this when we come to Egypt. We don’t feel the cold on court, it can be quite bouncy and it’s a fast front wall and you have to be ready and in shape with your movement. It’s a good court for me and I’m looking forward to playing Mazen in the next round.”

2021 Gold Day FIVE : Sherbini claims the title