Finale
[1] Melissa Alves 3-0 [7] Nour Heikal (EGY) 12-10, 11-5, 11-7 (29m)
Tom Benthall écrit pour la PSA
It was 21-year-old Heikal who made the better start to the women’s showdown, attacking at every opportunity on her way to a 9-6 lead. She was, however, unable to convert that advantage into a one-game lead, with Alves quickly erasing the deficit before taking the tiebreak that followed.
The French No.1 was quickly 5-0 up in game two, as Heikal found the tin on a number of occasions, and 5-0 soon became 11-5, and a two-game lead for Alves.
The difference in style was notable throughout the first two games, with Alves adopting a patient approach, waiting for the errors to come from her opponent’s racket.
Unsurprisingly, given Heikal’s aggressive game, that resulted in some highlight-reel winners for the young Egyptian, but ultimately Alves’ approach paid off, as Heikal slammed a forehand into the tin on match ball.
“I came here as the No.1 seed so obviously I wanted to win this tournament,” Alves said after her victory. “That was the goal with my team, with my coaches, we talked about this one, and I’m happy.
“It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you get the win, and I think today I played pretty well.
“I’m happy with the week overall, I managed my emotions pretty well and got through the matches. I lost some games but it’s ok, I think I played well, found a way to recover and got the win today.
“I knew that she could win four, five or six points in a row and also make four or five mistakes in a row, so it was just about making sure I got to the front and making sure I cover her attacking shots.
“I let her play the game today, let her make the winners and make the mistakes. She loves to attack, she loves to go to the front, so I just wanted to be boring today, play to the back, play slow, play good targets to the back so she doesn’t attack too much, and if she does, just counter.”
