Egyptians in Growthpoint double win
IT WAS an all-egyptian affair in both the men’s and women’s finals of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Challenger Tour’s Growthpoint SA Open in the capital city over the past week.
The second seeded Mohamed Elsherbini walked away with the spoils in the men’s final that was played at Brooklyn Mall yesterday.
It was a clash of the top seeds with Elsherbini beating compatriot Mazen Gamal 3 - 1 (7-11 11-7 11-3 11-8) to continue his good fortune on SA soil.
Elsherbini collected four PSA titles in South Africa in 2017, winning the West Rand Open, the Balwin/ Assore Central Gauteng Open, the Keith Grainger Memorial /IUCT Open and the Bullring Open, having had to qualify for each event.
The 16-year-old Faridda Mohamed beat compatriot Menna Nasser 3-0 (11-9 13-11) for an Egyptian clean sweep.
Mohamed was a semi-finalist at the recent WSF Women’s Under-19 Championships in Chennai, India.
South Africa’s hopes of a local winner were dashed during Friday’s semi-finals against the rampant Egyptians.
South African number two ranked female player Milnay Louw won her first game 11-9 against Mohamed in their semi-final.
Mohamed bounced back with aplomb, winning the next three games 11-4 11-7 11-5.
Nasser beat South African Alexa Pienaar 11-4 11-8 9-11 11-6 to set up the final against her compatriot.
It was the first time the all-glass court had been erected in a mall in South Africa, giving free access to the public.
The all-glass court was dusted off after spending over 15 years in storage and the plan is to host the tournament at different Growthpoint properties such as the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town in the next few years.
The tournament is part of the global Professional Squash Association (PSA) Challenger Tour, hosting 22 international competitors alongside 18 South African athletes.
The opening rounds of the tournament were played at Pretoria Country Club on Monday and Tuesday before the semi-finals and finals moved to Brooklyn Mall on Friday and Saturday.
The Growthpoint SA Open is the country’s biggest squash tournament and is held annually across South Africa.
The tournament attracted some of the world’s best squash players where international ranking points were up for grabs.