Aziz Denies Ashour Quarter-Final In Cairo
14 Apr 2008
Egyptian qualifier Omar Abdel Aziz put paid to an Ashour family duel in the quarter-finals of the Hurghada International when he upset seventh-seeded compatriot Hisham Mohd Ashour in today's first round of the $61,250 5-star PSA Tour squash event being staged at the National Stadium in Nasr City in the Egyptian capital Cairo before moving on to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
The 24-year-old from Cairo took just 33 minutes to overcome world No24 Ashour senior 11-2, 11-6, 11-3.
Aziz will now face his conquest's younger brother Ramy Ashour, the world No2 and second seed who dismissed South African qualifier Jesse Engelbrecht 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 in 20 minutes.
With first round matches in the top half of the draw - and further rounds thereafter - due to take place in Hurghada, it was an all-Egyptian winners line-up that will journey to the Red Sea resort after today's Cairo action.
Joining Aziz and Ramy Ashour in the men's quarter-finals in Hurghada will be fellow countrymen Omar Mosaad and Wael El Hindi. Eighth seed Mosaad beat Alister Walker 11-6, 11-8, 9-6 when the Englishman, after receiving a warning in the second game for pushing his opponent, received a conduct match for physical abuse midway through the third game.
El Hindi, the No4 seed, beat qualifier Amr Swelim 11-5, 11-8, 11-5.
In the women's $26,200 Silver WISPA World Tour event, 15-year-old qualifier Nour El Tayeb produced the shock of the day when she upset Malaysia's Tricia Chuah, the No8 seed, 9-6, 9-7, 9-1.
The Cairo-based youngster, competing in her first tournament since winning the British Junior U15 Open title in January, will now face fellow Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy, the third seed who beat qualifier Eman El Amir 9-6, 9-0, 9-1.
Defending champion Rachael Grinham, the top seed from Australia who beat Kawy in last year's final, booked her place in the last eight with a 9-6, 9-7, 9-4 win over England's Lauren Siddall.
Men's 1st round (bottom half of draw):
[8] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 11-6, 11-8, 9-6 (disq.) (33m)
[4] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [Q] Amr Swelim (EGY) 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 (37m)
[Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) bt [7] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 (33m)
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [Q] Jesse Engelbrecht (RSA) 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 (20m)
Women's 1st round:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Lauren Siddall (ENG) 9-6, 9-7, 9-4 (29m)
[7] Manuela Manetta (ITA) bt Camille Serme (FRA) 9-1, 9-5, 9-3 (31m)
[3] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [Q] Eman El Amir (EGY) 9-6, 9-0, 9-1 (27m)
[Q] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [8] Tricia Chuah (MAS) 9-6, 9-7, 9-1 (33m)
[6] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [Q] Nouran El Torky (EGY) 9-6, 9-0, 9-3 (24m)
[4] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt Georgina Stoker (ENG) 10-9, 9-3, 9-5 (33m)
[5] Sharon Wee (MAS) bt [Q] Amnah El Trabolsy (EGY) 9-5, 9-1, 9-0 (16m)
[2] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt Christina Mak (HKG) 9-4, 9-2, 9-0 (27m)