[2] Mariam Metwally (EGY) 3-2 [5] Kanzy Emad El Defrawy (EGY) 11-7, 9-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7 (55m)

An up and down match, each of the girls taking control each their turn, we are lucky they know each other well, and that the several inconsistent decisions coming from the official didn’t spoil their fun on there. It was a great battle, each girl having patterns of dominance and they offered us nice rallies. Shame you needed a loser….

Mariam I had the feeling we were back in the juniors, we ended up playing all the quarters together! Last time we played a the USOpen, I lost 3/1, and I was up 1/0. So today, even as I was 1/0 up, I wasn’t sure of what she would do, she dives everywhere, and again today, she played very well.

For the whole of this season, I was not happy with my game. I kept losing “easy matches” and I was not feeling like all there really. Like I was not giving it all on the court. But today, we both played well and give it all on there. And I have the feeling I’m back…

At 2/2, I told my coach, don’t worry, I’m going to win. And I could see in my mum’s eyes that she had confidence in me, and I kept telling her “I’m going to win”…. So happy to make it in the main draw here it Egypt, but hard luck to Kanzy, at the end I think he just got a bit tired, and I just made sure I kept pushing her, and pushing her… Excited to be in the main draw, let’s see where it goes.

Mayar Hany (Egy) 3-2 Nadine Shahin (Egy) 11/2, 4/11, 11/4, 14/16, 11/6 (55m)

Mayar Hany was the winner of the second of three all-Egyptian qualifying finals as she overcame Nadine Shahin to claim the only seeding upset in qualifying.

Both players enjoy a hard hitting game, and one either got on top in a game it was quickly over, four of the five games were quite one-sided.

Mayar was quickly out of the blocks to take the lead, Nadine responded well to take the second but Mayar was back on top in the third.

The fourth was the only closely-contested game, and then some. They went point for point all the way,  Mayar saving three game balls before failing to convert two match balls as Nadine took the match to a decider 16/14.

Mayar had the greater range of shots, regularly slotting in straight dropshots  while Nadine tends to rely on the hard-hit boast to take the ball in short, and at the start of the fifth the momentum looked to be with the fresher-looking Nadine.

Not to be though as Mayar edged ahead, increasing the lead with the aid of a quick trio of Nadine errors, and although Nadine managed to save three more match balls, Mayar finally clinched her main draw place 11/6.

Mayar:

We have been playing a lot in the juniors, and we seem to have always huge battles 3/2, although the last time we play I won 3/1, it was in Qatar.

Nadine is very strong on the volley, in particular on the forehand, you’ve got to play really tight to prevent her from killing you there, and she is also very strong, both mentally and physically.

I have to make sure I didn’t stick to one pace, but I had to mix my shots.

I am so happy to make it to the main draw, thanks to my coaches Islam Hany, Mohamed Farid and my fitness coach Hossam Shadad…

[4] Salma Hany Ibrahim (EGY) 3-2 [7] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)  11-8, 3-11, 2-11, 11-9, 11-3 (53m)

 Last time those two played was in HK, Salma won the first one – like today – but “didn’t wake up in the 4th” like she did today. Lost in three against the 16 years old from Heliopolis that went on and nearly beat Laura Massaro in the next round!

Needless to say that revenge – or the will to get it – was in the cards, and it started well for the Smouha Alexandria girl, 11/8. But in the next two and a half game, it was like Salma just forgot completely her squash, playing everything, and I mean strictly everything to the front. Hania was grateful enough – although the Heliopolis start can score winners from standing on her head – and Hania just won the second and third in no time, for the loss of 5 points!!! “At the end of the third” Salma confessed, “I looked at my mum, and she was smiling at me. I smiled back, and the fact that I could see in her smile that she had the belief I could still win this gave me an immense boost”.

That, plus a good talk from her coach Islam Hany (part time Wadi Degla, plus part time Smouha Club), that seem to finally do the trick! She suddenly remember that playing good length is a good option to win squash matches, Hania was a bit far in front of the T – why shouldn’t she be, she was comfy there for 3.5 games – didn’t maybe see what was happening, and took a while in that 4th to adapt. In the 5th, the ball was really dead, Salma was now in full confidence and hammering the front AND at the back, and the young Hania seem to lose a bit her heart in that closing game….

Salma Yes, I know. In the second and third, I just put everything in the middle – where she is so goo at – for her to do whatever she pleased! In the first game, I was concentrating on not letting her get into the game, thinking of two things: my shots, and my length. But because I was playing at a slow pace, it seems like my body went to sleep, and she just rushed through the next two in the blink of an eye!

I looked at my mum at the end of the third, and she was smiling at me. I smiled back, and the fact that I could see in her smile that she had the belief I could still win this gave me an immense boost. Also, my coach Islam give me that push and found the words to get me right in there.

Thing is, I didn’t feel good this morning, and I never play well in Egypt. I never ever qualified for a tournament here. That were two bad things. So I told myself, top players don’t always feel great but they still fight and win, and two, maybe it was time for me to break the “Playing bad in Egypt” thing. So in that fourth, I just told myself to flight. Just fight. Point after point. I’m so happy I was able to win in front of my mum. She only comes to see me play in Egypt, so she never saw me win...

Hania is such a great player, such a big fighter and she possesses winners she can kill you with at any time. I’m so glad I was able to get through this match.

In Hong Kong, I won the first game, but didn’t wake up in the 4th

. So I wanted my revenge. It’s not so much I wanted to win. But I just didn’t want to lose. Not today. Not again. Not in Egypt.

[1] Tesni Evans (WAL) 3-0 [8] Nele Gilis (BEL)  11-3, 11-6, 11-6 (30m)

I don’t know Nele’s game enough but it seemed to me that the Belgium has a little mental hurdle with Tesni. When she plays against the Welsh, it’s like she doesn’t use all of her weapons, and finds herself getting more and more frustrated as the match goes along. Tesni played superb squash today, though, her crosscourts way at the way offered her so many choices, so many options, Nele couldn’t place herself on the court in the right position. She got higher on the T as the match went along, and got some good patches and combination of shots, but I have the feeling the match was more a mental one than a physical or tactical one today.

Tesni

We normally meet during the Europeans Team Champs, where I seem to play better somehow, as I have the team to play for. So it’s was a bit weird that I would play her today in an individual event. I guess there is something in my game that seem to frustrate her and prevent her from playing her own game, I’m trying to do that anyway. Today, I found some great length, which on that court is not easy and that opened a few opportunities for me. But you still cannot give her anything, you’ve got to keep on top of her, she is a good player and a good athlete, and you can’t be off her for 2m, look in the 2nd game, I was 10/2 up and the next thing I know I’m 6/10…

Mr. Dagwood had given Albus some responsibility - for the first time! - with this presentation, and he intended to do it perfectly. Thus far proceedings had been smooth; the audience at the festival was quiet but eager, a mix of Goblins and wizarding peoples, and certainly not as boisterous as those attending the presentation on corruption scandals off the pitch. Albus was rather enjoying the spotlight.

"And that is the unfortunate reason why Quidditch matches have yet to be available for Goblin participation," he finished, following each statement with a Gobbledegook translation. He beamed at the room, making eye contact with his audience as any professional speaker would. "Here's hoping that Goblin-sized brooms of a much higher safety standard will soon be accessible to all. Thank you for your attention - again, I'm Albus Potter from the Department of International Magical Cooperation. I'll be here for another hour or so if you've any urgent questions! If not, do owl us with your feedback."

His final words set a murmur off in the small crowd as they stood and began shuffling to the exits. "Enjoy the festival!" Albus called. Someone approached from the side; Albus turned to them with a confident smile, still riding off the triumph of his first successful seminar. "Yes, can I help you?"

The press conference was due to start in fifteen, and Barthy was out of his fucking mind.

He'd reached punctually - at exactly two, as the PR person had instructed. It was now half past three, and he had spent an hour and a half in the waiting room. This wasn't the first time the team had done this; Puddlemere was notoriously unprofessional off the pitch, and they all insisted they weren't late so much as Barthy arrived at these things unduly early.

Fiddling idly with the scrap of Witch Weekly he'd been flipping through (yet another double spread of Bartholomew Wood, the famous Wood legacy), he deftly folded a paper plane - Seeker's nimble fingers, his mind chanted, echoing Dad's words - and sent it across the room. As timing would have it, the bloody thing smacked into the forehead of someone just entering the room.

"Sorry!" he called tentatively. The Keeper turned to look at him and snickered.