[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 3-0 Lucy Turmel (ENG) 11-4, 12-10, 11-7 (39m)
This is a match I wanted to see. I thought that Hania would have some “fil à retordre”, problems to handle Lucy’s game, and I was right. If it took one game for Lucy to adapt to the court conditions against the World Number 3, she soon put extra pressure on the Egyptian.
She managed to force errors out of the Gazelle racquet, from 3/3, 6/3, 7/4, 9/4. And it was not a complaisance attitude from Hania, who was giving her opponent all due respect! But Lucy was playing sublime squash, and Hania had to play her best to come back 9/9 then game ball 10/9, but there again, one was not enough, and the 22 years old English girl was still up for levelling. Hania clinches that one finally at 15m of hard battle, 12/10.
The third, Lucy is in the lead again, 3/1, 5/3, until Hania found her groove, 5/5, 9/5, 10/6 match ball, 11/7 in 12m. Lucy is getting mighty close, watch this space.
Hania
“I wouldn’t say I am happy with my performance, but really happy with the way I managed to come out of this match in three.
“I had played against Lucy once, in the World Juniors in India a couple of years ago. Now we have grown up and we have both improved. She has been doing great the last couple of tournaments. I really didn’t know what to expect, but she is a tough opponent, very hungry as well and although it was a 3-0 win, it was very tight, and I had to keep focussing to win in three.
“In these scenarios, I only think about trying to find a way, so I can start the next game with a better gameplan. If I find my way and win the second then it is to my advantage that I am 2-0, it’s better than be 1-1. If she won the second, then the match could have been different, so I am glad I managed to come back from that deficit.
“I was looking at the draw and in my part of it there are all the juniors that I was competing against at the World Juniors. I remember the last two, even the one where Rowan [Elaraby] beat me in the final, we were all playing against each other. I beat Lucy in the semis I think, and Jana [Shiha] was there. All those juniors are now aiming for the very top.”
