[15] Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt Hana Ramadan (EGY) 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 12-10 (52m)
Oh Lord. Two good friends off court, but what a battle on court!!! We thoroughly enjoyed that, not sure the respective camps did though! Rollercoaster of emotions comes to mind!!!
From two up, Nadine seems to lose a bit her way, while Hana, having nothing to lose and a lot to prove, give it her all. A super fair match, a few lets but makes sense with the way both tried to retrieve/attack that little black ball!
Fifth game a classic, with Hana taking the lead, 4/1, caught up 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7. Nadine playing super sharp squash, 10/7. OF COURSE, Hana saved the three match balls! The rallies, what a gem, four corners, tick, running like headless chicken, tick, incredible fast pace, tick.
At 10/10, Nadine’s experience makes the talking and on a no let confirmed by the ref, it’s 12/10 in the longest game of the match, 13m.
Funnily I was talking this morning with Hana’s dad. So, Sir, a 10/10 in the 5th against a WR20 in the world, no bad isn’t it… Trust the process and believe…
Nadine
Me and Hana are really good friends. We’ve been playing each other since our junior years, so it was never an easy match and it was always competitive. I know what to expect and knew it was going to be hard either way.
The whole match was mentally tough more than physically. At 10-10, we left everything court and gave it our best. I think it was maybe just a bit of experience that helped in the end. I’ve played more matches than her and been in this situation more than her, so I think the mental side and experience made the difference.
