[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 3-0 Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 (26m)
Two very good friends who train together and like each other a lot. Never easy to switch off the feelings once you get on court, and find that killer instinct…
Zeina started with serving down on first point: she was obviously nervous, while I found Nour perfectly relaxed – the presence of her coach Engy Kheirellah is probably helping her settle down. Zeina also had her coach there, Ahmed Shohayeb but still was tense at the start bless her….
Those two served us with a good solid match, and some superb rallies when Zeina was able to lengthen them and put her opponent under pressure. And if Zeina got a few strokes at the start because of her not clearing out the backhand front shots, she soon managed to move better, and found some exquisite volley drop shots.
The more the match advanced, the more relaxed and confident in her shots. Zeina was, I felt, but from 2/0 up, Nour was flying all around the court, retrieving some great shots and counter-attacking beautifully.
As I said, a good clean and entertaining match to start the day…
Zeina
Nour knows my game very well, she knows when to apply physical pressure and make it very hard for me. She is super experienced, and I have to be more than 100% to keep up with her. But I cannot use the fact I have chronic injury worries as an excuse.
I need to get on with it and put it out of my head. I need to be ready and up for it. Nour is a very good friend, she is always looking up for me, helping me with everything. It’s not easy to play against her but that’s the way it has to be when you get on court.
Nour
“I’m very happy, I think I played very well today. Zeina and I train a lot together so she knows my game. I like to use my deception but she knows a lot of it, so it wasn’t easy today but I’m happy with how I played and how I won.
“The pace now is so fast. Everyone is quick now and the pace of the game has increased a lot. My athleticism is one of my assets and I hope I have it along with my squash.
“If I’m being honest, I’m chasing the top three but for interview purposes, I’m just looking to improve and be happy on court!”
