Elhammamy holds off Merlo Fightback

Nadien Elhammamy fended off a spirited comeback from Cindy Merlo at the Roslagshallen Squash Club, Stockholm to secure her place in the second round of the Swedish Open squash championships. 

The 19-year-old looked to be cruising into round two of the Silver-level event when she took a commanding 2-0 lead before Merlo clinched the third game 11-8 and saved a match ball in the fourth, winning 12-10 to force a decider.

The momentum looked to have shifted firmly in Merlo’s favour when she charged into a 5-2 advantage in the fifth, but an unforced error from Merlo opened the door for Elhammamy who seized the opportunity to win 11-6 and progress to the next round. 

“I’m not very happy with my performance, but I’m glad I found a way to pull through,” she said. 

“I don’t think that was one of my best performances, especially the third and the fourth games, but I’m glad on such a bad day I found a way to pull through and keep my focus until the end. Hopefully I’m going to play much better tomorrow.

“I also want to give her [Cindy Merlo] credit. She played really good today and she played better in the third and fourth games. I lost my focus and I lost my targets in the back. I’m just happy I gained my focus back in the fifth.”

English duo Alicia Mead and Saran Nghiem produced some of the biggest upsets of the day, with World No.58 Mead ousting World No.43 Nour Aboulmakarim 3-1, while World No.55 Nghiem got the better of her fellow countrywoman and World No.41 Grace Gear in straight games. 

Canadian No.1 Hollie Naughton denied Hannah Craig a sensational comeback, with the Irishwoman surging back from 2-1 down to make it all square. However it was Naughton who came out on top by keeping her cool in the fifth, closing it out 11-9. 

Elsewhere, Ivan Perez stunned Juan Vargas to earn his spot in round two with a 3-1 win over the Colombian, while Balazs Farkas overturned a 1-0 deficit against Bernat Jaume to win in four games. 

In the final match of the day, Patrick Rooney prevailed in the all-English encounter with Samuel Osborne-Wylde, who was forced to retire in the early stages of the fourth game due to injury.

Home hopes were dashed after both women’s wildcards Moa Bönnemark and Lovisa Ronge were beaten by Habiba Hani and Nadine Shahin, respectively, while men’s wildcard Joel Viksten’s run ended at the hands of Greg Lobban. 

Results

Men’s First Round:
Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Moustafa Elsirty (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 7-4 (Ret) (36m)
Declan James (JAM) bt Perry Malik (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (37m)
Balazs Farkas (HUN) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-1: 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-2 (42m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Joel Viksten (SWE) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-2 (30m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt Samuel Osborne – Wylde (ENG) 2-1: 7-11, 11-5, 15-13, 4-2 (Ret) (46m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Matias Knudsen (COL) 3-1: 11-3, 11-5, 6-11, 11-4 (31m)
Ivan Perez (ESP) bt Juan Vargas (COL) 3-1: 12-10, 2-11, 11-4, 11-5 (59m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-9 (36m)

Women’s First Round:
Lauren Baltayan (FRA) bt Marie Stephan (FRA) 3-0: 11-0, 11-6, 11-3 (21m)
Nadien Elhammamy (EGY) bt Cindy Merlo (SUI) 3-2: 11-6, 11-2, 8-11, 10-12, 11-6 (50m)
Habiba Hani (EGY) bt Moa Bönnemark (SWE) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, 11-8 (18m)
Alicia Mead (ENG) bt Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-2 (38m)
Menna Hamed (EGY) bt Haya Ali (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-5, 11-3,13-11 (39m)
Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt Lovisa Ronge (SWE) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (19m)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Hannah Craig (IRL) 3-2: 6-11, 11-1, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9 (56m)
Saran Nghiem (ENG) bt Grace Gear (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-6 (28m)