Cincinnati, USA
Semi
[1] Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0 Aly Abou Eleinen 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 (38m)
Quarters
Aly Abou Eleinen 3-0 [3] Faraz Khan (USA) 11-6, 12-10, 11-5 (35m)
Round 2
Aly Abou Eleinen 3-0 [6] Christopher Binnie (JAM) 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 (22m)
[8] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 3-2 Karim Elbarbary 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-9 (86m)
Round 1
Karim Elbarbary 3-0 Mark Broekman (ENG) 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 (30m)
Aly Abou Eleinen 3-0Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 (22m)
“Over the past six months, I have been playing my best squash! I have been working with a nutritionist, strength and conditioning, mental, and squash coaches to reach my goal of becoming a better player on and off the court,” the young Egyptian explained.
“It’s definitely not an easy process but I am enjoying it and it’s already paying off! Last week I was very pleased with my performance in Atlanta and I’m excited to build on it ahead of next week.”
In just his second tournament, Eleinen was given a wildcard into the Platinum level El Gouna International Squash Open. He took that opportunity with both hands, and although he lost out in the first round, he believes it help start his career on the right foot.
“I’ve always wanted to play professional squash and El Gouna was basically the kickstart to my professional squash career,” he admitted.
“I’ve been watching the El Gouna International Open since I was 10 years old and when Amr Mansi gave me the opportunity to play in this year’s event I was over the moon! From being in the stands watching as a kid to being in a bubble with the best players in the world was an incredible experience and a great learning opportunity for me.
“After my 80 minute battle with Youssef Soliman, despite losing, I gained so much confidence knowing that I can compete with some of the best players out there. Since then, I knew I had to work extremely hard to be a regular at platinum events.
“My first year on tour has been incredible! I am just getting started and I already learned so much from traveling, training, and competing. Not many people get the chance to play professionally so I am very grateful and want to make the most out of it.
“The tour is extremely competitive and full of talented players so I am looking forward to spending more time on tour as I finish my last year of studies at the University of Pennsylvania.”
Eleinen also admits that he won’t be taking anything for granted this week, as a member of the 9/16 seeding bracket at the T Squash Academy. He also believes that he is on the right track to make it into the top 100 of the World Rankings sooner rather than later.
“I am looking forward to competing in Cincinnati next week! In terms of seeding, I won’t be looking into it too much, instead, I will enjoy my squash and take it one step at a time,” the Egyptian said.
“I definitely feel closer and closer every month, especially after my performance last week in Atlanta. However, I am trying to just focus on my training and on enjoying the process – sooner or later everything will fall into place.
“Over the summer, I trained with Ali Farag and he gave me the advice of not being too desperate to climb up the rankings. Instead, he stressed on focusing on the day to day training process and trusting that hard work pays off. I think I’m on the right track and I can’t wait for what’s ahead!”
Scottish Open
Round 2
[5] Alison Thomson (SCO) 3-1 Rana Ismail 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 (41m)
