R2: [1] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 3-0 Sabrina Sobhy (Usa) 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 (22m)
In a repeat of their December meeting here, top seed Nour El Sherbini beat Sabrina Sobhy to advance to the last sixteen .
We didn’t expect a 22m match to be honest. Last time those two played was here, back in December, and although the match was short, 32m, Sabrina truly put the pressure on the Alexandria Gem, 16/14, 11/8 in the first two games!
Today, Sabrina didn’t do much wrong, strong in the first 9m game, 2/2, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, getting even closer at 7/8, bowing 11/7 to Nour, then up in the second 3/1, she couldn’t contain the Egyptian talent and saw her string 10 points in a row, losing the second 11/4 in 5m.
In the third, errors crept in the American game at 3/4, allowing Nour to play freely, 10/4, 11/5 in 5m.
Nour: “I’m really happy with my performance. Sabrina is tough, she is playing really well. The last time we played was on the same court! It was the first round for me so it was a tricky one. I just wanted to play good and get my body and my game going, so I am really glad I got it done.
“It’s never easy and every match has a different situation and every tournament is different. The last tournament was at Black Ball and now we are here again, back-to-back. It wasn’t a good one for me last time so it is hard for me mentally to come back, and to play the same opponents as well. I’m working hard on my mental game.
“Every time I come here, I always want to put my name on the trophy but it never happens. I will do my best this week and let’s hope I do so!”
🗣 "The last Black Ball wasn't a good one, so it's hard for me mentally to come back to the same place and play the same opponents."
2x runner-up @noursherbini explains how it feels to return to the @BlackBallSquash this week 🎥 pic.twitter.com/tKGM6ehU5H
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) March 13, 2021
