It seems that I am going through rough times in tennis; I haven’t won a match in 4 months, but that’s not the problem, the bigger problem is that I lost 9 final set matches either 64 or 75 in a row, so there are either 2 options there, either physical or mental, I go more with option number 2. I don’t know but it’s really getting on my nerves now I lost in total 12 matches final set this year and won only 3. Bad ratio, anyway this became my new challenge, how to win the final set! Any suggestions?
Well another unsuccessful week goes by; we lost to Denmark 5-0 at home. First day, we lost the first match in 5 sets after more than 4 hours of play, we had a lot of chances to win, second match was mine it lasted for another 4 hours as well 67 76 67 16 I had actually 2 chances to finish the third set but as it’s been going on for the last 3 months I just couldn’t take them. Second day was a disaster, we lost in 3 sets the doubles 63 64 76, and again we had chances in the third but no luck. So group 2 ends for us right here and like this we drop down to group 3 next year so good luck for our upcoming players, they will have to take us back again to group 2 because I have spent 10 years bringing us up to group 2 and keeping us there, it’s time for someone else to do it now 
Hi everybody, it’s been a while since I wrote something on my blog, I was busy traveling all around playing challengers in Europe, and unfortunately I was not successful this time. I played 2 challengers in Italy then Poland and Germany, I had to play the qualifying rounds in all 4 of them, passed only once and lost first round main draw, which is kind of frustrating that I lose before the main tournament starts since April until now I lost 6 final set matches in a row, all of them either a 7/6 or a 7/5 in the third, they were all against good players ranging from top 200 to 300 but still I was leading in all these matches . I think it’s all mental that I am losing these close and tight matches, may be also a little bit physical but there is something mental for sure, so of course my ranking dropped a lot after all these losses plus all the futures that were canceled here in Egypt, anyway I am playing Davis Cup in the next 2 weeks against Denmark here in Cairo, it will be a tough match, they have a good team and the weather will be very hot here as well. This match will be a play off whether to stay in group 2 or drop to group 3, so good luck for the Egyptian team this time, at least we are going to play on clay not on fast indoor carpet as usual.
Another unsuccessful week for me, just finished playing the Cairo Challenger, lost first round in both singles and doubles, another 7/5 in the third in singles and super tie break in doubles, I don’t know but lately I lost all my tight matches, it sucks but it happens, I just need to keep on playing and work harder . The challenger was very well organized; everything was great except one thing which we all know, the courts. The courts were fast, slippery and full of bad bounces as usual and the new center court that really looked nice was still not ready for matches as it was too soft so it had lots of bad bounces. When are we ever gonna have a good tennis court, I guess never. Previously to this challenger I participated in a local tournament in Heliopolis Shorouk, I won it again , it was pretty easy actually which is kind of sad that there is no competition in these tournaments as I have mentioned before. So my plans are to compete in four upcoming challengers in Europe starting on the 24th of this month then prepare for Davis Cup against Denmark in July.
I arrived yesterday from playing 2 weeks in Italy, 2 futures 15000+h and 15000, it wasn’t so successful this time, lost second round in the first week after a set and break up and due to some string problems and my stubbornness to change my strings I lost the match. Second week I lost first round after a set and break again and a 5-2 lead in the final set, I lost 7-6 in the end. My match lasted 3 hours and a half, it was the longest match in the last 2 tournaments I guess, at least I tested my fitness..although i got cramps at 5-5 final set, it came and went after 3 minutes, it was strange. I guess it’s more mentally then physically. In doubles i lost in the finals and again I lost the super tie break set, it was annoying but this is how it is. Next week I am playing a challenger here in Cairo, it’s good to play big tournaments at home, I get more motivated, this is the first challenger to be played in Cairo since 2002, I am really looking forward to win in this tournament. Talking about the futures that we had in Egypt last year, they are all canceled now, nothing until September; we had like 10 weeks that were canceled so I have to start traveling again to improve my ranking, I was really glad that we had enough weeks here to play rather than traveling around to get some points but here I am again, doing the same thing, it’s just that it’s tiring and sometimes financially costing. Anyway I will see how it goes this year. So good luck to me!
I’ve just arrived from our first Davis Cup tie this year, it was against Cyprus or I can say Markus Baghdatis. Our team lost 3-2, Markus is the one man team who won his 2 singles matches pretty easy and the doubles match partnering Kallias. We played indoors on a decoturf hard court surface, it wasn’t so fast but very low bounce which was perfect for Markus, going there we knew that our chance to win this tie is by winning the doubles match, it was really tough to beat Markus indoors on his favorite surface and especially that he is in his top form now with a rank of 37 in the world. So we lost our doubles in three sets 76 75 61, we had 3 set points in the first and a break in the second but Markus was really not missing and his partner just gained confidence from being beside him so he started playing better in the end, we had chances to win the first 2 sets but it didn’t work out. I won the first singles match against a non ranked player who was number 3 in their team in three straight sets, Markus won the second singles easy against Sabry our number 2 in the Egyptian team, Me and Sabry lost the doubles in three sets, Markus then finished off the tie with an easy win against our number 4 player in three straight sets to extend the lead to 3-1 lead, Sabry won the last match easy to give us our second win. Same thing happened to us in 2006 when Markus was number 8. They throw us an easy match in the beginning then Markus wins his 2 singles and the doubles then throw us another easy match in the end, this is how they play in all the ties, if Cyprus wins the doubles match then the tie is over because Markus will most probably win his singles matches.
Next match will be against Denmark in Cairo at last J so it will be on clay in hot weather which will be an advantage for us, again we are playing a play off match to remain in the second Euro/African group for the third year in a row.
I just finished with our first three futures of the year, I played two weeks at Solaymaniah city and one at Smash Smart village. I don’t want to talk much about the first two weeks because the courts there were a disaster although I won two futures there last year but couldn’t play well there this time, I lost quarter final and second round in singles, winner and runner up in doubles. The third week was a success for me, I won my first future on hard courts, I played really well and loved the courts there which were medium speed with high bounce so it was perfect for me, This win gave me confidence that I can compete on hard courts too and gave me a boost for Davis Cup.
Next tie will be against Cyprus in Cyprus on the 5th of March, it’s a tough team because of Marcus Baghdatis who will be our main Obstacle. Matches will be played indoor hard courts so choosing to play our future on hard court was a good idea and a good practice before facing Cyprus. It’s not gonna be easy, we have to win our 2 singles against their number 2 player and win the doubles in order to win the tie, I am not saying that because there is no hope against Marcus, i meant that we must focus on doubles in order to win. Anyway it’s always a pleasure to play Davis Cup and win in it. This will be my 13th year to participate in Davis Cup so good luck for me and the Egyptian team.
Wow! what a great tournament, it’s my first grand slam to play and what an experience! I lost first round in quali after a long intense match 7\5 in the final set, actually i had a good draw, i played against an Aussie wild card.I spent 10 days with the best players in the world, i watched all the top players and top ten practicing and training. It’s another world just being here in this high level tennis society, everything here is perfectly organized and very professional including practice courts, transportation. Everything is for free, as i said the higher your ranking gets the easier life becomes in these tournaments, if u play in the main draw of any big tournament u really just get paid and everything else is for free for u and your coach, it’s so nice!The tough part is winning here, it’s really tough, everybody is good, everybody hits the ball hard and fast so if u are mentally stronger and fitter than the others then u might get lucky and win. Every player here has a coach and the top players have a whole team with them (coach, trainer, friend or family).I just wished i had the chance to play grand slams when i was younger but still it’s never too late:) The courts here are really nice, slow hard courts are perfect for me but i had some problems with the balls, they are heavy and slow so it’s very difficult to accelerate with these balls, that happened coz we never change the balls in Egypt meaning that we only play all matches there with the same Dunlop Fort which i like but when i travel and play somewhere else, the other balls are totally different and it affects my game dramatically, only experienced players would understand what i am saying about the balls but it really makes a difference when u play with heavy or light balls. So we need to start practicing and playing with different balls in order to adapt in different places. It’s really a pleasure to play in a grand slam. i will try to improve my ranking in order to play the French Open. So i finished with the Grand Slam and now i will go back home and play some futures and do my best to win them.
Well it was a happy new year for me as i got a wild card in the main draw for Qatar Open, it was a big surprise, i spent 5 days here in Doha watching the top players and practicing with them, played and lost first round against Kubot from Poland, top 100 player who actually played very well, he was too good for me on that day although i beat him 4 years ago when he was ranked 120 but his game changed a lot since then, i was hoping to play a better match but still i got to get used to play on hard courts. The level and intensity of the top players is really high, i practiced with Davydenko, he plays so fast, i need to get used to this intensity and speed plus playing on hard court makes things even faster.Next stop, Australian Open.!
I just finished my last tournament of the year and my third local tournament to participate in and to win, i won Masr el Ahleya tournament in gezira club for the 8th time , played the final against Sherif again. It was a tough match that lasted almost 3 hours, but it seems that people in Gezira don’t really care anymore about who is playing or to be silent during a match, they are watching a match as if they are watching tv, talking and chatting and enjoying themselves with no respect to the players at all. Anyway, i am heading off to play in Qatar Open and then the Australian Open so it will be a great experience for me as the first Egyptian player in ten years to play in a Grand Slam.
