Archive for the ‘Tennis’ Category
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.
Heliopolis tournament was my second local tournament for me this year, it’s one of my favorites, and I won it for the seventh time in the last 10 years. It was tough in the final, I was 62 and 42 down but I managed to keep my cool and win 64 then 61 in the third. I didn’t play well but just enough to win, sometimes playing bad and winning is better than playing well and losing, it was another tight situation that I passed through thanks to my experience and physical abilities, without one of them I would have lost the match.
It’s been a bad week for me, lost in quarter final in singles then got a minor injury that led to losing in the doubles and teams event.
I am not very lucky in that tournament, never passed the quarters since 2005, still to come some local tournaments and club matches till the end of the season.
I finished playing the last two Futures of the year held at Solaymaniah city. I reached quarter final in the first week and won the second week. I am really happy that i won the second week which was 15000 $ Future. It was tough playing there because of the courts, lots of bad bounces so it was not easy to control the match. Every match was a challenge for me, i had to play against the court (bad bounces) the other player and my mind. Playing in these kind of situations makes u tougher and tougher. In my semi final, i won 76 76, i was serving 54 first set and 53 second set. In the final i won 76 67 64 it was very tight because i was playing against a big server so it was very difficult to break or return his serve so all the pressure was on me how to hold my serve, playing against big servers is really annoying because usually u can’t rally with them, u just have to focus on holding serve and trying to get mistakes on his serve, i got my first and only break with a double fault 
I am preparing my self now for the African Cup Of Nations that will be held at Smash Academy starting the 9th of Nov. We’ll play singles, doubles and teams competitions; I’m looking forward to winning that competition for my self and for Egypt so good luck for me and our Egyptian team.
Hi everybody, it’s been a while… I just finished with my tour in Romania and Bosnia. It wasn’t so successful for me but it’s always good to gain experience and learn from every match, no matter the outcome. In the Romanian Challenger i passed quali and lost first round in the main draw, it was a match that i should have won but just couldn’t finish it off. In the Bosnian Challenger i was first out from the main draw so i had to play quali again, lost in the first round against a good player in around 3 hours 7/5 in the third, another match that i should have won but just could’nt win the big points. I was first out in doubles too so i had to wait 10 days to play the next match in the Bosnian Future. Not playing matches for 10 days gets u out of the mood of competition especially if u are hanging around the tournament’s site and not competing. Of course i practiced and played alot but playing matches is totally different. Finally, i played the Future and lost second round, another tough match that i couldn’t pass . Playing in Europe is really different especially after playing in Egypt on our so called “clay court”. It’s funny coz playing in a rainy place on real clay and with heavy balls makes a difference in my game. It’s not an excuse but i need to adapt more to it or change my game a bit because under pressure and on these courts i become more defensive which doesn’t help me alot.:) Anyway i will start preparing for the next 2 Futures that will start on the 12th of October in Cairo then the African Cup that will start in November.
The summer futures are finally over; I can say it was successful for me, semi final first week, runner up second week and winner in the third. I had a couple of tough matches in the last week both ended 7-5 in the third after 3 hours of play. I enjoyed these matches, they were mentally challenging, and in the final I was a set and 4-1 down with 2 breaks of serves and was still able to win it… I find it much better than winning in straight sets sometimesJ.
Now I am preparing for the 2 Challengers in Romania and Bosnia that will start next week. I think I am mentally and physically ready to compete there especially that I got plenty of match training in the last month. Good luck for me!
