CLEVELAND, Ohio – Egypt’s Nour el-Tayeb earned her 16th career squash title after beating No.1 seed Georgina Kennedy of England 3-1 in the women’s final of the Cleveland Squash Classic.
The match started with the pair on level terms as they traded points to 5-4 in favour of the Egyptian with calculated, physical rallies.
The Englishwoman restored parity with a boast that landed just out of reach of an outstretched El-Tayeb. Through long, attritional rallies, Kennedy found herself 8-9 behind at the business end of the first game, but an irretrievable backhand drop levelled the score at 9-9.
“I practiced with Gina at the start of the week,” said El-Tayeb according to psaworldtour. “We played and she gave me a lot of confidence in my game. She’s very nice, not every squash player is very nice, but she gives me compliments all the time. I remember every compliment she gave me and it makes me believe in myself more.
“At this stage I still need someone to give me validation on court and she helped me a lot at the beginning of the week. Having played well, I called Ali [Farag] after the match and told him I had nothing to lose because I felt Olivia was the better player.
“At the beginning of this match I felt off. Everything was going in nicely but it wasn’t going as well as I wanted. It took me a while to hang in there, believe in myself and trust that the five games she had would be in her legs.
“I kept pushing and tried to tell myself that I’m competing against one of the best players in the world, so it’s a privilege. It paid off and I’m very happy and lucky that it did,” El-Tayeb added.
“She was playing shots that had no margin for error and I couldn’t do anything. I tried to enjoy the match as it went on and as I started to win it I enjoyed it a little bit more. This is my third title here; I’ve won three times in Cleveland.
The No.1 seed got the first chance at going 1-0 ahead, and converted her game ball with an inch-perfect forehand drop.
The match continued to be fought through attritional rallies in the second game, and El-Tayeb kept within a point of the Englishwoman until restoring parity at 6-6 after Kennedy hit the tin attempting a boast.
El-Tayeb began to score point after point, partially caused by errors from her opponent, but also due to a spell of sharp, accurate squash.
After five consecutive points, the No.2 seed levelled the match at 1-1 with a front-court boast.
The Egyptian maintained her slim lead throughout the third game to 7-8, before going on another run of accurate, high-paced squash to burst into a 10-6 lead. Kennedy seemed fatigued as El-Tayeb finished the run of form with an effort that flew past a planted Kennedy.
It was clear that the Egyptian looked less tired as she continued her onslaught into the fourth game. The World No.8 looked unstoppable as she took a 4-0 lead with a backhand straight drive after dragging Kennedy across the court.
The Englishwoman couldn’t keep up as the lead grew to 8-2. Kennedy used the last of her energy reserves as she brought the lead down to 4-8 with a well-placed straight drive, but the damage was already done as the in-form El Tayeb gave herself five championship balls after sending the No.1 seed the wrong way with a front-court boast, only needing one as she forced an error with a tight squeeze on the left wall.
In the men’s final, Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas defeated Spain’s Bernat Jaume in straight games to earn the first World Tour title of his career in the finals of the Squash.
The match started with a series of attritional rallies, with both unwilling to take any risks in the opening stages. Cardenas began to create a gap in the scoreline to 6-3, but Jaume came back into the game as the pace of the rallies picked up.
“I’m feeling great,” said Cardenas after claiming the title. “I’ve had tough matches this tournament, but I’ve done some good work to recover. The family that I’m staying with are helping me a lot with the food and making sure I’m ready.
“My tactic was to play a solid basic game and to take good decisions on the court. He was in the final because he’s played such good squash, and I knew that if I dropped my level he would take the opportunity. The first game was important for both of us, and I managed to take it and then stayed consistent.”
The Mexican dominated the early stages of the third game, evidenced in a mesmerizing forehand effort into the front-left that Jaume couldn’t get to at full stretch. Jaume battled back to 4-5 with more composed play.
“The rallies returned to the long, high-effort sort that began the match. The patient style worked into Cardenas’ favour, and he claimed four championship balls.
