R3: “Thanks Amanda” says Nour as Sobhy denies Serme

[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 2-0 [4] Camille Serme (FRA)  11-9, 11-5 (25m)

Amanda Sobhy kept the best for last, as her performance tonight was spotless. Like she said, it’s that simple when you take the pressure of needed to win away…

A very close first game, with good rallies, long rallies, intense with Amanda on the offensive from the begining. 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7, 8/8. Ca, c’est fait. At that point, errors creeping in the French’s game, three in a row, and it’s 11/9 for the American in 17 long minutes.

Amanda is now in complete control, and a short second game, 7m, Camille out of it focus wise, 10-3, 11-5….

Amanda
“I think when you’re going in there with nothing to lose, and I was literally going in there with nothing – I had a zero – it kind of makes all the pressure go away,”

“It’s weird because I had so much power to determine the fate of the others who got through, I wasn’t qualifying, but I tried not to focus on them and just play freely and play the squash that I know I’m capable of and have been building up to. It’s a little late now, maybe if it was a pool of five or six people then I might have done it, but all things considered I’m happy to end on a win and get on the board.

“It’s a good confidence booster going into the Egyptian Open next week, which is the one we all want to build up to, so it’s good to win when I’m not feeling physically 100% it just shows that I can produce good squash when I’m not really moving the best or physically feeling the best.”