Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-1 [4] Diego Elias (PER) 11-6, 5-11, 11-8, 11-6 (52m)
Last time those two played was in the second round of the British Open and apparently, it was a bit of tense encounter, discussions with the ref and not fluid between those two. Well, this time round, nothing of the kind but still a strange match.
The opener was close up to 5/5, after a great start from the Peruvian who just celebrated his 23rd birthday yesterday. A huge rally at that point, and from 7/6, it’s all about the Egyptian, 11/6 in 13m. 3 errors from Mazen against 2 for Diego and only two calls…
The second is pretty much all about Diego, with Mazen making 6 errors in 7 points from 4/3 to 10/4, 11/5, 12m.
The third is extremely weird as Diego seems to stop trying. I know the rallies were extremely fast paced and intense as possible between those two adorable lunatics attacking and retrieving everything. But Diego seemed or very tired, or injured. 4/0 Mazen, 5/2, 7/3, 9/4. Finally a reaction from the Peruvian closing down on his opponent 8/9. But a crosscourt winner and a tin later, it’s 11/8 in 13 for Amazing Mazen.
To be honest the 4th is truly dominated by the Egyptian 7/1 (3 errors in a row by Diego), 8/4, 11/6 in 9 quick minutes… Not sure what happened, but one thing is sure, Mazen was finding some incredible shots tonight, and was moving pretty fast…
Mazen
My movement is much better now, and my forehand shots are getting back in as well. I need to thank Gary Nisbett for his support as I have been working with him for more than a year now, and I feel great, I don’t want to jinx it but I am injury free, and very happy on court.
Also, because I play more and more matches, I am able to control my emotions better and when I’m about to close a match, I used to play so many errors because I was getting so excited. But now I’m able to control and finish my matches, playing the important points better.
I think my deception came from me trying a few things when I was younger. I used to have a funny swing in the forehand and then switched to a little bit of a compact swing and then I started to be more creative. I don’t like to play boring squash, like drive, drive, drive drive, I like to be entertaining and I like people to like me and enjoy my game. If I play one tournament playing like this then I’m happy.
