Johannesburg – Egyptian teenagers Adham Roshdy and Nadia Mahmoud announced themselves as rising stars of international squash when they captured their maiden PSA titles at the Assore Tour Challenger 6 tournament at Parkview Squash Centre in Johannesburg on Sunday.
The pair underlined the strength of Egypt’s emerging talent, with 19-year-old Roshdy and 16-year-old Mahmoud both producing composed performances to lift the trophies.
Roshdy’s triumph came in unfortunate circumstances when compatriot and third seed Sief El Shenawy conceded the men’s final in the fourth game after becoming frustrated with the officiating.
At the stage, the score was 11-13 11-4 11-7 3-1 to Roshdy.
Explaining what happened, tournament director Craig van der Wath said: “The men’s final was a great match until El Shenawy became unreasonably discontent with the referee and threatened to concede the match if the referee was going to call against him.
“He started the fourth game and promptly followed through on this after four points.
“Disciplinary action will be taken by PSA and the crowd were surprised by the abrupt end to the final.
“Adham Roshdy was a worthy winner, emulating his brother (Youssef) who also won a PSA Challenger Tour 3 at the same venue, earlier this year.”
Despite the outcome, the result capped an outstanding week for the Roshdy, who reached his second PSA final in only his second professional tournament.
“It feels amazing to win my first PSA title,” said Roshdy.
“This is only my second tournament and already my second final, so I’m very happy.
“My goal is to break into the world’s top 100, and this is an important step towards that dream.
“It is always tough playing another Egyptian because we know each other’s games so well, but I stayed mentally strong, tried to take the ball early and keep attacking at the front of the court.”
Mahmoud was equally impressive in the women’s final against fellow Egyptian Malak Samir.
The opening game was a gripping contest, with Mahmoud edging it 17-15 before taking complete control.
Maintaining an aggressive approach, she dominated the next two games 11-7 and 11-5 to secure her first PSA crown.
“I am very happy to win my first PSA title here,” she said.
“The final was very tough because Malak played really well, but after winning the first game I kept my focus and stuck to the game plan my coaches had given me.
“It is not always easy travelling, but this is my dream. I want to keep moving up the rankings and achieving my goals.”
Mahmoud also praised the South African hosts.
“The people here have been very friendly, the weather has been perfect, and I really enjoyed my week.”
Roshdy had already signalled his intentions in the semifinals when he produced one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, defeating top-seeded South African Dewald van Niekerk in straight games.
Displaying impressive tactical maturity, the Egyptian controlled the contest from start to finish.
El Shenawy earned his place in the final by overcoming second seed Damian Groenewald in a tense four-game encounter.
In the women’s draw, Mahmoud also upset the seedings by beating Amira Elrefaey 14-12, 11-8, 11-9 in the semifinals, while Samir ended the challenge of South Africa’s Teagan Russell in straight games.
Another standout performance came from promising Northerns youngster Judah Phillips, who stunned Egyptian seventh seed Ahmed Elbeshouty in four games in the second round before bowing out to provincial teammate Groenewald in the quarterfinals.
The tournament was also affected by the late withdrawal of South Africa’s leading women’s player, Hayley Ward, who was forced to pull out through illness before play began.
The Assore Series continues immediately at Parkview, with the second Assore Tour Challenger 6 event running from Tuesday to Saturday.
Groenewald, ranked 134th in the world, heads the men’s seedings, while Roshdy heads the Egyptian contingent in search of more ranking points.
In the women’s event, finalists Mahmoud and Samir will again feature, with Northerns’ Lara Patrick the highest-ranked South African in the draw at No 5.
