Nouran Gohar made an emphatic return to action following a lengthy injury layoff, beating fellow Egyptian Zeina Mickawy 3-0 in round two of the SmartCentres Kinetic Florida Open.
Gohar last played on the PSA World Tour at the QTerminals Qatar Classic in September, but she dominated proceedings here as if she’d never been away, taking just 27 minutes to book her spot in the last eight.
Games one and two were comfortable for the World No.2, but it was her performance in game three that will have put her competitors on notice, with Gohar recording a bagel to complete the victory.
“It feels great,” she said moments after victory.
“Obviously, it takes you a while to get used to the court and the movements, even if you’re training, it’s completely different to a tournament and it has been almost six months, so it’s been quite a long time, but I’m glad to be back for sure.”
Speaking about the process she went through to get back to playing again, Gohar added: “It’s funny, I was literally learning how to walk again, it felt so weird to not be able to walk for a while.
“I was tying my shoes and not able to take two steps in a row and I was in so much pain for so long as well, so to be pain free is an absolute pleasure. And I just think it can get better, that’s the good part, that’s the positive about it, I can see myself improving every single day.”
Discussing the 11-0 scoreline in game three, the Egyptian revealed that she was solely focused on playing good squash.
“I was just trying to find my range again, find my weight of shots and feeling comfortable on court,” she said.
“I was just in the zone, not really thinking about the score to be honest, I was just thinking about where I’m hitting the ball.”
Gohar was joined in the quarter-finals by Hania El Hammamy and Amina Orfi, who both won in the evening session to set up a mouthwatering rematch of their encounter at last season’s PSA World Championships, which El Hammamy won 3-2.
In the men’s draw, French duo Sebastien Bonmalais and Gregoire Marche both knocked out seeded players, beating Miguel Rodriguez and Mohamed ElSherbini respectively.
Speaking after his win, Bonmalais said: “I think it’s the best match I’ve had in my career.
“I’m happy to win, Miguel is very strong and very dangerous. I usually struggle to play him because he’s fast and I don’t like people who are fast like me, but I managed to slow down the pace and focus on my shots being very tight.”
Farida Mohamed, Mohamed Elshorbagy and Mostafa Asal were the other winners on day three.
The quarter-finals of the SmartCentres Kinetic Florida Open take place from 12:00 (GMT-5) tomorrow, January 12. Watch the action live on SQUASHTV.
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Results: SmartCentres Kinetic Florida Open 2024 – Men’s RD2 (bottom half)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt [8] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8 (83m)
[3] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 12-10 (31m)
[2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-2 (38m)
Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) bt [7] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 3-0: 11-6, 12-10, 11-2 (39m)
Results: SmartCentres Kinetic Florida Open 2024 – Women’s RD2 (bottom half)
[8] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt Tomato Ho (HKG) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-2, 12-10 (32m)
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-0 (27m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) 3-1: 11-5, 11-4, 8-11, 11-2 (36m)
[6] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt Kenzy Ayman (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-2 (24m)
Draw: Men’s Quarter-Finals
[6] Joel Makin (WAL) v [4] Mazen Hesham (EGY)
[3] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[1] Diego Elias (PER) v [5] Tarek Momen (EGY)
Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) v [2] Mostafa Asal (EGY)
Draw: Women’s Quarter-Finals
Chan Sin Yuk (HKG) v [4] Olivia Weaver (USA)
[1] Nour ElSherbini (EGY) v [5] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS)
[8] Farida Mohamed (EGY) v [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [6] Amina Orfi (EGY)
