Bibliotheca provides stunning venue for PSA Gold men’s event
By SEAN REUTHE and ALAN THATCHER
Alexandria will host a professional squash tournament for the first time in three years when World No.2 Ali Farag heads up a top-class draw at the Alexandria International Squash Open, the PSA World Tour Gold event which will be held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina between September 17-21.
Built in 2002 to commemorate the burning down of the historic Royal Library of Alexandria, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is one of the most significant libraries and cultural centers in the world.
Honouring the extraordinary dominance of Egyptian players in the world of squash, this new event will see a 24-man draw containing eight of the world’s top 20 players battle it out for the lion’s share of the $103,000 prize fund.
Joining Farag in the draw is World No.3 Marwan ElShorbagy – who was born in Alexandria and now resides in Bristol – World No.4 Tarek Momen and 2016 World Champion Karim Gawad, who take up the top four seeded positions in the draw.
World No.13 Mohamed Abouelghar and World No.14 Omar Mosaad are the other Egyptian players among the top eight seeds, while Peru’s Diego Elias and England No.1 Daryl Selby are the other top 20 players involved in the tournament.
Round one matches will be played at the Alexandria Sporting Club, while second round fixtures will be split between the club and the glass court staged at Bibliotheca Alexandrina. All matches from the quarter-finals onwards will be held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
Glass court matches will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only).Â
2018 Alexandria International Squash Open – Entry List:
1) Ali Farag (EGY)
2) Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
3) Tarek Momen (EGY)
4) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
5) Diego Elias (PER)
6) Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
7) Omar Mosaad (EGY)
8) Daryl Selby (ENG)
9) Declan James (ENG)
10) Cesar Salazar (ENG)
11) Borja Golan (ESP)
12) Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
13) Gregoire Marche (FRA)
14) Greg Lobban (SCO)
15) Tom Richards (ENG)
16) Mazen Hesham (EGY)
17) Alan Clyne (SCO)
18) Chris Simpson (ENG)
19) Adrian Waller (ENG)
20) Karim Ali Fathi (EGY)
21) Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)
22) Arturo Salazar (MEX)
23) Ben Coleman (ENG)
Wildcard: Omar El Torkey (EGY)Â
Article by SEAN REUTHE (PSA PR and Media Manager). Edited by ALAN THATCHER
Pictures by PATRICK LAUSON and PSA Â