Nicol David tops women’s draw as Egyptian aces dominate men’s
By NATHAN CLARKE
The draw for the 2015 Macau Open, PSA M50 tournament, has been confirmed with Tarek Momen, the World No.9 from Egypt, returning to defend his crown when the Men’s event begins on Thursday September 17 at the Centro De Bowling in Macau.
Momen is aiming to retain a title for the first time in his career after becoming the fourth Egyptian in a row to taste victory in the tournament courtesy of his triumph over compatriot Omar Mosaad in last year’s final.
Momen meets a qualifier in the first round is seeded to meet the winner of a tumultuous clash between Omar Meguid and Shaun Le Roux. They were involved in a fiery battle in the Canary Wharf qualifying competition in March, when Le Roux suffered the unique indignity of having a conduct game awarded against him after the match was over!
Mosaad, who claimed success at this event in 2013, is also included in the draw and has been seeded number one as he looks to build on the form that saw him end the 2014/15 season with victory at the Internacional Sporta PSA M35 event.
Borja Golan is likely to meet Mosaad in what could be a mouth-watering semi-final match-up if both players make it that far while Momen could do battle with Marwan Elshorbagy as the duo bid to reach the final.
World No.1 Nicol David heads a superb looking field in the Women’s event in a draw that also contains highly-renowned players such as England No.1 Laura Massaro and the dangerous Egyptian Nour El Tayeb.
David is seeded to face El Tayeb, against whom she won the 2014 Hong Kong Open, in the semi-final as she bids to retain the title she won last year while Laura Massaro could face compatriot Alison Waters in the semi-final. Massaro may also have a difficult tie against Annie Au in the quarter-finals should both players win their opening fixtures.
“The Macau Open has attracted a number of the world’s greatest players in recent years and this year looks to be no different with the draw hosting a wealth of talent,” said Tournament Promoter Kenneth Lei.
“With no less than 17 of the world’s top 20 players taking part across both the Men’s and Women’s events, we look set to see some intense matches take place on court.”
2015 Macau Open:
Men’s Draw:
[1] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Leo Au (HKG) v [8] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)
[6] Fares Dessouki (EGY) v Olli Tuominen (FIN)
[Qualifier] v [3] Borja Golan (ESP)
[4] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) v [WC] Steven Liu (MAC)
[Qualifier] v [5] Max Lee (HKG)
[7] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) v Shaun Le Roux (RSA)
[Qualifier] v [2] Tarek Momen (EGY)
2015 Women’s Macau Open – Main Draw:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v Delia Arnold (MAS)
[Qualifier] v [8] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
[6] Joelle King (NZL) v [Qualifier]
[WC] Liu Kwai Chi (MAC) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) v [Qualifier]
Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v [7] Rachael Grinham (AUS)
[5] Annie Au (HKG) v [Qualifier]
Dipika Pallikal (IND) v [2] Laura Massaro (ENG)
The 2015 Macau Open takes place at the Centro De Bowling from Thursday September 17 – Sunday September 20.