Teenager’s win means last four are all Egyptian
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

Egyptian World Junior Champion Hania El Hammamy claimed the biggest win of her career to date as she completed a stunning comeback from two games down to upset World No.4 Camille Serme at the foot of the iconic Great Pyramid of Giza – meaning she will appear in the semi-finals of the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship for the first time in her career.

The 19-year-old El Hammamy – who was crowned World Junior Champion in August – was appearing in her maiden senior World Championship quarter-final and initially found it difficult against the intensity of her opponent, with Serme stepping up the court and attacking at the front of the court to go two games ahead.

But the French player lost her attacking game in the third and El Hammamy came out firing on all cylinders, giving it everything in her arsenal, taking that game and the fourth to draw level. A shellshocked Serme went 5-1 down in the decider, but fought back from the brink to level at 9-9.

A stroke then put El Hammamy match ball up, and she followed that up with a perfect forehand drive in the next rally to book her spot in the last four of the most prestigious tournament on the women’s tour.

“I’m over the moon, I can’t believe that I was 2-0 down, I thought I’d lost but I wanted to keep fighting and enjoy it,” El Hammamy said afterwards.

“I’m playing in the quarters, which is an achievement for me, and I wanted to keep fighting, even if I lost. I think when I never gave up, that was the key, and I played the best squash I had in the last three games.

“I wanted to win so bad, I was so excited in the beginning, I didn’t really focus on my game plan or what my coaches told me. When I was 2-0 down, I thought I need to keep focusing on what they said and I’m glad it worked. I have my grandma here with me, and every time she is here I make her upset. She was here with me at Black Ball when I beat Nour El Tayeb, so I think she is my lucky person.”

Defending champion El Sherbini (pictured) will be El Hammamy’s semi-final opponent after she moved to within one win of a sixth World Championship title decider courtesy of an 11-7, 11-9, 13-11 victory over New Zealand’s Joelle King, meaning all four semi-final spots will be taken up by Egyptian players.

El Sherbini is appearing at her first tournament of the season after a knee injury forced her to pull out of both the Oracle NetSuite Open and U.S. Open, but the three-time World Champion has dominated her opponent’s so far in Cairo, claiming four successive victories without dropping a game.

“I’m back into the semis in my first tournament back,” said El Sherbini, who celebrates her 24th birthday on the day of the final.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on myself, I just want to enjoy my squash and the atmosphere and the crowd gives me the support and I’m going to take it as an advantage. It’s really good that we have a tournament here in Egypt, so that young juniors can come and watch, and hopefully they can learn and we can see them in the future.”

 Makin makes it through to his first Platinum semi-final

Welshman Joel Makin has reached his first PSA Platinum semi-final after overcoming French giant-killer Baptiste Masotti 11-3, 12-14, 11-8, 11-2 in the men’s CIB Egyptian Squash Open, which is taking place alongside the women’s tournament at the Pyramids.

Masotti was appearing in the quarter-finals of a Platinum event for the first time after successive upsets against former top five players Borja Golan and Miguel Rodriguez, while he also upset Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng to earn his place on the glass court in front of the Pyramids.

He looked overawed by the occasion in the opening stages, taking just three points as he went a game down, but he struck back to take the second on the tie-break, and put the World No.12 under serious pressure in the third with some impressive shot-making.

However, Makin’s experience saw him over the line in the third, and that seemed to drain his opponent’s confidence, with a comfortable fourth game victory seeing Makin advance to the last four.

“He was attacking freely and going in short and the ball was quite dead,” said Makin.

“Credit to him in the middle, the first two games he was clinical in the middle. The third game was crucial, I had to get the length across the backhand, and once I did that it took the middle away and I had a few more chances.”

World No.4 Karim Abdel Gawad will play Makin in the semis after beating World No.10 Marwan ElShorbagy 4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 to continue his 100 per cent record in front of the Pyramids.

He became the first man in a decade to win a trophy in front of the iconic landmark when he beat current World No.1 Ali Farag to win the 2016 Al Ahram Open, and he will look to make it back-to-back finals when he takes on Makin next.

“I had to take care of every shot and in the first game I couldn’t even get past him in the middle, so I had to focus on that and put him in the back corners and attack from the middle a little bit more,” said 28-year-old Gawad (pictured).

“I’m really happy to get through to the semi-finals at my favourite tournament ever. I love playing in my home country and in front of the audience here.

“You get a lot of support here, and I feel like I’m just practicing, driving to the venue and then going back home, so I feel like it’s just practice and not a tournament.”

The semi-finals take place on Thursday October 31, with play getting under way at 18:30 (GMT+2). Action will be broadcast on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (Indian subcontinent). 

2019-20 CIB PSA Women’s World Championship ($340k), Pyramids of Giza, Egypt.

Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half):
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [6] Joelle King (NZL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 13-11 (38m)
[14] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [3] Camille Serme (FRA) 3-2: 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 (69m)

Semi-Finals:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [4] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [14] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 

2019 CIB Egyptian Squash Open.

Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half):
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) 3-1: 4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9 (68m)
Joel Makin (WAL) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-1: 11-3, 12-14, 11-8, 11-2 (57m)

Semi-Finals:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [5] Paul Coll (NZL)
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Joel Makin (WAL) 

Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA

LAS VEGAS – The way Matt Hagan figures it, if he’s fortunate enough to end his NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season with a few wins, he’ll head into the off season with plenty of good feelings at the very least.

If three straight victories in the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship leads to a third title, that’s just the icing on the cake for the Funny Car standout.

It’s a tall task to traverse the loaded Funny Car field and win three straight playoff races, but Hagan is up for the challenge. He knocked out the first part of it by winning in Dallas and will try to replicate that in his 11,000-horsepower Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody at this weekend’s Dodge NHRA Nationals Presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Hagan enters the race 112 points out of first, but his sole focus is simply trying to win and letting everything else fall into place.

“The win in Dallas gave us a little hope and we know we’re a longshot,” Hagan said. “But anything is doable, and if some people have a bad race we can be right there. These last two races we want to be on point and we want to try to dictate the outcome. We’ve still got a shot at it. But sometimes when you’re trying to make something happen you can try too hard. We’ve just got to focus on what we can do. It’s easy to overthink it and start worrying about points. You just have to put that out of your mind, and focus on what you can control. I know we have the ability to win.”

Steve Torrence (Top Fuel), J.R. Todd (Funny Car), Bo Butner (Pro Stock) and Hector Arana Jr. (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners in Las Vegas. It is the fifth of six races in the Countdown to the Championship, which Hagan is hoping to end on a high note following his win in Dallas.

It was his first playoff victory since winning in Las Vegas two years ago, putting the Don Schumacher Racing team on a good path heading into the penultimate race of the season. With longtime crew chief Dickie Venables calling the shots, Hagan turned in a number of consistent performances through varying weather conditions in Dallas. Hagan also saw a confident team and he’s hopeful that continues in Vegas.

“We were definitely more confident coming into the Countdown this year and the car has been consistent,” said Hagan, who has 32 career wins. “Dickie has put a good car under me and that just breeds confidence for everyone. That confidence he has, it’s allowed us to not have to mess with the car too much. He’s been working hard and the car has been running well. Now we just want to make sure we’re on point in these last two races.”

With points-and-a-half in Pomona, Hagan’s chances for a title aren’t out of the realm of possibility. He’ll need some fortunate breaks this weekend, but Hagan can create his own luck if he’s able to take out points leader Robert Hight – like he did in Dallas – teammate Jack Beckman, who is 70 points behind Hight, and 16-time world champ John Force, who is 74 points out of first. None of that would be easy, but Hagan is excited for the opportunity and remains laser-focused heading into the high stakes race.

“We’ve got nothing to lose, so I’d rather see one of those guys in the first round,” Hagan said. “But they have to have a bad race and they didn’t get to where they are by doing a bad job. We’re going to have to leave on time and keep turning on win lights. Dickie is doing everything he can to make the car more effective, faster and to try to turn on more win lights, so I’m ready.”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Josh Williams will welcome iV Bars and Verve Systems LLC as co-primary sponsors for this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Serving as the nation’s leading intravenous vitamin retail facility concept, iV Bars will be displayed on the hood of Williams’ No. 36 DGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro during Saturday’s 300-mile, 200-lap event at the 1.5-mile Texas quad-oval.

iV Hydration Therapy delivers replenishing fluids, vitamins, minerals and amino acids to the bloodstream, with nutrients immediately accessible for one’s cells to use, resulting in quicker recovery time and improved overall health.

With more than 25 corporately-owned locations nationwide, iVBars offers a variety of hydration and recovery options to the public. Next year, IV Bars will begin offering franchises in selected markets.

“We look forward to hydrating our NASCAR athletes and educating our NASCAR fans on the importance of staying hydrated,” said iV Bars founder and CEO Aaron Keith. “iVBars would like to cheer Josh Williams on toward victory circle as he pushes his endurance to the limit when piloting his No. 36 Chevrolet. We are pleased to support his efforts as he breaks new ground for NASCAR athletes.”

Verve Systems, an innovative wellness lifestyle brand focused on human performance, will adorn the rear decklid of the Williams machine at Texas.

Verve’s mission is to lead in offering significant industry change in human performance, rest and recovery, by increasing the development of innovative wellness products. The company’s initial focus is on performance apparel, in partnerships with Required Team Gear (RTG) and Under Armour.

Verve is currently in the research and development process of performance mouthpieces to increase oxygen intake, without restricting communication. The mouthpieces are expected to be available during the first quarter of 2020.

“Everyone at Verve couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to sponsor NASCAR driver Josh Williams and his No. 36 Chevrolet. Verve is all about human performance and Josh is a perfect match for us, since he exemplifies a wellness and human performance lifestyle,” said Verve Systems CEO Tim Klund. “He also gives of himself willingly and supports so many charities, especially with all the children he visits with. Verve works with hundreds of athletes and veterans and we are thrilled to partner up with such a fine example of a professional athlete.”

Michael Miceli Designs (www.raceartist.com) will also back the No. 36 Chevrolet Camaro at Texas, serving as an associate sponsor and featured on the rear quarter panels of Williams’ No. 36 car.

Miceli is featuring RacingHeroCards.com as part of his support of Williams, the hero-card design portion of his graphics business. He serves as the official graphic designer of DGM Racing.

Williams is closing in on the completion of his first full season in the Xfinity Series, having scored a career-best eighth-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April and currently ranking 17th in the Xfinity Series driver standings under the guidance of team owner Mario Gosselin.

He returns to Texas after a 14th-place, lead-lap finish in the spring – his best result on a non-restrictor plate track all year – something that gives the Port Charlotte, Fla., native confidence entering the weekend.

“To come back to Texas after what we did in the spring, with the addition of new partners like iV Bars and Verve Systems on the car this weekend, is a good feeling,” Williams said. “Both iV Bars and Verve Systems are committed to maximizing human performance in their respective fields, and that’s important to us in a performance-based sport like NASCAR. Having iV Bars on board to help keep everyone hydrated all weekend will be important, and Verve Systems’ apparel will have our crew looking sharp along the way as we chase a solid finish together this weekend at Texas.

“It’s also special to us to be able to recognize Michael (Miceli) this weekend for all the work he’s done for me personally and for DGM Racing; I’m happy we could thank him in a big way on the race car for all his hard work,” Williams added. “Being involved with growing companies and brand names is important to all of us and we’re looking forward to the future.”

ATLANTA – It’s no secret that Oklahoma State is no longer the dominant force that we’ve been accustomed to seeing the past couple of years in men’s college golf. But Wednesday at the East Lake Cup, the Cowboys showed that they shouldn’t be written off just yet.

After knocking off the nation’s No. 1 team in Wake Forest in Tuesday’s semifinals, Oklahoma State gave preseason No. 1 Texas everything it had in a 3-2 loss Wednesday in the championship match.

“They showed a lot of fight today,” Oklahoma State coach Alan Bratton said. “It looked like the match was going to end early and those guys just kept extending, which is all you can do, and we almost turned that thing around and won.”

Junior standout Austin Eckroat took down Texas stud sophomore Cole Hammer in the anchor match and freshman Brian Stark led off with a 4-and-3 victory over Pierceson Coody, arguably the Longhorns’ second-best player. Between those matches, sophomore Aman Gupta and freshman Rayham Thomas nearly pulled off victories before losing on the 18th hole.

Thomas’ near-comeback against highly touted freshman Travis Vick was most impressive. Trailing 3 down after 14 holes, Thomas, who struggled mightily with the driver yips this summer, won the par-3 15th hole with par before making an incredible birdie at the difficult par-4 16th to claw back to 1 down. He then gave himself a 10-foot look at birdie on the par-5 finishing hole but missed.

While Bratton and his group wanted to get revenge on Texas, which upset them in last year’s NCAA semifinal, the Cowboys’ leader was pleased by his team’s ability to keep getting better.

“They handled themselves well,” said Bratton, whose team opened the year with a third-to-last finish at Pebble Beach but recently placed fourth at the Nike Collegiate. “Now, we have to improve our skills, so that we can get in that spot more often, but they certainly, with all the eyes on them, they did just fine. We knew as coaches that they had that in them, and we have that expectation for them, but it’s great for them to know and prove it to themselves.

“Again, we have to get better; it’s not like we’ve arrived, but they didn’t crumble.”

Gone are All-Americans Matthew Wolff, Viktor Hovland and Zach Bauchou, but Oklahoma State, ranked 57th by Golfstat, proved it still has some talent left in the tank.

“If people keep counting us out,” Bratton said, “then that’s good motivation for us.”

Cristiano Ronaldo converted a stoppage-time penalty, seconds after having a goal chalked off for offside as Juventus finally broke down 10-man Genoa to win 2-1 and go back to the top of Serie A on Wednesday.

Ronaldo went down under a challenge from Antonio Sanabria and although contact was minimal the referee pointed to the spot and the VAR officials confirmed the decision with a silent check.

The Portuguese forward, frustrated by a VAR decision seconds earlier, then fired in the penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Genoa played with 10 men from the 51st minute when Francesco Cassata was harshly given a second yellow card for tugging Paulo Dybala's shirt.

Juventus, who have 26 points from 10 games, went ahead in the 35th minute. A corner was swung in from the left and defender Leonardo Bonucci got in front of Genoa goalkeeper Ionut Radu to score with a glancing header at the near post.

Genoa levelled within five minutes after Alex Sandro lost possession on the edge of the area. The ball was passed to Christian Kouame who mis-kicked completely but his shot hit his standing leg and flew past a wrong-footed Gianluigi Buffon.

The game veered in Juve's favour when Dybala tried to squeeze past two players and Cassata was dismissed after the Argentine tumbled to the ground.

Juventus had substitute Adrien Rabiot sent off for a second bookable offence with three minutes to play but Genoa were still not safe.

Ronaldo turned in Juan Cuadrado's pass in the third minute of stoppage time but, after Juventus had celebrated the goal, it was disallowed for offside following a VAR check.

But in the next attack, Ronaldo collected a pass inside the area, cut inside Sanabria and fell forwards.

He seemed to try to make contact with Sanabria rather than the other way round but the referee awarded a penalty and the irrepressible Portuguese converted.

Jurgen Klopp has warned the English Football League that Liverpool will forfeit their Carabao Cup quarterfinal if a sensible date cannot be found for the fixture.

The European champions defeated Arsenal 5-4 on penalties after a riveting 5-5 draw at Anfield on Wednesday night to progress to the next round of the competition.

- Watch replay of Liverpool-Arsenal thriller on ESPN+ (U.S. only)
- Watch Carabao Cup games replays on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

Now a scheduling headache awaits both the EFL and Liverpool as the quarterfinal stage of the tournament is due to be played in the week commencing Dec. 16, which is when Klopp's men begin their Club World Cup campaign in Qatar.

"If they don't find a place for us -- an appropriate place -- not 3am on Christmas Day, then we don't play it," the Reds boss said in his post-match press conference.

"You have to think about these things. If you have a fixture list where one team cannot be part of all the games, then you have to think about the fixture list.

"Hopefully, it starts now. I really think that's fair -- this problem is obvious now. We will not be the victim of this problem."

Liverpool's December schedule features five matches in the first two weeks. They host Everton (Dec. 4) and visit AFC Bournemouth (Dec. 7) in Premier League play before travelling to FC Salzburg (Dec. 10) in Champions League group stage action. They then host Watford on Dec. 14 before travelling to Qatar.

Their first match in Qatar will be on Dec. 18, and then will play either the final or third-place match on Dec. 21 before returning to England for their Dec. 26 league tilt vs. Leicester City.

"We played tonight, we wanted to win it, we did that," Klopp said. "If they don't find a proper date for us, then we cannot play the next round and whoever is our opponent will go through. Or Arsenal plays it.

"I think a lot people from the Premier League were watching on TV and hoping that Arsenal can do it -- I'm sorry!"

The quarterfinal draw for the Carabao Cup will take place on Thursday, October 31.

Klopp also spoke about midfielder Naby Keita, who had to withdraw from the Arsenal match with an injury.

"If Naby's injury is not so serious, which I hope, then it was a nearly perfect night," Klopp said. "He felt a little bit. I saw it, he slipped when he lost the ball. He slipped away, I saw him limping afterwards and that's why we did it."

Manchester United knocked Chelsea out of the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 win on the back of a Marcus Rashford double at Stamford Bridge to advance to the quarterfinals of the annual competition.

Frank Lampard handed another start to Christian Pulisic after the U.S. international scored a hat trick in Chelsea's win over Burnley on Saturday, but it was fellow youngster Rashford that stole the show with the only goal of the first half from the penalty spot after Marcos Alonso clumsily bundled Daniel James over in the box.

Chelsea looked more dangerous in the second half and got back on level terms at the hour mark when Michy Batshuayi finished off a hard-charging run from midfield with a thunderous, low line drive from 20 yards out to make it 1-1.

The visitors retook the lead 73rd minute from a wicked Rashford free kick that swerved over the wall and dipped into the back of Willy Caballero's leaving United on the brink of passage to the quarterfinals.

United saw out the result to seal a spot in the last eight and will learn their opponent when the quarterfinal draw takes place on Thursday. Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Everton, Colchester United and Oxford will join Man United in the draw.

Next up for Chelsea is an away match against Watford in the Premier League on Nov. 2, while Man United visit Bournemouth on the same day.

It's not three straight away wins in all competitions for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team after having gone winless in their previous 11 road games

ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Redskins tackle Trent Williams failed his physical Wednesday, casting more doubt on his immediate playing future.

Williams, who ended his holdout Tuesday, did not pass his physical because there was discomfort when he put on his helmet. Williams underwent surgery to remove a growth on his head in the offseason.

Redskins interim coach Bill Callahan said that Williams would have passed the physical otherwise. He said he wasn't sure if Williams needed to have a specially-designed helmet.

The Redskins were given a two-week roster exemption for Williams. There's no guarantee he plays for Washington again.

"I'm hopeful that he does," Callahan said. "I have a lot of respect for Trent. He's one of the more elite offensive linemen I ever had the privilege to coach. He has all the ingredients; he has that makeup."

Williams was unavailable for comment, but Callahan said he spoke with him for an hour at the facility Wednesday. Callahan has coached Williams since 2015. Williams, according to multiple sources, was holding out in part because of dissatisfaction with Washington's medical staff. However, it's not clear what part of the staff has caused him the issues. Williams has not spoken publicly since his holdout began.

"His heart's in the right spot," Callahan said. "Trent loves football. Nobody loves football more, that's into it, that studies the game, that really gets into the matchups. There's no question he has a love and passion for playing football."

Williams had told multiple people in the organization that he would not play for the Redskins again. Washington did listen to trade offers before Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline, but had set a high asking price that no team came close to meeting.

Williams reported before that deadline, otherwise he would have needed the team to apply for his reinstatement with the commissioner's office. By returning -- once he's on the active roster -- Williams would get credit for one season and therefore exit 2019 with only one year left on his contract. There's a good chance the Redskins try to trade him in the offseason.

Williams was in the locker room around 7 a.m. and did attend team meetings. He was not on the field during Washington's practice.

Teammates know this situation isn't settled.

"He has decisions to make and obviously it's not ironed out yet, but obviously you want to see him here," Redskins tackle Morgan Moses said. "Selfishly I want to see him playing with me, with the guys. He's his own business. He has some things he needs to take care of and until he feels that those needs are answered you got to wait and see if he plays or not.

"I'm just happy to see him around here and back with the team. Whatever he has to do upstairs, that's what he has to deal with, and knowing him he'll get it right."

Donald Penn has started at left tackle in place of Williams for the Redskins (1-7) and will continue to do so until he returns. Moses, though, hopes that Williams eventually gets back into the starting lineup.

"You hope," Moses said. "He's here and that's the first step."

DALLAS -- Retired Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki joined a few hundred people Wednesday at a ceremony to rename a city street as Nowitzki Way in his honor.

The big German accepted the gesture with characteristic humor and humility.

"It's sort of surreal," he said. "From my first year, the city probably wouldn't have named a dumpster after me."

Nowitzki, now 41, retired after last season, his 21st with the franchise. The 14-time All-Star is easily the greatest player in Mavericks history and the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history. The 2007 NBA MVP will forever be beloved around here for helping Dallas win its only championship in 2011, when he was NBA Finals MVP.

Nowitzki Way is the former 2900-3000 block of Olive Street south of the American Airlines Center, where Nowitzki played 18 of his NBA-record 21 seasons with only one franchise. The City Council approved the name change in a unanimous vote. Most of the event was moved inside on a cool, windy day.

"It's a little bit bigger than basketball," Nowitzki said, choking up. "This is about my relationship with the city. There was a lot of love that I've received from this community."

He then noted that there were questions about why the new street was not "Dirk Drive or Dirk Way."

"This is for my family to be represented," he said. "First of all, I never drove much in my career."

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson spoke of Nowitzki's civic-mindedness in the city where he arrived as a 20-year-old in 1998.

"Dirk reached out to me personally to ask what he could do to help our city after the (Oct. 20) tornado" Johnson said. "He and (Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher) Clayton Kershaw came to our emergency operations center to greet our city employees who had been working around the clock."

Since his retirement in April, Nowitzki has devoted time to his wife and three children, and to the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation, established in 2001. Its mission is the betterment of health and welfare of children and women.

The ceremony was attended by former and current Mavericks and all three of his coaches, Don Nelson, Avery Johnson and Rick Carlisle, who brought along a reminder of the greatest highlight for Nowitzki and the Mavericks. The coach wore a "champagne-soaked" suit that had been in his closet since June 12, 2011, when Dallas won its title.

"I felt some day there would be an appropriate time to wear this again," Carlisle said. "This is a beautiful day."

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban inherited Nowitzki when he bought the team in 2000. At that time, he heard criticism of the young player.

"He was soft, and slow, and couldn't really play," he recalled of those opinions. "Trade calls would come in, and Donnie (Nelson) would be, like, `Nope. This guy's the real deal.' "