It’s Egypt v USA again

The final of the WSF World Junior teams in Eindhoven will be between top seeds Egypt and USA, for the third time in a row.

Defending champions Egypt, playing individual finalists Nouran Gohar and Habiba Mohamed, eased past surprise semi-finalists Malaysia in the first match of the day, but the Malaysian will be happy to collect Bronze medals and their best finish since 2007.

In the second semi-final USA beat England 2-0 to set up a third consecutive final against the four-time defending champions..

USA took the first match courtesy of Reeham Sedka, England’s Amelia Henley unable to deal with the power and court coverage of the US number two – who found a dead nick at the back of the court to reach match ball and needed just one opportunity to finish the match.

Sabrina Sobhy clinched the match for the Americans as she beat Georgina Kennedy in straight games. Sobhy powered ahead to take the first after a short break in the middle of the game to attend to a grazed knee.

Sabrina was trailing throughout the second but managed to hang in with some terrific retrieving, winning three or four points that she had no right to, and taking the last five points to win the game 11-9. The third was close, but Sobhy was again stronger at the end as she took the USA through to the final.

“We knew England would be tough,” said US manager Scott Devoy, “they’re all good players. We tried to play at a tempo and pace that would make it difficult for them, and Reeham’s pace and weight of shot was too good in the first match.

“Sabrina showed what a fighter she is, coming from 6-9 down in the second and that was crucial. Once she has momentum she’s difficult to stop and she was faster onto the ball at the end of the match.

“It’s great to reach the final again, and hopefully it will be third time lucky!”

England manager Tania Bailey was gracious in defeat: “Reeham played brilliantly, she made probably one error in the whole match. You probably need a few games against her to get used to her style, and she was just too much for Amelia to handle today.

“Gina didn’t deserve to lose 3-0, if she’d taken the second it might have been different, but credit to Sabrina, she somehow hung in there and managed to get her racket on the ball in some crucial points.

“Obviously we would have loved to be in the final, but well played USA and we’re happy to finish with bronze medals to take home.”

In the 5/8 playoffs Canada enjoyed their 2-1 win over fourth seeds Hong Kong to move into the 5th/6th playoff match where they’ll play New Zealand, who also had a narrow win, saving match balls in the decider before beating India 2-1 (videos of the end of those matches below).

In the 13/16 round robin there were wins for Switzerland, France, and for Finland and South Africa in the 13-18 semi-finals.

Semi-Finals:

[1] Egypt 2-0 [5] Malaysia
Nouran Gohar 3-0 Andrea Lee 11-0, 11-7, 11-4 (21m)
Habiba Mohamed 3-0 Sivasangari Subramanian 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (22m)

[2] USA 2-0 [3] England
Reeham Sedky 3-0 Amelia Henley 11-4, 11-2, 11-5 (30m)
Sabrina Sobhy 3-0 Georgina Kennedy 11-5, 11-9, 11-8 (30m)

5-8 semis:
Hong Kong 1-2 Canada, India 1-2 New Zealand
9-12 playoffs:
Switzerland 2-1 Australia, France 3-0 Germany
13-18 semis:
Belgium 1-2 Finland, Netherlands 1-2 South Africa