Day TWO : Round Two begins at OCBC

“He’s very talented, his racket skills are great and he produces a brand of squash that has almost expired, which I love to see,” said Farag afterwards.

“I watched him yesterday and he was really in the flow. Had I got him into that flow today, the match would have looked a lot more different. The lobbing, dropping, using the height, extending the court, it’s not something we see often enough from pro players.

“In recent years he’s added some explosive shots into his repertoire as well, so he’s got the mix. I had to kill that from the beginning and hit good shots in the bank. It went my way today, which I’m very happy with.

“I’m never relaxed, at 10-5 up in the third I went for a silly three-wall boast and I was very annoyed with myself. Anything can happen in a second. You saw how Balazs came back against Fares, anything can happen, so I had to stay on my toes the whole way, and I’m very happy that I kept that attitude.”

“The court was a bit tricky in the beginning and I don’t believe I have found my targets yet,” said El Hammamy.

“In the second and third games I played better squash. I’m here as the top seed, so it’s a different challenge for me this week.”

“I can’t wait to go back to the hotel, order a beer and call my girlfriend,” said Balazs afterwards.

“I’m really happy because Dessouky has great movement and racket skills. He played really well today, but I tried to fight as hard as I could and play as many balls as possible. I’m happy to survive and move through to the next round.

“I’m just focusing on my tactics and I’m trying to move really well and play every ball. If he can attack the balls around the middle he can beat any player. I tried to get the ball behind him and make him run all over the court.”

“I thought it was a good game, it was a battle to see who could get in front and volley more,” Malliff said afterwards.

“I think whoever got the ball to the back of the court was winning most of the rallies, so that’s what I was trying to do. Especially on this court, it’s particularly dead, so you’ve got to get it to the back.

“I’m really pleased, I’ve not got this far in a Gold event before. It’s going to be a tough opponent whoever I play, I’m going to try and recover and I’m going to have a rest day, which is nice, so I’ll be getting ready for the match on Friday.”

“I expected a tough match from the beginning, he’s been in form and has been rising up the ranks,” said Crouin afterwards.

“We had a tough 3-0 match last time and he’s been improving. I didn’t take him lightly at all and I knew when I stepped on court that it would be a big fight.

“It’s an amazing venue and it’s a great court, but it’s always an adjustment when you step on a new court for the first time. There are some funny bounces and you have to adapt. It’s tough to get on there against someone who has already played on there and has nothing to lose.

“I had to get my fundamentals in, and I think I did that well in the first game, going 9-6 up. I was frustrated with myself that I let that one go, but I reminded myself that I was on track to win and that I had a good game plan, so I didn’t have to panic. I had to find a way to get back in that second game, even though I was down.

“I kept going in the third and the fourth games, which were much better.”

“The first round matches are always the hardest, physically and mentally, in my opinion,” said Gilis afterwards.

“It’s the same every single tournament, but if it’s a tournament you really enjoy then it definitely makes me feel less stressed. I felt pretty good on court today and I hope it keeps progressing from here.

“The game face has been on ever since I arrived here, so I won’t be doing any touristy things yet. Maybe after the tournament, but not yet.”

“There was a lot of work that needed to be done at the start of each game,” said Ng afterwards. “Someone as skilful as him can have a good run of points, so I was making sure I didn’t let him have the chance to do it. I was focused on getting my straight length sorted and hitting the ball into the back well and I think I achieved that well today. It certainly wasn’t as easy as the scoreboard suggested, mentally there was a lot of focus needed, so I’m just happy to get through.

“The Malaysia Cup win has given me confidence, but there has been a quick turnaround, so there is a reset needed. Winning that was good, but it’s not the end of everything, so I’m looking forward to continuing my form this week in Singapore, and that’s what I’m focused on.

“Whilst the win was good, I need to put it at the back of my mind and focus on this week now.”

“I was a little bit nervous,” said Ibrahim afterwards. “I played Salma last month at the U.S. Open. I won in three, but it was intense and she was playing pretty well at that time and it was so close. Today, I didn’t find my game and my shots weren’t that good, but I was mentally strong.

“She was playing well, but she missed a lot of shots which gave me a bit lead. I can’t feel bad about how I played, it would be good to win playing squash, but I know I can be better in the next match.

“We played in the juniors all the time and in finals in Egypt. But we hadn’t played for a long time and then we’ve played three times in the past year. It’s a bit tricky.”