Hannah Craig Makes History in Egypt
Our women’s #1 Hannah Craig keeps going from strength to strength on the pro circuit and this week became the first Irish player to play in a major tournament since Aisling Blake in 2017 as she made the main draw for the Egyptian Open.
Seeded #15 for the qualifying event, Craig defeated wildcard Nour Ramy in R1 in convincing fashion, 3-1 which set up a tie with #6 seed Saran Nghiem of England.
In what is being hailed the game of the tournament, lasting 66 mins, Hannah showed all the game and mental fortitude of a seasoned pro. The Irishwoman found herself trailing 2-1 in games and saw the scoreboard deadlocked at 3/3, 7/7, 8/8 and 9/9 in a must-win game to keep her qualification hopes alive. After a few lets, a fired-up Craig clinched the 4th, 11-9 to force a decider. Hannah had two-match balls having taken a 10-8 lead and mistakenly thinks she won, when a stroke is awarded for Saran. Regaining her composure however, the Lisburn native saw out a thriller 3-2 claiming the deciding game, 12-10.
In the final qualification game, Craig knew a win would secure qualification to face the world’s best. Hannah lost a tight opener 11-8 before bouncing back to claim the second 12-10. This was as good as it got for Craig as she succumbed to 11-7 and 11-6 games to lose out to Barb Sameh.
There was one more twist in this dramatic tale for Hannah. She was rewarded for her incredible efforts by drawing the “Lucky Loser” spot caused by the withdrawal of world #5 Olivia Weaver.
Hannah now enters the main draw starting Friday alongside the best in the world, including the worlds top 10. A massive achievement and amazing learning experience for Hannah as she climbs the world rankings.
Craig faces world #22 Zeina Mickway in R1 action at noon on Friday on court 7. Best of Luck Hannah!
Follow all the progress here – https://www.psasquashtour.com/tournament/egyptian-open-2024/
Stream the action here – https://www.squash.tv/tournament/cib-egyptian-open-2024/
