By Kirsten Carlson
When Andre Maur plans an event, he focuses on making everyone comfortable, keeping them entertained and ensuring that every single person has fun. This year’s Atlanta Open, with a $12k pro event, was no exception as Maur—once again—had the Atlanta Falcons cheerleaders perform, as he puts it, “wiggles and dances,” put on a cocktail night and gave the players and a few others the chance to go in the Atlanta Limo Party Bus. The professional players were put up in the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North hotel, connected to the Concourse Athletic Club, and the amateurs were given a hugely reduced rate at the hotel.
Indeed Maur provided the perfect setting for an entertaining tournament. In the end though, it was a former collegiate star that provided the best entertainment of all. Yes, Yasser was back for another scene stealing performance in the US. El Halaby was the eighth seed in the tournament, but to him seeding means very little. When asked if he was surprised by his win in Atlanta, El Halaby responded, “No. I thought I should be able to get that.”
The win marks El Halaby’s second PSA Tour title, the first coming at the Worldgate Sport and Health Open in Virginia in February.
“I was glad to get the win,” El Halaby said. “It was very encouraging because I played in Kuwait and Qatar in April and wasn’t too happy with my fitness then. I have been working on it since and I noticed an improvement in Atlanta, so I am glad that I am on the right track.”
The 22-year-old Egyptian lost just one game on his quest to the title, to Sweden’s Badr Abdel Aziz in the first round, though he said his toughest match was against England’s No. 2 seed, Chris Simpson, in the quarters.
El Halaby met former top-20 player Omar Elborolossy in the final. After taking a year-and-a-half off, the 31-year-old Egyptian is making a comeback, a fact that in no way deterred El Halaby as he headed into the final.
“I was focused during the match,” El Halaby said. “I was pretty confident going into it, and when you’re confident that is when you play well. I felt challenged in that I was playing tight and had to be on my feet and on the offensive.”
A maximum capacity crowd of 100 people were on hand to witness the final, though Maur feels if they could have fit, 500 would have easily showed up.
“Yasser just destroyed him,” said Maur of the match. “Yasser had so much variety, all the shots in the book. He was the best man out there and he deserved to win.”
After his first full season on the pro tour, El Halaby is happy with his wins, but a bit disappointed in how he started. “It’s taken me almost a year to get my head into it, and I didn’t think it would take that long,” he said. “I don’t think I knew what it would take mentally to make myself practice every day. I was subconsciously more casual about it. I have a ladder to climb in the pros and I feel like I wasted some time because I wasn’t into it. I have finally gotten into that mindset where winning is the only option and when you don’t win you have to work harder.”
El Halaby will spend his summer training in Cairo. He does not have a coach and usually picks up matches with whomever is around, whether it be a junior player or superstars Amr Shabana or Ramy Ashour. He is planning on playing a couple of events, though he is not exactly sure which at the moment.
If all goes right, El Halaby plans to return to play in the ninth Atlanta Open next year to defend his title, and enjoy the tournament known for quality squash and quality fun.
