A. A. AbouTaleb

Abdelfattah AbouTaleb, better known as "A.A. AbouTaleb", or simply "AbouTaleb", was a squash player from Egypt. He was one of the dominant players in the game in the 1960s, when he won the British Open three times.

AbouTaleb started out by sweeping the courts at Cairo's National Sporting Club, where his brother was the tennis professional. At first he had to make do with discarded broken rackets and burst balls, which required considerable skill. When armed with the right weapons, he soared to new levels.

AbouTaleb reached the final of the British Open for the first time in 1963, when he lost to Pakistan's Mo Khan in a dramatic five-set final 9-4, 5-9, 3-9, 10-8, 9-6. (The British Open was considered to be the effective world championship of the sport at the time.)

AbouTaleb then went on to win the British Open title for the next three consecutive years. In 1964, he beat Mike Oddy of Scotland in the final 9-3, 9-7, 9-0. AbouTaleb's win that year marked the end of marked the end of 13 years of Pakistani domination of the British Open men's title. The following year, AbouTaleb beat his fellow Egyptian player Ibrahim Amin in the final 9-0, 0-9, 9-1, 9-6. His third and final British Open title came in 1966, when he defeated Pakistan's Aftab Jawaid in the final 9-6, 5-9, 9-3, 9-1.

British Open final appearances

External links

* [http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0659.htm Squash article at Peak Performance Online]