$40,000 MAIN DRAW BEGINS TUESDAY            [Main Draw]

Qualifying play ended yesterday for the Heliopolis Open, held at the Heliopolis Club in Cairo, Egypt. Succeeding in making the main draw is qualifier, Yasser El Halaby, in his second pro start after finishing his college career.

Ramy Ashour makes his first professional appearance after his triumphant Jr World Title won two weeks ago in New Zealand.

Within a few weeks of winning a historic second successive World Junior Squash Championship title in New Zealand – and leading Egypt to success in the World Junior Team Championship - Ramy Ashour is back on home soil seeking domestic success in the Rotary Heliopolis Open.

Seeded four, the 18-year-old will face his Egyptian team-mate Mohd Ali Anwar Reda in the first round of the $40,000 PSA Tour event at the National Stadium in Nasr City, Cairo, before an anticipated quarter-final clash with seventh seed Peter Barker, the only Englishman in the draw.

Tarek Momen, another member of Egypt's victorious junior team, will compete in the event after triumphing in the qualifying finals.  Momen beat compatriot Amr Ramzy Swelim 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 and will now meet fifth-seeded Egyptian Wael El Hindi in the first round.

Hisham Mohd Ashour, Ramy Ashour's older brother, also survived the qualifying finals – beating the fourth member of the Egyptian world junior squad Omar Mosaad 10-11 (3-5), 11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 11-4.  Ashour senior takes on Olli Tuominen, the second seed from Finland.

Top seed Karim Darwish, the world junior champion in 2000, faces Italy's Davide Bianchetti in the first round.  The 24-year-old world number nine from Cairo will be keen to make up for last year's disappointment when he reached the final, only to have to retire after a single game with an ankle injury

Qualifying finals: Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 10-11 (3-5), 11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 11-4 (50m) Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Amr Ramzy Swelim (EGY) 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 (42m) Yasser El Halaby (EGY) bt Amr Mansi (EGY) 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5 (38m) Badr Abdel Aziz (SWE) bt Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 6-11, 11-9 (62m)