El Welily, Gaultier and Elshorbagy through to Semi-Finals of PSA Dubai World Series Finals

Sport360 staff 00:45 26/05/2016
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  • El Welily survived a tense three game encounter to edge past a determined Camille Serme, 9-11, 12-10,11-9, while Gaultier produced a masterclass in squash to sweep aside Australia’s Cameron Pilley with a merciless 11-3,11-1 win.

    Serme and El Welily both registered wins in round one and knew that the winner of their contest would be assured of a place in the last four with one round robin match to spare, while Gaultier’s superb display gave him his second comprehensive win in two days and showed he is back to his best after battling an ankle injury he suffered in January.

    World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy again played at his trademark, relentless pace in a high quality encounter with Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez – winning through 11-8, 11-9.

    Rodriguez will count himself a little unlucky not to have made life more difficult for Elshorbagy especially after he squandered a 9-6 lead in the second game. It was Elshorbagy’s ability to find an additional gear at the crucial stages that made the difference as he pushed through to get him into the last four stage.

    “He (Rodriguez) has improved a lot and for him to beat Nick (Matthew) yesterday was a great result and today that second game could have gone either way – and a third would have been very tough” said Elshorbagy.

    Three time world champion Nick Matthew meanwhile crashed out of the event after a surprise defeat at the hands of Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet.

    35-year-old Matthew, who missed last month’s El Gouna International due to an ankle injury, lost out to Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez yesterday and slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Castagnet and now cannot progress beyond the round robin group stage. His defeat also secured Elshorbagy’s place in the semi-finals.

    For debutant competitor Castagnet it was a victory to be savoured as it keeps his hopes of reaching the knock-out semi-finals alive ahead of a showdown with Rodriguez.

    “Nick is a legend of the sport so to be able to beat him is a great achievement for me,” said Castagnet.

    “I was very confident with my game plan and I have to thank my coaches for that. I had an injury a few weeks ago and when you have been injured and step on court for the first time it is not easy to be at your best straight away, but I had a good practice this morning which helped me a lot and I am enjoying every second of being here in this tournament.

    “Just to qualify and be part of the top eight is amazing for me and I just want to try and play my best tomorrow and see what happens.”

    One of the longest running and most tenacious rivalries on the Women’s Tour was re-ignited in exhilarating fashion as former world number ones Laura Massaro and Nicol David locked horns in a thrilling three-game battle.

    Massaro enjoyed the better of proceedings in the opening game but was forced on to the back foot in the second as David battled back from 4-6 down to take five straight points en route to levelling the match. David then opened up a 6-3 lead in the third, only to see a fiercely determined Massaro take six straight points before taking the match 11-7, 8-11, 11-7.

    “Anyone who thinks best of threes aren’t hard should come out here and play with one of us because that was really tough,” said Massaro.

    Meanwhile Amanda Sobhy blew Group A wide open, after she came through a roller-coaster encounter with 18-year-old Egyptian Nouran Gohar. The win means that Sobhy, Laura Massaro and Nicol David all now in with a chance of making the semi-finals.

    After falling to defeat against David on day one and losing the opening game against Gohar, the American was staring down the barrel of an ignominious exit but managed to turn the match on its head as she played with greater patience and attacking precision to take Gohar out of her comfort zone.

    The 22-year-old Harvard graduate allowed the World Junior Champion too much time on the ball in the first but stepped up and attacked from all corners in the second, dominating it to level the match with an 11-5 win, before keeping her composure to take the decisive third 11-7.

    “I knew if I lost it tonight it would be near impossible to move past the group stage so I’m very happy to pull it off,” said Sobhy.

    “Coming into the tournament I wasn’t even thinking about the semis, no-one expected much of me but anything can happen in this format and I’m happy to have survived and still be in with a chance going into tomorrow.”

    Germany’s Simon Rösner also kept alive his hopes of reaching the semi-finals for the first time in his career as he downed Egypt’s World No.4 Omar Mosaad 11-3 11-7, while world champion and world number one Nour El Sherbini bounced back from her opening defeat at the hands of Raneem El Welily yesterday, seeing off compatriot Omneya Abdel Kawy 11-4, 11-8 to keep her competition alive.

    Both Serme and El Sherbini have now won one match from two in the round robin format with the victor assured of joining El Welily in the semi-finals.

    The action continues tomorrow with sessions commencing at 2pm and 7pm. The semi-finals will commence at 7pm on Friday, with the finals played at 7pm on Saturday. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster: https://www.ticketmasteruae.ae Tickets start at 25dhs per session for general entry and also are available at the door.

    Results – PSA Dubai World Series Finals: Round 2
    Men’s Group A
    [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 2-0: 11-8, 11-9 (29m)
    [7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [3] Nick Matthew (ENG) 2-0: 12-10, 11-6 (29m)

    Men’s Group B
    [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [8] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 2-0: 11-3, 11-1 (24m)
    [6] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [4] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 2-0: 11-3, 11-7 (29m)

    Women’s Group A
    [1] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [3] Nicol David (MAS) 2-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 (49m)
    [8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [5] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2-1: 8-11, 11-5, 11-7 (34m)

    Women’s Group B
    [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 2-0: 11-4, 11-8 (15m)
    [4] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [7] Camille Serme (FRA) 2-1: 9-11, 12-10, 11-9 (41m)

    Fixtures – May 26:
    [4] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY)
    [8] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [6] Simon Rösner (GER)
    [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [7] Camille Serme (FRA)
    [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [4] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
    [1] Laura Massaro (ENG) v [8] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
    [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [3] Nick Matthew (ENG)
    [3] Nicol David (MAS) v [5] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
    [7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)

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