Following a two-month injury enforced
absence, 2017 tournament winner Gregory Gaultier marked his return to
competitive action on the PSA World Tour with a straight-games defeat of
local hero Nicolas Müller
in the first round of the 2018 Grasshopper Cup in Zurich.
The 35-year-old former World No.1 was
halted by an adductor injury suffered during January's Tournament of
Champions but put those troubles behind him as he out-classed Müller,
the World No.18, to prevail
11-7, 12-10, 11-8 in the PSA M100 tournament and set up a quarter-final
clash with Egyptian Mohamed Abouleghar,
"Everybody knows I've been injured and had a tough year," said Gaultier.
"I missed the game so much but luckily
the doctor gave me the green light a few weeks ago but to come back at
my age takes longer and a lot of work.
"So I was trying to be smart on the
court today. There's a balance between wanting to play but also on the
other hand trying to make sure you don't aggravate any injuries, but I'm
just very happy to be back
on court and back here in Zurich.
'I've had great memories here over the past few years and hope that can continue this week."
Gaultier is joined in the last eight
by long-term rival Ramy Ashour, the maverick three-time World Champion
who has also been plagued by injury throughout the past three years.
The Egyptian looked to have
resurrected elements of his former self as he moved effortlessly around
the court against German Raphael Kandra, striking winners with ease to
triumph 11-6, 14-12, 11-5 and set
up a meeting with Simon Rösner - the hard-hitting German number one who
earned his quarter-final berth with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Daryl
Selby in his fourth straight win over the Englishman in 2018.
"I gave away too many points early on with errors and that allowed him to get off to a good start," said Rösner.
"But I felt like I got into my rhythm
in the second game and I'm happy with how I managed to change my
approach and turn the game around. To come through with the win against a
player of Daryl's quality
is very encouraging."
Result - First Round (Top Half): 2018 Grasshopper Cup
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [WC] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-8 (45m)
[6] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt [Q] Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-1: 15-13, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 (57m)
[7] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [Q] Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-0: 11-6, 14-12, 11-5 (38m)
[4] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 (69m)
Draw - First Round (Bottom Half)
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [Q] Greg Lobban (SCO)
James Willstrop (ENG) v [8] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[5] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Borja Golan (ESP)
[Q] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
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