World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy put on a
masterclass performance to dismantle compatriot Tarek Momen and book
his place in the semi-finals of the 2018 Grasshopper Cup during a
thrilling night of action that
also saw 35-year-old Gregory Gaultier, 34-year-old James Willstrop and
maverick 30-year-old Ramy Ashour roll back the years with a series of
vintage performances.
27-year-old ElShorbagy was imperious
as he took Momen apart throughout the first two games before showing
tremendous fighting spirit to recover from dropping the third to prevail
11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 -
just one week after narrowly defeating Momen in five games in the final
of the Canary Wharf Classic.
"Tarek is a great player and last week we had a huge battle in Canary Wharf which showed just that," said ElShorbagy.
"Today I had to come out and show him
that I was ready for another huge match. He showed how strong he is when
he came back in that third game and I had to be on my toes and be sharp
again in the fourth.
"It's great to be in the semis - I
lost in the quarters here last year so I'm pleased and James (Willstrop)
and I always have tough but fair matches so I'm sure tomorrow with be
another one of them."
ElShorbagy will now meet England's
former World No.1 Willstrop in the semi-finals after the Yorkshireman
prevailed 11-13, 15-13, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7 in an 80-minute thriller with
2016 World Champion Karim Abdel
Gawad.
The opening game between the pair, a
phenomenally high quality 20 minute affair, saw both players hitting
precise lines and countering each other in all four corners. From that
point on the quality of play
only increased, with Willstrop putting together the sort of squash that
accompanied him throughout his spell as World No.1 back in 2012 to hold
off Gawad and complete a spectacular triumph.
"There were some very loud English
people here in the crowd which just enhanced what was already an
unbelievable atmosphere in this venue," said Willstrop.
"In phases Karim definitely out-did me
and I was just trying my best to hang in there. I just had to have
confidence in myself and come through it mentally and physically.
"He's a former World Champion so it's a great feeling to be playing well and beating a player like him."
Willstrop's victory came after
three-time World Champion Ashour conjured up a performance of clinical
beauty as he halted in-form Simon Rösner 3-0 in just 34-minutes.
Ashour - who has endured a torrid time
with injury over the past three years - was simply sublime as he mixed
up his attacks, changing the pace and angle at every opportunity to
twist and turn Rösner, leaving
the German World No.7 unable to stop the flow.
"I was just trying not to let him play
the squash he is capable of - he's a very strong player and has
recently won a major event as well," said Ashour.
"I just kept my focus and went on court and got the job done the way I wanted to."
Ashour's last four opponent Gaultier
meanwhile came back from the brink of defeat to beat Mohamed Abouelghar
in one of the best matches of the 2017/18 PSA World Tour season.
With World No.9 Abouelghar in red hot
form, unleashing a seemingly never-ending barrage of winners from all
angles, Gaultier was staring down the barrel of a straight-games defeat
after losing the first
two games and finding himself match ball down.
But the Frenchman resurrected the
match with an epic comeback that saw him save multiple match balls in
the third to stop the flow, before going on to triumph 13-15, 8-11,
19-17, 11-3, 11-9 after 90-minutes
of compelling action.
"It has been the worst season for me -
having a lot of injury issues and I came here with no expectations as I
knew that I was not at my best fitness wise," said Gaultier.
"But I just tried to play as smart as
possible and play as tight as possible. During the first two games the
pace was just too much for me but the more I got into the game the
better I felt moving and the
better I was seeing the ball and it was all about confidence then at
that point.
"I have so much experience and that
played a part today because a lot of it is in the head. I enjoyed it out
there and I'm really thankfully to the crowd who really helped me and
got behind me throughout
the match - I emptied the tank to win it."
Results - Quarter-finals: 2018 Grasshopper Cup
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [6] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-2: 13-15, 8-11, 19-17, 11-3, 11-9 (90m)
[7] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [4] Simon Rösner (GER) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 (34m)
James Willstrop (ENG) bt [3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3-2: 11-13, 15-13, 4-11, 11-6, 11-7 (86m)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [5] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 (51m)
Draw - Semi-finals:
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [7] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
James Willstrop (ENG) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
No comments:
Post a Comment