Grasshopper Cup - Day 4: As It Happens

 
Ashour Overthrows Gaultier
Ramy Ashour’s march towards the title in Zurich continued unabated as, just 24 hours after completely outclassing Simon Rösner, he proved too strong and too clinical for Gregory Gaultier – knocking the 2017 champion out in straight-games.
Ashour has gone from strength to strength, first halting Raphael Kandra in style before dismantling Rösner to book his place in the semis, and he continued to play with an irresistible fluidity as he nonchalantly knocked the ball into all four corners to place Gaultier under an immense amount of pressure.
After losing the first two with little resistance, Gaultier threw the kitchen sink at Ashour in the third but still couldn’t find a way to unlock to the armoury, leaving Ashour to complete the 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 win after 45-minutes.

“We've played so many battles together – he's an amazing athlete and its impressive how he covers the four corners of the court,” said Ashour.
“He looked a little off in his movement today but I knew I had to be so on form to not give him an inch as he would have taken the game. When he's playing normal you know what to expect but today, because he wasn't at his best, it was even harder because you don't know what to expect from him.
“Of course I'm happy with how it has been going this week. You just try to give your best out there every time you play but no doubt tomorrow's match will be another tough one.
“The team here make the players feel very welcome so I'm looking forward to another good day tomorrow.”
Result:
[7] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (45m)
ElShorbagy Thwarts Willstrop Train

Mohamed ElShorbagy proved that his is the man to beat on the PSA World Tour as he came through a supremely high quality battle with James Willstrop to set up a mouth-watering title-decider with Ramy Ashour at the Grasshopper Cup.
Willstrop came into the match following a brutal five-game win over Karim Abdel Gawad, and was carrying an extra 2 kilometres of work in his legs compared to ElShorbagy, but gave a sterling account of himself as he hit with precision, finding tight, accurate lines to test ElShorbagy and ask questions of the World No.1.
But the Egyptian was more than up to the task, playing calm and calculated squash to match Willstrop as they exchanged points in rally after rally of the highest calibre before eventually pressing on to come out an 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 winner.
“This season has been unbelievable for me so far,” said ElShorbagy.
“This is the third tournament in a row and the third final in a row – there’s so much work that goes in behind the scenes to try and recover from each match and come back and perform like I’m doing right now against these great competitors.
“But these are the kind of challenges that I live for and try to survive – victory tastes much better this way and tomorrow I will be giving it big shot.
“Ramy has been playing unbelievable this week and we alway play incredible matches against each other. We play at a different level when we’re up against each other and I’m looking forward to another big battle with him tomorrow.”
Result:
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt James Willstrop (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (47m)