Momentous Moment As Mosaad Reaches First Ever World Series Final by Nathan Clarke
photos squashpics.com
October 16, 2015 -
Egyptian World No.6 Omar Mosaad celebrated the biggest win of his
career in Philadelphia today (Oct 16) as he knocked three-time World
Champion Nick Matthew out of the 2015 Delaware Investments US Open to
reach the final of a PSA World Series tournament for the first time
ever.
Mosaad played with composure and control as he recorded his first ever
win against Matthew in twelve attempts, prevailing 11-9, 3-11, 11-5,
11-7, in a victory that was made all the more poignant for the powerful
27-year-old from Cairo as it came just two months after the tragic
death of his mother and sister in a car accident in Egypt.
“Reaching the final of a World Series event for the first time in my life means an awful lot to me,” said Mosaad.
“Beating Nick for the first time, in my first ever World Series
semi-final, is an amazing feeling and I feel like I’ve been playing
really well this event and I’ve been trying very hard to improve
recently.
“Before the season my family had an accident and I lost two of them and
when I was playing in Macau earlier in the season I was confused and
not focused.
“After that I worked hard with my coaches who did a great job with me
in helping me stay focused on being inside the court and it’s really
been working well this tournament and we will see what happens
tomorrow.”
The man known as the ‘Hammer of Thor’ will now face World No.3 Gregory
Gaultier in the showpiece finale after the 32-year-old Frenchman ended
a five match losing streak against World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy in
breathtaking fashion - winning a dramatic 77 minute semi-final.
The match-up, their 15th on the PSA World Tour, was a repeat of the
2014 semi-final – when Elshorbagy triumphed in straight-games to knock
the Frenchman off the top of the world rankings to occupy the No.1 slot
for the first time in his career.
“It seems like I play well here at the US Open,” said Gaultier.
“I’ve won this title and few times and made the final as well but last
year I lost to Mohamed at this stage when he was chasing me at the top
of the rankings so I’m happy that it was my turn today.
“He has beaten me the last few times we have played but I’ve been very
close the last couple of times especially. I analysed those matches
with my team and I knew what I had to do and I feel like I played quite
well today.”
In the women’s event England’s Laura Massaro maintained her bid to win
the prestigious Delaware Investments US Open title for the second time
in her career with an accomplished 3-0 win over Egypt’s Omneya Abdel
Kawy in the semi-finals.
She triumphed in 2011 and finished as runner-up in 2013 - the year the
US Open made history by becoming the first PSA World Series event to
offer equal prize money to men and women - and will compete agains Nour
El Tayeb in the final as she guns for her first major PSA World Tour
title since winning the 2013 World Championship.
“I’m really pleased with how I played this evening and I’m thrilled to be in a major final once again,” said Massaro.
“I’m enjoying my squash at the moment and I think having such a tough
match and beating Nicol yesterday took some pressure off me. I’ve felt
relaxed all day and that certainly helped tonight.
“I’ve watched Nour play this week and she’s in great form,” added
Massaro. “It’s a major final and I’m really excited for it. There won’t
be any pressure on me so I’m just looking forward to it.”
Result - Semi-finals: Women’s Delaware Investments US Open
[8] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [3] Camille Serme (FRA) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (54m)
[5] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 (34m)
Draw - Final: Women’s Delaware Investments US Open
[8] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [5] Laura Massaro (ENG)
Result - Semi-finals: Men’s Delaware Investments US Open
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) 3-2: 10-12, 11-3, 5-11, 11-4, 11-4 (77m)
[6] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [2] Nick Matthew (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 3-11, 11-5, 11-7 (65m)
Draw - Final: Men’s Delaware Investments US Open
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [6] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
