Cuskelly Over Pilley In Dayton Upset, Alister Walker Advances
by Howard Harding
Pilley v Cuskelly
Walker v Marche
9 November 2012 - Ryan Cuskelly earned his first ever win over compatriot Cameron Pilley when he beat the Australian number one in the quarter-finals of the EBS Dayton Open, the PSA World Tour International 35 event in its ninth year at the Dayton Squash Center in Dayton, Ohio, USA
Cuskelly, the US-based world No34 from New South Wales, has twice before faced Pilley on the Tour - and in both cases fellow New South Welshman Pilley, the world No17, came away with 3/0 wins.
But it was left-hander Cuskelly's day in Dayton: the unseeded 25-year-old twice resisted comebacks by third seed Pilley before triumphing 13-11, 8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 after 89 minutes.
"Bad day at the office today. Out in the quarters," tweeted Pilley later. "Looking forward to HK and Qatar already!!"
Cuskelly will now face second seed Alister Walker, the world No12 from Botswana - also based in New York - who survived his second five-game battle in succession when he ended French qualifier Gregoire Marche's run 4-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-2, 11-7.
In the opening match of the day, Egypt's top seed Omar Mosaad beat Mathieu Castagnet 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 in 49 minutes after a 15-minute delay when an accident gave the Frenchman a severe cut to the lip in the fourth game of the closely-contested match.
"Castagnet came back on court down 8-10 match ball to compete, won an incredibly long rally but then succumbed to lose 9-11," explained tournament promoter Charlie Johnson. "A local doctor and friend of squash then took him to hospital and got his lip stitched up and brought him back to the club. The Cincinnati/Dayton squash community is close and it was great to have the support on hand."
It took Spain's fourth seed Borja Golan only 37 minutes, the night's shortest quarter-final match, to despatch Egyptian Marwan El Shorbagy and move on to the semi-finals, where he will face Mosaad.
RESULTS: PSA International 35 EBS Dayton Open, Dayton, Ohio, USA
Quarter-finals:
[1] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (42m)
[4] Borja Golan (ESP) bt Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY) 11-1, 11-8, 11-3 (37m)
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt [3] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 13-11, 8-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 (89m)
[2] Alister Walker (BOT) bt [Q] Gregoire Marche (FRA) 4-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-2, 11-7 (68m)
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [4] Borja Golan (ESP)
[2] Alister Walker (BOT) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
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