Rosner Removes Kuwait Champion Shabana
by Howard Harding
Shabana-Rosner, photo courtesy Steve Cubbins
24 November 2011 - Egypt's fourth seed Amr Shabana, a finalist in his last four appearances in Kuwait, crashed out of the inaugural Kuwait PSA Cup today, beaten in straight games by unseeded German Simon Rosner in the second round of the eighth PSA World Series squash event of the year in Kuwait City.
It was on the same all-glass court at Green Island in 2009 that the former world number one from Giza won his fourth World Open title, equalling the achievements of former greats Geoff Hunt, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan.
But last year's Kuwait Open runner-up, currently ranked four in the world, was no match for the ever-improving Rosner, as the 24-year-old from Paderborn - who has never before progressed beyond the first round - romped to an 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 victory in 22 minutes.
"I'll take a 3/0 win against Shabana any day," the delighted Rosner told www.squashsite.com afterwards. "He beat me so many times, and he's been my idol since the age or 12 or 13.
"So a win against him today is pretty special, not to mention my best win over a top player," added Rosner, who celebrated a career-best world No24 ranking this month.
Rosner will now face Stewart Boswell after the No15 seed from Australia beat South African Stephen Coppinger 11-5, 11-6, 11-6.
But the standout match of the day took place later on the same court when Kuwaiti wildcard Abdullah Al Muzayen, who upset higher-ranked Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez 24 hours earlier, stretched ninth seed Daryl Selby to five games before finally bowing out to the experienced world No12 from England 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9 after 66 minutes.
"He is such a great player, he has improved so much over the past year," said Selby of the Kuwaiti number one who is ranked 80 in the world. "He's been playing a lot of tournaments around these areas, and has started to make his mark. And if he keeps on playing like that, there is absolutely no reason he couldn't reach top 20, top 10.
"This court is just great," Selby continued. "It's what we professional squash players train for all year, to play in front of great crowds like this one in Kuwait. I had pretty good memories here, and tonight, it went my side - well, just about!"
Despite his defeat, Al Muzayen enjoyed the experience: "I so enjoyed playing Daryl - what a great player, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to play one of the top players in the world. And I hope that I made the Kuwait crowd happy tonight.
"Next year, I'll be coming back and play better squash," added the 23-year-old left-hander. "I'm going to work hard and train to improve both my fitness and my squash. And I'll be a better player next year."
Top-seeded Englishman Nick Matthew earned his place in the last 16 following an 11-6, 11-3, 11-1 victory over Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller.
"I had the utmost respect for him, for the way he plays at the moment, and that's the best compliment I can give him," said the world number one and world champion after his win. "I was ready for him!"
Egypt's No7 seed Mohamed El Shorbagy squandered a 2/0 lead over Borja Golan when the unseeded Spaniard came back to level the match and build up an 8-5 lead in the decider. The 20-year-old from Alexandria had to save one match ball, then finished with two crosscourt volley nicks to win 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 2-11, 12-10 after 85 minutes.
RESULTS: PSA World Series Kuwait PSA Cup, Kuwait City, Kuwait
2nd round:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 11-6, 11-3, 11-1 (29m)
[13] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Chris Ryder (ENG) 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 (58m)
[9] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 5-11, 11-9 (66m)
[7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 2-11, 12-10 (85m)
[8] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-6, 13-11, 11-6 (47m)
[10] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-2 (70m)
[16] Alister Walker (BOT) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8 (85m)
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-0, 11-8, 11-9 (27m)
Simon Rosner (GER) bt [4] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (22m)
[15] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (40m)
[12] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-3, 11-4, 11-9 (18m)
[5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 11-7, 11-2, 11-6 (34m)
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 (42m)
[14] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 11-6, 11-13, 5-11, 11-4, 11-3 (76m)
[11] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Max Lee (HKG) 11-8, 11-13, 11-7, 11-5 (67m)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (28m)
3rd round line-up:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [13] Cameron Pilley (AUS)
[7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) v [9] Daryl Selby (ENG)
[8] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v [10] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED)
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) v [16] Alister Walker (BOT)
Simon Rosner (GER) v [15] Stewart Boswell (AUS)
[5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [12] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) v [14] Adrian Grant (ENG)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) v [11] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
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