Elias Downs Top Seeded Qualifier Müller To Complete Colombia Open Draw by Nathan Clarke February 16, 2016
- Peruvian World Junior Champion Diego Elias secured an emphatic
victory in the final round of qualification at the 2016 SquashColombia
Open to defeat top seeded Nicolas Müller and reach the main draw of the
lucrative 16-man tournament, joining fellow Latin Americans Caesar
Salazar and Miguel Angel Rodriguez in the first-round field.
Elias
overcame a gap of 11 places on the World Rankings to see off No.28
Müller in straight-games in a performance that bodes well for his hopes
of springing a surprise victory over India's World No.20 Saurav Ghosal,
who competes for the first time since December due to injury, when the
first round of the tournament gets underway on Feb 16.
Mexican
Salazar, the World No.29, joined Elias in the main draw after coming
through a highly competitive qualification battle with Campbell Grayson
of New Zealand to set up a first round match with UCS Swedish Open
runner-up Tarek Momen while fellow Mexican Alfredo Avila came within
touching distance of making the main draw, falling to a narrow 12-10
loss in the fifth game against Egyptian Zahed Mohamed.
Scotland's
Alan Clyne completed the 16-man field with a polished 3-0 win over
England's Charles Sharpes and will face home-favourite and the highest
ranked South American player ever, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, the World
No.6.
Qualifying Final Results: [6] Diego Elias (PER) bt [1] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-8, 11-1, 11-7 (35m) [3] Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt [7] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-1: 11-6, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9 (70m) [4] Alan Clyne (SCO) bt [8] Charles Sharpes (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-3, 11-3 (34m) [2] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [5] Alfredo Avila (MEX) 3-2: 11-9, 11-4, 8-11, 7-11, 12-10 (90m)
First Round Draw - 2016 SquashColombia Open: [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [WC] Andres Herrera (COL) Tom Richards (ENG) v [7] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) [5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v Borja Golan (ESP) [Q] Alan Clyne (SCO) v [3] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) [4] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [Q] Cesar Salazar (MEX) Stephen Coppinger (RSA) v [6] Cameron Pilley (AUS) [8] Saurav Ghosal (IND) v [Q] Diego Elias (PER) [Q] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) v [2] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
