48th-Ranked Mathieu Castagnet Upends #15 Cameron Pilley In $35K Montreal Open
by Runa Reta and Eric Dingle
March 21, 2012 - The quarter final night was a long affair in Montreal. The city is seeing record temperatures and the usually dead court became quite bouncy, and short rallies were scarce.
Mathieu Castagnet(FRA) beats Cameron Pilley (AUS) 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6
There was very little separating these two in the first game, despite the difference of nearly 30 ranking spots between them. The unassuming-looking Frenchman, with an unconventional technique and at least half a foot shorter than the Australian, managed not only to hang in, but to dictate play at many points of the game. But Pilley came up with some incredibly tight straight drop winners to take the first 11-8, to which the Frenchman was left to hack his racquet against the wall in frustration. Castagnet started off quickly in the second, taking the ball early with impressive speed and reach, and hitting some tight winners that Pilley could only blame the cracks of the court on. A few loose points by the Australian was all that it took to give the second to the Frenchman, who ended the game with a perfect forehand drop and an energized pump fist. Castagnet continued with tight and aggressive play in the third completely dictating the rallies, while Pilley made a number of unforced errors that prompted some disgusted expletives to himself. At 8-1 down, the curly-haired Australian woke up a bit with some nicely-constructed rallies, but he was too far behind, and the Frenchman took the 3rd 11-6. Not letting up in the fourth and smelling victory, Mathieu kept the pressure up and ended it 11-6.
Tom Richards (ENG) beats Martin Knight (NZL) 3-1
Richards had a much better start in this second round match compared to his first making several winners and almost toying with Knight as he coasted to an 11-3 win in the opening game. Knight fought back to win the second in what was likely the longest game of the tournament so far. However, Knight started to show fatigue in the third, wincing after several rallys and taking an injury timeout midway through the game. After returning to the court, he changed tactics slightly with a few serves and crosscourts directly into his opponent`s body, but Richards adapted and continued his consistent, tight play to bead the worn out Knight 3-1.
Hisham Ashour (EGY) beats Steve Finitsis (AUS) 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 13-11
Qualifier Finitsis didn`t appear to be intimidated by the 80 or so ranking difference between him and Ashour taking the early first game lead by several points and never giving it up. Ashour, frustrated by his slow start, increased the pace and the second turned into a game of who can end the rally the fastest, either by winner or by error. Similar to his first round match, Ashour got into a solid rhythm hitting several crowd pleasing winners and taking advantage of some untimely errors by Finitsis to take a 2-1 lead. Finitsis turned it around in the fourth, cutting out his errors and taking a 9-6 lead. The tenacious Ashour made it clear that he wasn`t about to play a fifth game, though, forcing several long rallies, finishing them off with decisive winners and taking the fourth in extra points to win 3-1.
Thierry Lincou (FRA) beats Alan Clyne (SCO) 5-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-5
The match started with an intense pace from both sides. Lincou looked strong with his technical play, but Clyne combined many good gets and almost no errors with a string of backhand drops into the nick to take the first game decisively 11-5. Lincou countered in the second with patient, tight squash, forcing Clyne to do most of the work and to make several errors scraping the ball off the wall. Two games in, Clyne still looked fresh never giving up on a ball and making several impressive returns, but Lincou`s consistency was producing many forced errors from the Scotsman. A number of unforced errors didn`t help him either as Lincou confidently took the third 11-3. The fourth continued in much the same way for the Frenchman as Clyne, sprawling all over the court, continued to make astounding gets but also a mixture of forced and unforced errors, leaving Lincou with the victory and a spot in the semis.
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