Ashour Heads Trio of Egyptians in British Open Semi-Final Lineup by Nathan Clarke photos squashpics.com
March 25, 2016
- There will be three Egyptian men in the semi-final stage of the
prestigious Allam British Open, PSA World Series tournament, for the
first time in the modern era after 2013 champion Ramy Ashour led World
No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy and Karim Abdel Gawad into the last four in
Hull.
Ashour downed compatriot Ali Farag in a scintillating
56-minute encounter that saw both players showcase some exquisite
squash with Ashour in particular hitting a spectacular corkscrew shot
that died in the forehand back corner. The 28-year-old closed out the
victory by an 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 scoreline to move in to the last four
where he will face World Champion Gregory Gaultier.
“I’m
really happy with my performance especially coming back from injury, it
means a lot to me and everyone who believed in me,” he said.
“It’s
just great to be in the semi-finals but I’m not expecting anything and
I won’t get ahead of myself. I wasn’t playing in patches today which is
a great sign. I just want to push myself as best I can until my body or
my mind breaks down.
“He’s [Farag] a very respectful
character and I think he is now the ‘over-dog’ rather than the
‘under-dog’. His movement is unbelievable and he’s definitely a top-10
quality player.”
Elshorbagy safely secured his passage into the next round with a strong victory over Colombia’s Miguel Angel Rodriguez.
Rodriguez
put in a valiant display but, despite some excellent retrieval skills
and a trademark dive wowing an enraptured crowd, Elshorbagy’s class
shone through as the man from Alexandria powered to an 11-8, 11-8, 11-9
victory.
"Trying to defend this title is going to mean so much to me and my team,” said Elshorbagy.
“Winning
it the first time is always the toughest but, now I have won, I’m
relaxed. You deal with each match differently. Today was very tough
because it was very hot today and they are the perfect conditions for
him and the worst conditions for me.
"I had to deal with
it and I was glad I was able to slow down the pace and keep it as tight
as I can. He played really well but this is the British Open and I am
playing my best squash here."
Elshorbagy will face
compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad in the next round after he dispatched the
younger Elshorbagy, Marwan, in four games, while World Champion Gregory
Gaultier beat Germany’s Simon Rösner to set up a semi-final showdown
with Ashour.
Defending Women’s champion Camille Serme took a
step closer to retaining her crown after a stunning win against World
No.1 Laura Massaro in a repeat of last year’s final.
Serme
played at a high tempo throughout, with a plethora of attacking volleys
paying dividends as Massaro struggled to find any fluency in her game
and the 26-year-old took the match 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 to complete a
stunning victory that dashed any hopes of home success after Nick
Matthew and James Willstrop bowed out in the previous round.
"I felt good on court today, a bit nervous at the beginning, but I got more and more confident with my game," said Serme.
"Last
year I was really focused on what to do and I’m really happy. I wanted
to play a lot of volleys and try to attack as soon as I could without
rushing it. I was trying to find the balance between rushing and not
rushing."
Nouran Gohar caused the day’s big upset in the
Women’s draw with a fine victory over close friend and Egyptian No.1
Raneem El Welily, while five-time winner Nicol David required four
games to see off Omneya Abdel Kawy. Nour El Sherbini was the other
victor with a straight games dismantling of United States No.1 Amanda
Sobhy.
