Gaultier Over Willstrop to Keep NetSuite Defence Alive In San Fran, Ashour Advances by Nathan Clarke September 28, 2015
- Defending NetSuite Open champion Gregory Gaultier kept alive his
hopes of retaining the trophy in the 2015 iteration of the PSA M100
tournament, and of claiming the title for the third time overall,
following a thrilling four-game encounter with England’s James
Willstrop in San Francisco earlier today (Sept 27)
The enigmatic Frenchman was taken to the brink against Egyptian Ali
Farag in the first round of action but showed no signs of any physical
weariness as he came out all guns blazing to romp to the opening game
after just nine minutes.
But Willstrop, who has been slowly recovering from a career-threating
hip injury during the past 12 months, responded in style, showing
glimpses of the form and signature precision hitting that saw him top
the world rankings for 11 months in 2012 as he dictated the pace to
level the scores.
Drama, tension, intense rallies and superlative hitting dominated a
tight third game as both players traded winners to the delight of the
crowd but it was Gaultier who edged it and the physical exertion took
it’s toll on 6’4" Willstrop as his energy levels dropped in the fourth
game, allowing the World No.3 to pounce and secure passage to the
semi-finals.
“That was a very tough four games tonight,” said Gaultier.
“James is definitely improving and that’s the best I’ve seen him play
for a while. At the beginning I was attacking and I could see he was
struggling to move but in the second he came out and surprised me and
was getting all my shots back.
“Luckily I managed to win the third game which was a big advantage for
me and I was able to let my arm go a little in the fourth so I’m very
happy to go through today.”
The 32-year-old from Aix-en-Provence will now take on World Champion
Ramy Ashour, the man who beat him in the 2013 NetSuite Open final, in
tomorrow’s semi-finals when the duo will be facing off for the 31st
time on the PSA World Tour.
Ashour booked his last four berth with a comfortable 3-1 win over
Australian qualifier Ryan Cuskelly while the top half of the draw will
see top seed Nick Matthew take on dynamic Colombian World No.4 Miguel
Angel Rodriguez for a place in the final.
Results - NetSuite Open PSA M100, Quarter-finals:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [5] Simon Rösner (GER) 3-2: 5-11, 11-7, 11-13, 13-11, 11-7 (96m)
[3] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 3-2: 6-11, 11-3, 8-11, 14-12, 11-8 (108m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 3-1: 11-5, 11-5, 11-13, 11-4 (58m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [8] James Willstrop (ENG) 3-1: 11-4, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3 (57m)
Draw - NetSuite Open PSA M100, Semi-finals
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [3] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
