Miguel Marches On In Bogota
by Howard Harding
1 September 2012 - Local hero Miguel Angel Rodriguez maintained his mighty run in the Club El Nogal Bogota Colombian Open by beating higher-ranked South African Stephen Coppinger to reach the final of the PSA World Tour International 35 squash event at Club El Nogal in Bogota.
The sensational win takes Rodriguez into the final of the established Tour event in Colombia for the fourth time since 2006.
Unseeded, the Bogota-based Colombian number one made his breakthrough in the previous round where he ousted top seed and defending champion Mohamed El Shorbagy, the world No8.
The world No27, winner of the trophy in 2008 and 2010, now faced South African champion Coppinger, the No4 seed ranked a single slot higher.
"The first game was long and intense," said tournament spokesman Juan Carlos Santacruz. "Rodríguez waited for the right moment to attack and won the first game. Two exceptional drop shots in the second game motivated Coppinger to win the second game after 40 minutes."
Spurred on by the partisan crowd at his home club, Rodriguez reclaimed the advantage to win the third game after a tie-break.
"In the final game the Colombian attacked with precision and won," added Santacruz.
The 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-0 victory in 66 minutes was the 26-year-old's second successive match lasting more than an hour.
Rodriguez will now face third seed Tarek Momen, the world No21 from Egypt making his maiden appearance in the Bogota event.
Momen ended the giant-killing run of Henrik Mustonen, beating the Finn who upset second seed Hisham Mohd Ashour in the first round.
The 24-year-old from Cairo needed just 20 minutes to quash Mustonen 11-7, 11-5, 11-2.
RESULTS: PSA International 35 Club El Nogal Bogota Colombian Open, Bogota, Colombia
Semi-finals:
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [4] Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-0 (66m)
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 11-7, 11-5, 11-2 (20m)
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