Rosner Races Into $25K PSA Santiago Semis
by Howard Harding
19 October 2012 - Germany's Simon Rosner claimed the quickest quarter-final win in the Santiago Open in Spain when he ended qualifier Shaun le Roux's run in the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event staged on an all-glass court at the Central Area Shopping Center in Santiago de Compostela.
The third seed from Paderborn despatched South African Le Roux 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 in just 30 minutes to earn a clash with top seed Borja Golan, the top-ranked Spaniard playing in his home town.
"I played well apart from the first points in the first game, but managed to just sneak that game 11-9," said the six-time German national champion. "Afterwards I played better and managed to hit the corners!
"I'm looking forward to my match tomorrow and hope to reach the final," added the 24-year-old world No18.
Golan, the defending champion bidding for his third Santiago Open title since 2008, survived the longest match of the day - stretched to four games and 62 minutes before seeing off British U23 champion Adrian Waller 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9.
In the top half of the draw, Englishman Adrian Grant moved closer to his fourth final in a row after beating Malaysian Ivan Yuen 11-8, 11-5, 11-5.
The top seed, ranked 19 in the world, will now face fourth seed Cameron Pilley. The Australian number recovered from a game down to defeat Egyptian Omar Abdel Aziz 9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-1.
Incredibly, Grant and Pilley - who have shared places in the world top 20 for more than six years and first met in 2002 - will be celebrating their first PSA World Tour meeting since 2007!
RESULTS: PSA International 25 Santiago Open, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Quarter-finals:
[1] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 (32m)
[4] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-1 (43m)
[3] Simon Rosner (GER) bt [Q] Shaun le Roux (RSA) 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 (30m)
[2] Borja Golan (ESP) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 11-8, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 (62m)
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Adrian Grant (ENG) v [4] Cameron Pilley (AUS)
[2] Borja Golan (ESP) v [3] Simon Rosner (GER)
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