Selby Sends English Trio Into World Championship Quarter-Finals by Howard Harding
photos courtesy Steve Cubbins
30 October 2013
- A dazzling performance by 13th seed Daryl Selby in today's third
round of the AJ Bell PSA World Squash Championship in Manchester will
see an unexpected trio of Englishmen contest the quarter-finals of the
sport's premier event of the year which moves to Manchester Central
from tomorrow through to the final on Sunday.
Selby, the world No14
from Chelmsford in Essex who has never progressed beyond the last 16 in
six previous appearances since 2007, dropped the opening game to Karim
Darwish as the No5 seed from Egypt looked set to extend his 6/1 career
head-to-head lead over the Englishman.
But Selby (pictured
above in action with Darwish) fought back to take the next two games
and move into the lead at the National Squash Centre. However, the
world No5 from Cairo - runner-up in the event the last time it was
staged in Manchester, in 2008 - regained control of the game to draw
level.
It was nip and tuck
through the decider, with Selby reaching 9-6 before Darwish cut back
the deficit to 8-9. But two points later and it was underdog Selby who
raised his hands in delight (as pictured below) after his 4-11, 11-9,
12-10, 8-11, 11-8 victory in 85 minutes - the longest match of the day.
"Wow, it's my first
quarter-final of a world championship and what better place to do it
than in front of a home crowd - thanks to the crowd for getting behind
me tonight," said the jubilant 30-year-old Selby. "I think when it got
close in the fifth the support really made a difference - I really felt
the energy and it pushed me through because I didn't have much left
there at the end.
"He beat me in a tight
3/1 last year so I guess that's a little bit of revenge. But he's a
class player - he showed that last week at the US Open - and I'm
ecstatic to win.
"I like being the
underdog, I fight every point," continued the Essex hero. "I fight
every time I'm on court even if it's not going my way and I don't feel
like I'm hitting it where I want to. He played well the first game, I
really struggled. I've had two matches on the back courts, he's had two
matches on here - I think that was the difference.
"I just wanted to try
and get a game. After the first game, I thought this could be quick -
but I just dug in and I got there in the end. I'm proud to do it."
Selby's win ensures
surprise domestic interest in three of the four quarter-finals. In the
first match of the day, fourth seed Nick Matthew survived a hard-fought
contest with 11th seed Omar Mosaad, needing 71 minutes to get past the
tall Egyptian 11-4, 11-7, 11-13, 11-4.
"When it got tight in
the third, he became very hard to beat," said the two-time champion
from Sheffield. "I'm lucky I got to a good start in the fourth.
"We play the Nationals
here - it's easier to win that as there are no Egyptians! I love the
court, I'm used to it, I'm used to the bounces - it feels home to me
and I'm used to the crowd!
"I had lost a bit of
motivation at the end of last season, but I don't have the skill of
James (Willstrop) or Ramy (Ashour) so I work on my tenacity," Matthew
confided to the event MC.
"A new tournament
starts tomorrow (at Manchester Central), it's so exciting, I'm sure
we'll all love it, and the crowd as well, especially with the BBC being
there and all."
In one of the pick of
the last eight clashes, Matthew will take on distinguished Egyptian Amr
Shabana, the four-time winner of the prestigious title.
Eighth seed Shabana
denied Miguel Angel Rodriguez his first time in the quarter-finals when
he beat the talented Colombian, the 16th seed, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 in 37
minutes.
"I'm very happy to be
in the quarters for the 11th time," admitted the 34-year-old former
world number one from Cairo. "This is a very high quality tournament,
and I'm very proud to be in it.
"Miguel is one of
those dangerous players - I've played him four times now and every time
I can feel the sting of his squash, his intensity is getting better,
the quality of his shots is getting better, and he is very difficult to
beat.
"You don't appreciate
something until it's taken away from you. And when I was off sick for
all those weeks (suffering with a liver complaint), not sure if I'll be
able to step on another every again, I came to regret each time I got
on court and didn't give my all."
On his next match with
Matthew, Shabana added: "We've played each other so many times, he is
an unbelievable athlete, I can't surprise him anymore, so I'll think
about that one about one hour before the match!"
Third seed James
Willstrop is England's other quarter-finalist. The world No3 from
Harrogate despatched ninth-seeded Spaniard Borja Golan 11-4, 11-8, 11-6
and will now face Egypt's No6 Mohamed Elshorbagy in a repeat of last
year's semi-final, which the Egyptian underdog won in a 112-minute
marathon.
"Borja is in form at
the moment, and when you play the top 16 in the world, it's bound to be
tough," said world No3 Willstrop later.
"I'm really happy to
play here - it's one of the best experiences you can have, to play in
your home country. Manchester is almost all the English guys' second
home because we all train here and we've played countless tournaments
here. Manchester has always been a great supporter of squash so it's
good to have people around you, to support, to come and watch - it's
always good to have the crowd on your side."
Elshorbagy was on fire as he beat top-ranked German Simon Rosner, the No12 seed, 11-1, 11-9, 11-7.
Egypt's defending
champion Ramy Ashour, the world number one from Cairo, secured his
expected place in the last eight for the third year in a row when he
beat Australian Cameron Pilley. But the 14th seed from New South Wales
played one of his best ever matches against the dominant Egyptian and
soon opened up a one-game lead.
Ashour found his form
in the second and third and reclaimed the advantage. But world No13
Pilley, who had never before beaten his illustrious opponent in eight
meetings over the past five years, was not about to lie down - and was
a point away from levelling the match at 10-7 in the fourth.
But Ashour clawed back
the deficit and clinched his first match ball to win 9-11, 11-8, 11-4,
12-10 in 62 minutes - thereby extending his unbeaten Tour run to 48
matches since May last year.
"Cameron played so
well, he was finding nicks from everywhere - I was under so much
pressure, my shots weren't going in at all today," said 26-year-old
Ashour. "I had to rely on my fitness to win, and I'm so glad it worked!
That win against Cameron gives me a lot of confidence.
"I have so much pressure, so many factors - plus that extra enemy up there in my head!
"Everybody wants to
win this, and every match you play is a match for the World Champs
title," added Ashour. "So I'll just keep on playing, I will keep on
doing my best and keep playing."
Pilley commented:
"Apart from a few periods, I played nice lines and lengths, killing the
ball at the front as soon as I had the opportunity, keeping the pace
up. And against Ramy, you've got to vary the pace as well.
"I did that in
patches, but I feel that I had the wrong choice selection at the end of
the fourth: I was playing like I was playing at 3-3 in that game,
instead of 10-8. I should have taken the initiative I guess - but then
again, I just kept on doing what I did to get me there!"
Ashour will line up
against India's Saurav Ghosal - the only unseeded player in the last
eight - after the 27-year-old from Kolkata put his name in the squash
record books by becoming the first Indian to reach the quarter-finals
in the event's 37-year history.
But world No17 Ghosal,
widely regarded as one of the fastest players in the Tour, had to fight
back from two games down to beat outsider Henrik Mustonen, the world
No40 from Finland, 5-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-2 in 66 minutes.
"Henrik played
unbelievable squash in the first two games," said a delighted Ghosal
(pictured above in action with Mustonen) later. "Actually he was match
ball down in his first round match and came back to win it - that shows
how strong he is mentally. He really caught me off guard with the
quality of his shots. I had to dig in super super super deep to grind
out of that one.
"Personally for me
it's a massive achievement. It's the first time I've made it to the
quarter-finals of the World Championship and it's huge to be in there
in the last eight with the world's best players. I've made it one step
further than I have before so I'm going to enjoy it - but I will be
coming back tomorrow and hopefully I can play another good game and
give myself a chance of progressing even further.
The World Championship
is a massive competition and a very prestigious title. It's a title
every squash player dreams of winning and I'm delighted to go one step
closer towards that dream."
In the final match of
the day, in-form Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, the No2 seed, beat Egypt's
Tarek Momen 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 to set up a quarter-final clash with Selby.
RESULTS: AJ Bell PSA World Squash Championship, Manchester, England
Quarter-final line-up: [1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v Saurav Ghosal (IND) [4] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [8] Amr Shabana (EGY) [3] James Willstrop (ENG) v [6] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [13] Daryl Selby (ENG)
