Qualifier Coppinger Scalps Mosaad on Second Day of Channel VAS Championship by Sean Reuthe
photos PSA
December 9, 2016 -
South African qualifier Stephen Coppinger bridged a 16-place World
Rankings gap to upset World No.8 Omar Mosaad as the first round action
at the 2016 Channel VAS Championship at St George’s Hill, PSA M100
tournament drew to a close in Weybridge.
The opening day of the tournament saw three of the four matches go the
way of the lower-ranked player - with World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy
being the biggest casualty after he lost to Daryl Selby - and Coppinger
looked to be following suit after an error-strewn performance from
Mosaad saw the World No.24 go two games ahead.
Former World No.3 Mosaad managed to vary the range of his hitting
though in the third and fourth games to restore parity, but the errors
on his backhand side in particular handed the momentum back to
Coppinger in the decider, and he pressed on to take it 11-8, 11-9,
6-11, 6-11, 11-3 in 77 minutes.
"I think today I was far, far more relaxed than I normally would be," said Coppinger.
"Normally, I would be looking to really push the pace and just throw
everything at it from the word go. I think that actually helped because
I didn't feel like I was going for high risk shots.
"It's been a good season so far, so I've been fairly confident with my
game. I'm just looking forward to the rest of tournament and long may
it last, every day is a bonus."
Former World No.1 James Willstrop also got his tournament off to a
successful start after the Yorkshireman defeated Swiss qualifier
Nicolas Mueller in straight games.
Willstrop was appearing at the event just four days after losing out to
bitter rival Nick Matthew in the final of the AJ Bell British Squash
Grand Prix in Manchester, but showed no signs of fatigue as he dictated
the tempo in the early exchanges, finding all four corners with his
pinpoint accuracy to unsettle Mueller’s rhythm and go a game ahead.
Mueller responded with an attacking brand of squash in the second as he
looked to play the ball into the front corners, but Willstrop pushed
through to victory, before coming out on top in a high-quality third
game to seal the win by an 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 margin.
"I backed up alright, if I can play Nicolas and win 3-0 against him,
then it's a promising start," said Willstrop, who will play Coppinger
next.
"I've done my best over the last couple of days to get away from the
squash court, keep the body moving and I’m doing everything I can to
keep it healthy.
"It feels like I've done a decent job, and I've got to keep looking
after it because it is a bit heavy to play back-to-back tournaments
like that, but I was ready for it. I would much rather it was tough and
back-to-back than being out early, so it's good."
Elsewhere, World No.6 Marwan ElShorbagy ensured that he didn’t follow
his brother out of the tournament after he came through against
defending champion Chris Simpson in four games.
The 64-minute battle was a high-quality fixture, with both players
trading blows in an absorbing encounter that saw few unforced errors
and consistent line hitting throughout, and it was the man from
Alexandria who recovered from a game down to claim a 10-12, 11-8, 11-7,
11-4 victory.
“I was really looking forward to being on court today, I like this
venue, especially because my sponsors [Channel VAS] are sponsoring this
event,” said ElShorbagy.
“Every match that I play now is going to be tough and you have to
prepare mentally for each match. I'm really happy to get the win today.”
World No.11 Tarek Momen set up a mouthwatering quarter-final clash with
ElShorbagy after he defeated tournament wildcard and local hero Joe Lee
to dash home hopes at the St George's Hill Lawn Tennis Club.
“From the very beginning, I knew that I wasn’t going to play a regular
match, I knew that he would be a very tough opponent for me," said
Momen.
“He played really well today.”
Results - First Round (Bottom Half): 2016 Channel VAS Championship at St George’s Hill
[3] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 3-1: 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 (64m)
[5] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [WC] Joe Lee (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 11-4 (64m)
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (43m)
[Q] Stephen Coppinger (RSA) bt [2] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-2: 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 6-11, 11-3 (77m)
Draw - Quarter-Final: To be played Saturday December 10th
Daryl Selby (ENG) v Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[Q] Paul Coll (NZL) v [4] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[3] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [5] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) v [Q] Stephen Coppinger (RSA)
