Serme Stuns Golan In Hong Kong Opener, Sobhy Advances by Nathan Clarke December 1, 2015
- French qualifier Lucas Serme pulled off the biggest win of his career
to date as he stunned former World No.5 Borja Golan in the first round
of the 2015 Men’s Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open,
PSA World Series tournament, currently taking place at the Hong Kong
Squash centre.
The 23-year-old World No.49 put in a fine performance as he nullified
the Spanish World No.17 in a bruising 74-minute encounter, utilising
all four corners of the court as he came from one game behind to record
an impressive victory that sees him progress to the second round of a
PSA World Series tournament for the first time in his career, where
World Championship runner-up Omar Mossad awaits.
“That’s probably one of the best results I’ve had in my career so far so I’m just ecstatic with the win,” said Serme.
“I’ve watched a lot of his matches since I was young so I knew his game
and he maybe didn’t know too much about me. I was able to read him well
and I think I frustrated him. I tried not to make many mistakes and
just stick in there during the longer rallies and I think it was a case
of him breaking before me
“It’s a great win for my rankings and a boost for me in terms of
confidence so it’s all positive. and hopefully I can play well again in
the next round.”
Mossad booked his place in the second round with an accomplished
victory over local favourite Max Lee, coming through 12-10, 11-7, 7-11,
11-5, while World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy rebounded from his
disappointing third round exit at the World Championship with a
straightforward 3-1 victory over Peter Barker, which signalled the end
of the Englishman’s career after he announced this would be his last
competitive tournament.
“Peter is a player I have admired and looked up to since I was a kid so
it was an honour for me to be his last opponent on the PSA World Tour,”
said Elshorbagy foliowing their encounter.
Elsewhere on day one of action there were wins for Daryl Selby, Mathieu
Castagnet, Chris Simpson, Saurav Ghosal and Miguel Angel Rodriguez
while in the women’s draw Malaysian Low Wee Wern celebrated her
comeback to the PSA World Tour after a nine-month absence with a hard
fought victory over Coline Aumard.
A knee injury had prevented the 25-year-old from competing on tour
since February’s Windy City Open and she was given a tough welcome back
by the tenacious Frenchwomen in a gritty 67 minute match. Low looked to
be heading for an early exit when she found herself 2-1 down but
managed to force a decisive fifth game and went on to save three match
balls to keep her tournament alive, eventually coming through 11-7,
4-11, 9-11, 11-5, 14-12.
“I’m still not moving that well because I still have some pain in my knee,” said Low.
“I had to really slow it down on there because my movement is hampered.
I was a little lucky in the end but it’s great to get a win - it’s very
pleasing.
“Once you’re an athlete you always want to win and compete. I’ve missed so much and I don’t want to miss out on any more.”
Low is joined in the second round by World No.1 and No.2 Raneem El
Welily and Laura Massaro, after they eased through their opening
encounters at the Hong Kong Squash Centre while there were also wins
for Jenny Duncalf, Amanda Sobhy, Nouran Gohar, Emily Whitlcok and Heba
El Torky.
Draw - First Round (Bottom Half) 2015 Men’s Hong Kong Open, PSA World Series:
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [WC] Leo Au (HKG)
James Willstrop (ENG) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [Q] Rex Hedrick (AUS)
[Q] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v [5] Simon Rösner (GER)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [Q] Declan James (ENG)
Tom Richards (ENG) v [Q] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [Q] Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [2] Nick Matthew (ENG)
Draw - First Round (Bottom Half) 2015 Women’s Hong Kong Open, PSA World Series:
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) v Tesni Evans (WAL)
Habiba Mohamed (EGY) v [14] Dipika Pallikal (IND)
[11] Rachael Grinham (AUS) v [Q] Ho Tze-Lok (HKG)
[Q] Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) v [5] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY)
[7] Annie Au (HKG) v Joelle King (NZL)
[Q] Megan Craig (NZL) v [15] Joshna Chinappa (IND)
[10] Delia Arnold (MAS) v Nicolette Fernandes (GUY)
[WC] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) v [2] Nicol David (MAS)
