Gaultier And Matthew Secure Second Round Spots In New York by Nathan Clarke January 17, 2014
- English three-time World Champion Nick Matthew and French World No.2
Gregory Gaultier, the man Matthew beat to claim two of his world
crowns, moved one step closer to a potential semi-final showdown at the
2015 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions after coming through their
first round match-ups in Manhattan today (Jan 17).
In the opening PSA World Series event of 2015, taking place at the
iconic Grand Central Terminal, the duo prevailed in strikingly
different styles with Gaultier effortless against Hong Kong's Max Lee
while Matthew was given a stern test by compatriot Daryl Selby.
After opening proceedings with a gut-busting rally that set the scene
for what was to follow, the English pair served up a 70-minute battle
of attrition that saw them trade blows with spectacular retrievals
interspersed with pinpoint accurate winning shots but it was
Sheffield-man Matthew who withstood an early Selby onslaught to
complete a hard-earned 3-1 victory.
"That was a very tough match against Daryl today," said 34-year-old Matthew.
"When he moves well he is a top ten player without any doubt. He's had
a few problems with his body over the past year but he's been moving
well again recently so I knew it was going to be a tough one.
"In the first game it took me a little while to find my range. He came
out with an aggressive plan, making it tough to break him down, and
that game was crucial.
"If he'd snuck it then it would have been a very tough ask as he always
seems to counter me well so I was pleased to get off in four at the end
and I'll rest up tomorrow ready to return on Monday."
2014 Tournament of Champions runner-up Gaultier took 44-minutes to get
past Lee and never looked troubled against the World No.16.
"I maybe relaxed a little bit in the second game and let him get into
it but it was a good first round match for me as it was fast paced and
really got my body working," said Gaultier.
"I had a few weeks off over Christmas but I was feeling fluid today so I'm happy with the win."
Earlier in the day German World No.10 Simon Rösner came through a
thrilling encounter with Stephen Coppinger, the South African World
No.18, to book his place in the second round.
Two of the most physically imposing players on the PSA World Tour, the
duo tested each other to the brink in an mammoth 87-minute battle that
saw them trading points in a continuous series of brutal,
energy-sapping rallies.
Coppinger took first blood with a 12-10 win in the opening game but
Rösner showed the battling spirit that has taken him into the top ten
for the first time in his career to bounce back and secure an
impressive 3-1 win, taking the match 10-12, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10.
"There were a lot of very tight decisions today and it was a tough match for both of us," said Rösner.
"Stephen is a top quality player and we've had some very tough battles
in the past so I'm just really pleased to get through and win.
"I tried to play the match point by point and keep my focus all the way
through and I'm just happy to still be in the tournament."
There were also victories for Omar Mosaad, Mathieu Castagnet, Peter
Barker and Miguel Angel Rodriguez while qualifier Tom Richards pulled
off the biggest upset of the day to knock out Alister Walker 3-0.
Results - First Round, Bottom Half:
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-1: 12-10, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6 [70m]
Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [Q] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4 [66m]
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [Q] Diego Elias (PER) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, 3-11, 11-5 [68m]
[8] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 3-1: 10-12, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10 [87m]
[5] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 1103 [47m]
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [Q] Joe Lee (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 [51m]
[Q] Tom Richards (ENG) bt Alister Walker (BOT) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 [37m]
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Max Lee (HKG) 3-0: 11-1, 11-7, 11-2 [44m]
Draw - Second Round, Top Half (To be played Sunday Jan 18)
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
Chris Simpson (ENG) v [6] Borja Golan (ESP)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Saurav Ghosal (IND)
Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [4] Amr Shabana (EGY)
