Cuskelly Shocks World Champion ElShorbagy at ToC as Sobhy Makes Injury Comeback by Sean Reuthe
photos PSA
January 21, 2018
- Australian Ryan Cuskelly pulled off one of the biggest wins of his
career as he knocked World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy out of the 2018
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in a thrilling second round battle
on day four of the PSA World Series tournament taking place inside New
York’s Grand Central Terminal.
Coming into the match
ElShorbagy had won 28 of his past 30 matches on the PSA World Tour,
including a run of 21 consecutive matches that saw him collect four
titles on the trot, including December's World Championship, to close
the gap on Gregory Gaultier atop the World Rankings.
But the Egyptian found
himself out-muscled and out-hustled by Cuskelly in an absorbing
encounter as the man who has called New York home for almost a decade
produced one of his best ever displays throughout a a match of the
highest calibre, coming through a mammoth 90 minute encounter to cause
a huge upset.
“That's probably the biggest win of my career,” said Cuskelly afterwards.
“And winning here in
New York in front of family and friends makes it extra special. My wife
was trying to scout tickets for the day to get everyone in, so I'm
really happy to pull the win off and I have to thank everyone for the
great support I had today.
“I came in today with
a game plan and tried to vary the pace and be aggressive when I could
and just hang in there when he got on a roll. I managed to get some
errors out of him and hit my winners as well so I'm really happy.”
Cuskelly will line up
against another Egyptian, World No.7 Tarek Momen, for a place in the
semi-finals after Momen came through to win in straight games against
Peruvian World No.10 Diego Elias, who wasn’t at full fitness after
suffering an injury scare against England’s Declan James in the first
round.
Three-time winner Ramy
Ashour also booked his last eight berth after the World No.14
dispatched New Zealand’s Paul Coll in four games.
The Egyptian maverick,
who is now unbeaten in 12 matches at Grand Central Terminal after
winning the event on his last two appearances in 2011 and 2013, was in
sublime form in the first game and, after conceding the second game to
Coll, had to dig in before eventually completing an 11-4, 7-11, 11-7,
11-4 victory.
“I don’t know how it
looks from the outside, but when I watch us playing I see it as very
simple movement and a very simple kind of pace, but you have no idea
how many details are in there,” said Ashour.
“There’s so much
happening on that court, there’s so much energy, so many thoughts,
different vibes and strategies. My energy affects his energy and the
way he hits the ball affects the way I hit the ball. That’s why it’s a
brilliant sport and why I love it so much."
Ashour will take on
World No.3 Ali Farag in a mouthwatering quarter-final fixture after a
polished performance from Farag saw him oust 2015 semi-finalist Miguel
Angel Rodriguez by a 3-0 scoreline.
In the women’s draw,
former World No.6 Amanda Sobhy - who became the first American-born
woman ever to reach the final of this tournament back in 2016 - capped
her return from a 10-month injury absence with a 3-1 victory over 2007
World Champion Rachael Grinham.
Sobhy ruptured her
achilles while match ball up against compatriot Olivia Blatchford in
the semi-finals of the Ciudad de Floridablanca last March, enforcing a
gruelling period of rehabilitation, but the Harvard-graduate made a
successful comeback in front of her home fans.
"“It feels good to be back,” said Sobhy.
“When you’re out as
long as I was, just being on court is a huge accomplishment. I’ve
waited for so long and I got pushed, it was my first match and it
wasn’t easy.
“I’m relieved to win
but I’m also really happy to be back on Tour. She has an impeccable
front court game and that tested out my little leg. I’m happy that I
could get the majority of her balls and maybe for my next match I’ll be
slightly better.”
Sobhy will take on
U.S. Open champion Nour El Tayeb after she dismantled India’s World
No.20 Dipika Pallikal Karthik in just 18 minutes, while defending
champion Camille Serme got her tournament up and running with a
comfortable victory over Sobhy’s younger sister, Sabrina.
"I saw Sabrina play against Coline (Aumard) a few days ago and knew she would be dangerous today,” said Serme.
“I love coming back to
New York, it's so much fun to be playing here and I want to enjoy every
minute of it and spend as much time on that court as I can.”
Serme will take on
Australia’s Donna Urquhart for a place in the quarter-finals after the
Australian overcame an injured Annie Au, while 2014 champion Nicol
David and New Zealand’s Joelle King will go head-to-head after
respective wins over Samantha Cornett and Heba El Torky.
World Champion Raneem
El Welily was also in action and recovered from a game down to defeat
former World No.2 Jenny Duncalf - despite rolling her ankle painfully
at the end of the fourth game - and she will meet World No.12 Tesni
Evans in the next round, with Evans seeing off World Junior Champion
Hania El Hammamy.
The quarter-finals of
the men’s tournament begin tomorrow (January 22), while the women’s
tournament hits the second round stage - play starts from 11:00 local
time (GMT-5).
All of the matches -
which are held inside Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall - will
be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and Eurosport Player (Europe
only).
Results - Second Round (Bottom Half): 2018 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions [3] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (39m) Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [8] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4 (59m) [7] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Diego Elias (PER) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (25m) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) 3-2: 12-10, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6 (90m)
Draw - Men’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half): To Be Played January 22 [1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [6] Nick Matthew (ENG) Simon Rösner (GER) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
Draw - Men’s Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half): To Be Played January 23 [3] Ali Farag (EGY) v Ramy Ashour (EGY) [7] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
Draw - Second Round: To Be Played January 22 [1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [Q] Mariam Metwally (EGY) [13] Olivia Blatchford (USA) v [7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) [5] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [10] Alison Waters (ENG) Victoria Lust (ENG) v [4] Laura Massaro (ENG) [3] Camille Serme (FRA) v Donna Urquhart (AUS) [9] Joelle King (NZL) v [6] Nicol David (MAS) [8] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [12] Amanda Sobhy (USA) [15] Tesni Evans (WAL) v [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
