Home Hopes Fall At First Hurdle In 2016 Tournament Of Champions by Nathan Clarke photos squashpics.com
January 8, 2016 -
The second day of first round action at the 2016 J.P. Morgan Tournament
of Champions in New York saw local favourites Todd Harrity and Ramit
Tandon crash out of the prestigious PSA World Series tournament at the
first hurdle as the competition’s top seeds stamped their authority on
proceedings inside the iconic Grand Central Terminal.
Tournament
Wildcard Harrity, the highest ranked male American player on the PSA
World Tour at No.52, produced one of his most notable performances
to-date on the sport’s grandest stage but, despite taking a game and
frequently dominating proceedings during a back-and-forth encounter,
couldn’t find enough in his locker to overcome 21-year-old Egyptian
talent Fares Dessouki.
Competing at the tournament, which
exposes the sport to record crowds during the week-long extravaganza in
Vanderbilt Hall, for the first time in his career Dessouki at times cut
a distracted figure on court as he struggled to find any consistent
rhythm but the World No.21 eventually managed to secure passage to the
second round 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8.
“It’s my first ever
time here at this tournament and I enjoyed being out on the court here
today,” said Dessouki. “The crowd is amazing and it was good to hear
them being loud and vocal today.
“I think that he probably
played better than me today but I am happy to win and I need to work
hard now and try and come back better for the next match.”
Speaking
after the match Harrity said: “It’s always special and exciting to play
here and it was great to have so many friends and supporters behind me.
It’s always a bit edgy when playing on a stage like this and while the
loss is disappointing there’s lots of positives to take.”
Indian
World No.255 Tandon, the former Columbia University student and current
New York native, defeated Harvard graduate Ali Farag, the World No.22,
in qualification to book an unexpected place in the main draw against
World Champion Gregory Gaultier and acquitted himself with pride in
front of vocal support during a 32-minute encounter.
While
never true troubling Gaultier, the 23-year-old, who as a part-time
athlete was playing in just his 40th career match, managed to notch up
a series of points courtesy of some intelligent play in a performance
that will serve to bolster his credentials to one day join the tour on
a full time basis while for Gaultier it was back to business as usual
as he bids to begin 2016 by winning one of the sport’s most iconic
titles.
“I have never played, or even seen him play before,
so I had to go on YouTube to see see footage of him playing in order to
prepare for the match,” said Gaultier.
“I saw he was
talented and I spoke to some of the guys on tour who told me the same
thing so I prepared myself to make sure I was careful on court and put
the ball away when I was given any opportunity.
“I had a
good break over Christmas and New Year to recharge. I was tired towards
the end of last year having played so many matches during the second
half of the year but I feel star and fresh here so I’m looking forward
to the next round an playing in front of such a great crowd in this
amazing venue.”
World No.3 Nick Matthew, Gaultier’s seeded
semi-final opponent, began his campaign by navigating a tricky
encounter with Peruvian teenager Diego Elias, the current World Junior
Champion, who showed just why he is billed as a future World No.1 as he
stuck with the ever-physical Matthew throughout the duration of their
65-minute battle, playing with patience and composure to trouble the
35-year-old on numerous occasions.
It was Matthew’s
unrelenting physical style and his ability to retrieve and extend
rallies that made the difference in the end as the exertions took their
toll on the youngster during the latter stages of the match as the
experienced ‘Wolf’ pulled away to secure his place in the second round
11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 11-8.
“I’ve seen him play and I’ve trained
with him before but he surprised me tonight with how well and how long
he managed to stick with the pace and hang in the match,” said Matthew.
“He
showed a very mature all-round game and the quality of his play on the
back foot was impressive. In the next round I need to make sure that I
step on the gas when I’m ahead in games and not allow the opponent a
chance to get back into it.
“All credit to him for how he
fought back, especially in the second, but certainly a few things for
me to work on ahead of the second round.”
Results: J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions - Men’s First Round (Bottom Half) [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-3 (32m) Fares Dessouki (EGY) bt [WC] Todd Harrity (USA) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8 (52m) James Willstrop (ENG) bt Alister Walker (BOT) 11-7, 3-0 retired (12m) [6] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-1 (40m) [8] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-5, 11-1, 11-3 (30m) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt [Q] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) 3-1: 11-6, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 (69m) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-2: 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 3-11, 11-8 (75m) [2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [Q] Diego Elias (PER) 3-1: 11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 11-8 (65m)
Draw: J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions - Men’s Second Round [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Cameron Pilley (AUS) Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v [5] Omar Mosaad (EGY) [7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v Max Lee (HKG) Leo Au (HKG) v Borja Golan (ESP) [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Fares Dessouki (EGY) James Willstrop (ENG) v [6] Simon Rösner (GER) [8] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [2] Nick Matthew (ENG)
The
2016 Men’s J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, PSA World Series
tournament, takes place in New York’s iconic Grand Central Terminal
from Jan 7 - 14, with the 2016 Women’s tournament taking place from Jan
9 - 14.
Ticket prices range from $8 for early round
matches, going up to $170 for the sought-after Men’s and Women’s Finals
on the evening of Thursday, January 14th. Tickets are available online
at ToCSquash.com or by calling (718) 569-0594.
