Momen And Castagnet Comeback From Brink To Keep Windy City Hopes Alive by Nathan Clarke photos squashpics.com
February 26, 2016
-On the second day of first round action at the 2016 Windy City Open
presented by Guggenheim Partners and Equitrust Life Insurance Company
Egyptian Tarek Momen and Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet were forced to dig
deep to escape the clutches of defeat and keep their tournament
aspirations alive on a day that was once again dominated by lengthy
battles across the men’s draw.
World No.8 Castagnet found
himself 2-0 down and match ball down to an in-form Ali Farag, the
Egyptian who last month captured the biggest title of his career at the
Motor City Open defeating World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy and World No.3
Nick Matthew en-route, but showed why he is considered one of the most
tenacious competitors on tour as he showed tremendous fighting spirit
to complete one of the most remarkable comebacks in tournament history
after an absorbing 71 minutes.
“I don’t know how I did it,”
said Castagnet. “I was in very good shape today and I worked hard on
getting the right tactics with my coach Renan Lavigne for the third,
fourth and fifth games and I’m very, very happy that it worked.
“We
have played a few times and I remember a match a few years ago and he
had 7 match balls and I saved them to win in five. So when I saved them
today I was sure he would think about that match and I was confident I
could pull it off so I’m delighted.”
It took World No.11
Tarek Momen six minutes longer to secure his second round place as he
twice came from behind to get the better of Swiss national champion
Nicolas Müller - who played his best match of recent years to come
within a whisker of a huge upset.
After seeing an early 7-3
lead in the fifth game eroded Momen was staring down the barrel of
defeat and was beaten all ends up when Müller hit what would have been
a simple winner into the tin before a second unforced error handed
Momen match ball, which he grasped at the first opportunity.
“There are so many mixed feelings right now – that was two hours of nervous breakdown,” said Momen.
“I’ve
never seen him play that well and he’s improved physically as well.
Many times I thought he’d feel the work and the effects of the rallies
but he just kept fighting back.
“I feel like I played very well but he just took it to the next level and I can’t really believe that I won to be honest.
“I’m just very happy to be through and hopefully I will play a little better in the next round.”
Castagnet
and Momen were victors in two of eight first round matches that went
beyond the 70 minute mark in one of the most competitive PSA World
Series first rounds ever, that also saw World No.5 Omar Mosaad prevail
3-1 in an attritional battle with former World No.1 James Willstrop.
In
the women's draw defending champion Raneem El Welily began her title
defence with an emphatic victory over Coline Aumard of France, taking
just 20 minutes to see off the challenger for the loss of just six
points.
After exiting the Qatar Classic and Tournament of
Champions in the early rounds the victory will serve to bolster El
Welily’s hopes of retaining the crown and securing a return to winning
ways at the very top level of the PSA World Tour after a barren few
months.
"I love being here in Chicago and I had two great
events here previously so hopefully it will be the same again this
year," said El Welily.
"Obviously everyone is here to win so I'm trying to just make sure I enjoy it and take it match by match.”
Top
ranked American hope Amanda Sobhy put in a similarly emphatic
performance in her opening encounter, taking just 19-minutes to get
past Salma Hany Ibrahim as she continues to push towards a maiden World
Series crown.
Draw- Second Round Men's 2016 Windy City Open [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) Max Lee (HKG) v [5] Simon Rösner (GER) [7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) Tom Richards (ENG) v [4] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) [3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v Saurav Ghosal (IND) Daryl Selby (ENG) v [8] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) [6] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [Q] Diego Elias (PER) Borja Golan (ESP) v [2] Nick Matthew (ENG)
Draw- Second Round Women's 2016 Windy City Open [1] Laura Massaro (ENG) v [16] Victoria Lust (ENG) [15] Emily Whitlock (ENG) v [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) [5] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [14] Delia Arnold (MAS) [11] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [3] Nicol David (MAS) [4] Camille Serme (FRA) v Joey Chan (HKG) [10] Joelle King (NZL) v [7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) [8] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [13] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) [9] Annie Au (HKG) v [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
