Rösner First-Ever German to Reach World Semis, Day 2 Quarters Report
by Sean Reuthe
photos PSA
February 28, 2019
- World No.4 Simon Rösner has become the first German player ever to
reach a World Championship semi-final after he overcame India’s Saurav
Ghosal inside Chicago’s Union Station on day six of the 2018-2019 PSA
World Championships presented by the Walter Family.
Rösner – who is the highest ranked German of all time and the only
player from that nation to win a major PSA title – rose to an 11-8,
11-6, 11-7 victory against World No.11 Ghosal to ensure that he will go
head-to-head with World No.2 Ali Farag for a place in the final of
squash’s first $1 million tournament.
“It’s big, I’ve never reached the quarters before, and now I’ve made it to the semis,” said Rösner.
“It’s very satisfying, especially with the way I played. After the
tough match I had two days ago, I felt much better today and played
some aggressive and much more controlling squash, and that put Saurav
under a lot of pressure.
“I knew playing Saurav that I would have to be at a 100% because he’s
really playing well these days, so I had to be at my best and I’m happy
to be through. I think you see the finishing line maybe a bit too early
and you’re trying to hang in there. The ball was dead in the third game
and Saurav can really chop it in, so I was pleased that I could convert
the tactics that I had before the match.”
Farag will dethrone fellow Egyptian Mohamed ElShorbagy to become the
new World No.1 tomorrow (March 1) and he will get his reign at the
summit of the PSA World Rankings under way against the German after
beating New Zealand’s Paul Coll 3-1.
The Harvard-graduate and World No.6 Paul Coll were meeting for the
third tournament in a row, while Farag boasted a five-match win streak
over the Kiwi coming into the match. Despite dropping the third game to
a resurgent Coll, Farag managed the match well to complete an 11-8,
11-7, 4-11, 11-1 triumph in 57 minutes.
“I’ve been very excited [about becoming World No.1], I would have loved
it to have been in a different circumstance and not had a match to
focus on, but I’m very excited,” said Farag, who will appear in the
semi-finals for the second time.
“He [Coll] gets smarter and fitter, and I think today was very
tactical. It was going to go to whoever got the middle of the court, he
used the height and angles very well and he never gave me anything easy.
“He was standing in front of me for a big chunk of that match, which is
all credit to him, but my length fell short a little bit, so I had to
be aggressive from the fourth. I think I did that well, and that big
long rally at the start of the fourth was crucial.”
Farag’s win means that there will be two married couples in the
semi-finals of the World Championships for the first time after wife
Nour El Tayeb, and fellow Egyptians Raneem El Welily and Tarek Momen
claimed victories in their quarter-final fixtures yesterday.
It is also the first time since the 2014 edition that the top four seeds in the men’s draw have all reached the semi-finals.
France’s Camille Serme is through to the semi-finals for the fourth
time in her career after the World No.5 put in a masterclass to end the
run of New Zealand’s Joelle King, winning 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 in just 37
minutes.
King got the better of Serme when they met in the quarter-finals of the
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in January, but the woman from
France executed her game plan to perfection inside Union Station’s
Great Hall to move to within one win of a maiden World Championship
final appearance.
“When I lost to Joelle in New York, she played really well, but it was a tough loss for me,” said Serme afterwards.
“We always say you learn more from a loss than a win, so I worked hard
on that match, and I was really focused on what to do on court and not
about the World Championships or rankings. I just wanted it so badly, I
stayed focused the whole way, and I’m very happy with that.”
Two-time World Champion Nour El Sherbini stands between Serme and a
coveted place in the title decider, with the World No.2 seeing off the
challenge of Welsh No.1 Tesni Evans.
Sherbini, who won both the 2015 and 2016 World Championships,
eliminated United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy in the previous round after
a gripping five-game battle, but the 23-year-old required just three
games to get the better of Evans.
“She has been playing very good from the start of the season and improving,” El Sherbini said.
“She’s in the top ten now, and even though it was 3-0, it wasn’t easy.
I’m happy with the way I played. I had a tough last round against
Amanda, but I had a day off yesterday and recovered well to come back
again today refreshed.”
The semi-finals of the PSA World Championships will get under way at
17:00 (GMT-6) on March 1. Action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest
of World), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and major broadcasters around
the world, such as BT Sport, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
Results – Men’s Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half): 2018-2019 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family
[3] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [11] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 (50m)
[2] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [7] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-1: 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-1 (57m)
Draw – Men’s Semi-Finals: To Be Played March 1st
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [4] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[3] Simon Rösner (GER) v [2] Ali Farag (EGY)
Results – Women’s Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half): 2018-2019 PSA World Championships presented by the Walter Family
[5] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [4] Joelle King (NZL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 (37m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [10] Tesni Evans (WAL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (31m)
Draw – Women’s Semi-Finals: To Be Played March 1st
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
[5] Camille Serme (FRA) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
