Gawad Leads Charge As Upsets Abound At British Open by Nathan Clarke photos squashpics.com
March 22, 2016 -
Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad pulled off the biggest upset of the
competition so far as he downed World No.4 Omar Mosaad in the first
round of the 2016 Allam British Open during a day of high drama that
saw a six-strong contingent upset the odds to book a place in the
second round of the prestigious PSA World Series tournament taking
place in Hull.
Inside the Airco Arena, Gawad, the
24-year-old from Giza, played with poise and composure to halt the run
of Mosaad - who reached the final at both the Canary Wharf Classic and
Colombia Open inside the past month - and inflict a first round exit on
World Championship runner-up Mosaad for the first time since January
2014.
"I'm over the moon to come through today," said Gawad.
"The
last time we played I think I only took about four points from him so
when I saw I was playing Omar in the first round I knew it would be
tough. He's played a lot of tournaments recently and has had some good
results and been in great form so I'm very happy to win.
"He's
one of the toughest players on tour mentally and physically and I could
feel he was tired today but I still had to play at my best to make sure
I could get the win and I need to focus on the second round and push on
in the next match."
Gawad will play compatriot Fares
Dessouki for a place in the quarter-finals where Indian Saurav Ghosal
could await after he toppled number eight seed Mathieu Castagnet,
winner of the Canary Wharf Classic, to reach the second round for the
first time since 2013.
Castagnet, who had suffered with
illness prior to the tournament, struggled to cope with Ghosal's
pace and attrition and after sharing the first two games it was the
World No.19 from Calcutta who asserted himself to earn an impressive
win.
“Mathieu has been playing extremely well, his results over the last couple of months have been great," said Ghosal.
"He
won at Canary Wharf which was a massive win. I knew I had to be ready
for an absolute battle. I was expecting long lung busting rallies but I
was very pleased with how I played."
Ghosal's long-time
training partner James Willstrop, the English former World No.1
currently ranked No.12, was another surprise victor as he dismissed
World No.7 Tarek Momen 3-1 to set up a last sixteen match with World
No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy while qualifier Mohamed Abouelghar also upset
the odds to defeat an under-the-weather Daryl Selby 3-0.
In
the women's draw Danish player Line Hansen completed a remarkable come
from behind victory to record an improbable win over Malaysian Delia
Arnold, who ranked 11 places above her on the World Rankings at No.15.
Arnold
shocked the squash world last year when she reached the semi-finals of
the British Open but, after edging the first two games, she couldn't
halt Hansen's charge as the 32-year-old sealed an incredible comeback.
“This is the best I’ve ever done at the British Open and I’ve played here a fair few times,” said Hansen.
“Last
time we played, I lost 12-10 in the fifth so I knew it was going to be
close but I also knew I was in with a chance. I’m just glad I finally
got a good win. To be honest, I got a little bit annoyed because I
definitely thought I shouldn’t have lost the first.
“I was just thinking that I had to hit through the ball rather than try to be pretty and it worked.”
Hansen
will face World No.1 Laura Massaro in the next round after the top seed
saw off American Olivia Blatchford with ease while fellow Englishwoman
Victoria Lust overcame higher ranked Emily Whitlock in straight games
to progress.
“I’m thrilled to win, Emily’s a tough player
and she’s been playing well so to get off in three is great and I’m
really happy with how I played,” said Lust.
Draw - Second Round [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v James Willstrop (ENG) [Q] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v [6] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) Saurav Ghosal (IND) v Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) [3] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Ali Farag (EGY) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) v [5] Ramy Ashour (EGY) [7] Simon Rösner (GER) v Chris Simpson (ENG) Stephen Coppinger (RSA) v [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) Fares Dessouki (EGY) v Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Draw - Second Round [1] Laura Massaro (ENG) v Line Hansen (DEN) Victoria Lust (ENG) v [5] Camille Serme (FRA) [8] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [9] Annie Au (HKG) [10] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [3] Raneem El Welily (EGY) [4] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [Q] Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) [11] Alison Waters (ENG) v [7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v Joey Chan (HKG) Donna Urquhart (AUS) v [2] Nicol David (MAS)
