Ali Farag Stuns Three-time Champion NIck Matthew In British Open 16's, Amanda Sobhy Through to Women's Quarters by Nathan Clarke photos squashpics.com
March 23, 2016 -
Egyptian World No.14 Ali Farag stunned the crowd at the 2016 Allam
British Open in Hull as he knocked out three-time champion and World
No.3 Nick Matthew in the second round of the prestigious PSA World
Series tournament to inflict the home-favourite's worst British Open
result since 2002.
Matthew was 2-1 up in an engaging,
tightly-contested affair before his movement slowed considerably
towards the end of the fourth after sustaining an ankle injury. Farag
moved on to level things up and, despite battling bravely, a clearly
struggling Matthew was unable to match him in the final game as Farag
wrapped up a 4-11, 13-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4 victory to set up a
quarter-final meeting with compatriot Ramy Ashour.
“I knew
he wasn’t at his best towards the end of the fourth but I am glad it
didn’t get into my head and I was able to carry on playing my game,”
said Farag.
“I can’t put it into words how good it feels to
get through to the quarter-final. I don’t want to be satisfied yet, I
want to keep progressing until the following round until I win it. It
might not happen this year but maybe the year after and I will
definitely come every year and do my best to win it.
“There
isn’t a game plan against the likes of Ramy, Nick or Greg [Gaultier],
you just need to keep it towards the back as much as possible then when
you have any opportunities you have to take them. Hopefully that will
work.”
Ashour, who won this event back in 2013, came back
from the brink of elimination after saving a match ball against
Australian No.2 and sparring partner Ryan Cuskelly in a dramatic
106-minute encounter which was the second longest match of the Egyptian
maverick’s career.
‘The Artist’ had gone two games up only
to see his lead shattered by a resurgent Cuskelly, who refocused after
an injury forced him off court for a short period during the third,
before going 9-3 up in the deciding fifth game.
In a
remarkable display of tenacity and skill, Ashour battled back and
overturned a match ball for Cuskelly at 11-10 to bring an end to a
thrilling encounter by an 11-5, 11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 13-11 scoreline.
“Every match I am just pushing myself," said Ashour.
"Today
I was a bit hesitant so in the next match I will be all the way in. The
match was scary in patches but it was definitely better than last time
[against Cesar Salazar in round one]. I felt a lot freer on court and I
didn’t think about my body as much.
"He played amazingly
so all credit to him. If it wasn’t for my comeback at the end he could
have got it. I’m trying to keep things as simple as I can, I’m not
trying to think too much.”
Elsewhere in the Men’s draw,
World Champion Gregory Gaultier and Germany’s Simon Rösner have also
advanced after respective victories against Stephen Coppinger and Chris
Simpson. Gaultier and Rösner will now go head-to-head in the next round
for a place in the last four.
The Women’s event saw
five-time winner Nicol David cement her place in the quarter-final
thanks to a routine win over Australia’s Donna Urquhart.
Malaysian
icon David was on the front foot from the off and exhibited some
majestic shots throughout an 11-4, 11-7, 11-6 win to move progress to
the next round after just 27 minutes on court.
“All the
girls are stepping up their games in each round which is exciting for
the tour at the moment as we are all pushing each other but I'm really
pleased with how I played today,” said David.
“I felt like I
was feeling the court better and I know I always have to play good
squash on the day, and I’m happy to win 3-0 and have this amount of
recovery. I came into this tournament as number two seed and the
underdog so I will give it my all and see where it takes me.”
Egyptian
duo Nour El Sherbini and Omneya Abdel Kawy also won against Hong Kong
pair Liu Tsz-Ling and Joey Chan, respectively, while United States No.1
Amanda Sobhy took out England’s Alison Waters in an impressive
three-game salvo.
Result: Second Round (Bottom Half) 2016 Men's Allam British Open
Ali Farag (EGY) bt [3] Nick Matthew (ENG) 3-2: 4-11, 13-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4 (68m)
