David Defeats Serme to Seal British Open Semi-Final Berth by Sean Reuthe
photo PSA
March 24, 2017
- Five-time British Open champion Nicol David moved to within one win
of an eighth Allam British Open final after an impressive display from
the 33-year-old saw her defeat 2015 winner Camille Serme in Hull’s
Airco Arena.
David, who last won the sport’s oldest and most established tournament
in 2014, gave a performance reminiscent of the ones she provided with
aplomb during her unprecedented nine-year stint atop the World Rankings
between 2006-2015, rising to an 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 victory to claim her
first win over a player ranked inside the world’s top three since she
beat Laura Massaro in the 2015 Hong Kong Open final.
“It’s a sheer bonus, having beaten the British Open champion [from 2015]," David said.
"She’s had a really good season, winning several World Series events,
so I just went in with nothing to lose. I went in with my game plan to
try and gun down everything I could see, everything paid off and I was
really pleased with my performance today.
“I’m just taking every moment as it comes, you don’t get these
opportunities every day. My body is feeling at the top of its game, so
why not have fun out there!"
David will take on England’s Sarah-Jane Perry for a place in the final
after Perry defeated Australia’s World No.18 Donna Urquhart to claim
her first ever semi-final berth at the iconic World Series tournament.
Perry, the World No.8, edged the win by an 11-4, 7-11, 13-11, 6-11,
11-4 margin to join compatriot Laura Massaro in the last four.
Perry’s win also sees her seal a top eight berth on the Women’s PSA
Road to Dubai Standings, which means she will join Massaro at the
lucrative, season-ending PSA Dubai World Series Finals held at Dubai
Opera in June.
"I’m just delighted to be there [in the semi-finals] myself, but Laura
being in the other one shows the strength of English squash at the
moment,” said seventh seed Perry.
“The British Open is pretty much the most prestigious tournament, I’ve
not made a World Series final before, but I’ve had a lot of firsts this
year.
"At the Tournament of Champions, I made my first semi-final, so now I
want to push on and show everyone that I’m not just here to make up the
numbers, I’m here to try and win these big events.”
Massaro earned her place in the semi-finals after an impressive showing
from the 33-year-old Lancastrian saw her defeat World No.3 Raneem El
Welily to set up a repeat of the most recent PSA Women’s World
Championship final with defending champion Nour El Sherbini, who
dispatched Emily Whitlock.
“My plan against Raneem is always just to work hard and try not give her too many angles," said Massaro.
"I was pretty livid after the second, [husband and coach] Danny
[Massaro] and DP [coach David Pearson] were trying to calm me down. I
forgot that I was up so much in the second, but I knew I definitely had
a couple of game balls. I was really angry with myself because, playing
a player of that level, you just can’t let leads slip."
In the Men’s draw, three-time winner Nick Matthew ensured that an
English trio will compete in the British Open semi-finals for the first
time since 2014 after he prevailed in five games against Tarek Momen.
Matthew, the World No.4, relinquished a one-game lead on two occasions
to a tenacious Momen, but he pulled through in the decider, prevailing
by an 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 7-11, 11-6 margin of victory to set up a
mouthwatering semi-final meeting with defending champion Mohamed
ElShorbagy.
"It was like a rollercoaster, he’s that type of player you’ve got to
stay consistent against because he’s going to have his periods where he
plays incredible and then makes mistakes," revealed Matthew.
"Obviously we’re very proud to represent England, but every time I step
on court I’m representing myself, my family, my club, my city,
Yorkshire, England and everything else."
Matthew will reignite his long-term rivalry with ElShorbagy, who took a
step closer to retaining his World No.1 status after edging past Ali
Farag in five games.
ElShorbagy will need to lift a third successive British Open title if
he is to stay atop the World Rankings, but the Bristol-based Egyptian
insists that keeping his World No.1 ranking isn’t the main priority.
"For me, the rankings don’t matter, they’re far from my mind right now," he said.
"I’ve been [World No.1] for the last 28 months, whether I lose it or
keep it, I’ve lived every single second of it and enjoyed every single
second of it.
“If I keep it for longer, it’s a bonus, if I don’t, I’ve already done
it. For me, this is not about keeping the ranking, not about winning
the British Open, it’s about playing like a winner and that’s what I’ve
been doing since I played that fifth game against [Fares] Dessouky [in
round one].”
The other man in contention for top spot - current World No.3 Gregory
Gaultier - moved past Mathieu Castagnet in straight games, with Ramy
Ashour his semi-final opponent - a year on from their stunning clash at
the 2016 edition of the prestigious tournament.
Ashour went two games down against compatriot Mohamed Abouelghar, the
World No.23 who stunned World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad in round two,
but fought back to take the next three games without reply.
“He wasn’t just playing like any normal day, he wasn’t playing like any
normal player, he was playing extraordinarily," said Ashour.
“He was slamming every ball in the nick, it takes a lot for someone to
take me out of my rhythm and my momentum. He did that in the first two
games because first of all, he was playing amazing, but I wasn’t on it
mentally. I didn’t have that explosive edge."
Draw - Men’s Semi-Finals: To Be Played March 25th
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [4] Nick Matthew (ENG)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [5] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
Results - Quarter-Finals: 2017 Women’s Allam British Open
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [13] Emily Whitlock (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 (23m)
[5] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [3] Raneem El Welily (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 13-15, 11-6, 11-6 (47m)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [15] Donna Urquhart (AUS) 3-2: 11-4, 7-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4 (58m)
[6] Nicol David (MAS) bt [2] Camille Serme (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 (39m)
Draw - Women’s Semi-Finals: To Be Played March 25th
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [5] Laura Massaro (ENG)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [6] Nicol David (MAS)
