England With Three British Open Finalists for First Time Since 1953 by Sean Reuthe
photos PSA
March 25, 2017
- A historic day of semi-final action at the 2017 Allam British Open -
the sport’s oldest and most established tournament - saw English trio
Nick Matthew, Laura Massaro and Sarah-Jane Perry earn their final
berths in Hull’s Airco Arena - marking the first time in 64 years that
England has provided three finalists.
Matthew, a three-time British Open champion, dethroned defending
champion Mohamed ElShorbagy in his semi-final fixture to reach his
first World Series final since October’s U.S. Open.
The 36-year-old Yorkshireman fought back from 8-6 and 7-3 down in the
opening two games to go 2-0 up and survived a resurgence from
ElShorbagy - which saw the Egyptian take the third - to seal an 11-8,
11-8, 8-11, 11-5 victory that will see him do battle with two-time
winner Gregory Gaultier in the final.
“I was trying not to let the adrenaline get to me, I could feel my
heart beating through my head knowing the crowd were cheering," said
fourth seed Matthew.
“I felt him wavering at the end which gave me belief. Never mind the
World Rankings, I’m the World No.1 for my age. The peak is about five
years ago, but me and Greg are trying to rip up that rulebook, we are
always exchanging text messages saying stuff like ‘there is still life
in the old dog’.
“I’ve not been in many World Series finals recently. I know what I need
to be doing, but it’s not always as easy as that. Once you get to a
certain age you know what it looks like, but in many ways that makes it
harder to implement."
Matthew’s win over ElShorbagy means the Egyptian will lose his World
No.1 ranking next month, dropping to World No.3 - with Gaultier in pole
position to profit.
A win for Gaultier in the final will see the 34-year-old become the
oldest ever World No.1, while a defeat will instead see World Champion
Karim Abdel Gawad sit atop the World Rankings when they are released on
April 1.
Gaultier moved through to the final after last year’s runner-up Ramy
Ashour retired after the opening game due to a hip injury - the latest
problem in a career that has been ravaged by injury over the past three
years.
"The last match we played was here last year and we had an unbelievable five games," said Gaultier.
"But I could see in the first game, in the first few points, he was
struggling a little bit and he was going for quick points. I just hope
it’s not too bad because he’s been struggling for a while now and
hopefully he can play next week in El Gouna."
In the Women’s event, Massaro and Perry will meet in the first female
all-English British Open final since Lisa Opie and Sue Wright in 1991
after they defeated 2016 winner Nour El Sherbini and five-time champion
Nicol David, respectively.
Massaro, the 2013 British Open champion, looked to be heading out of
the prestigious World Series tournament after an imperious start from
El Sherbini saw the World No.1 go two games ahead inside 20 minutes.
But Massaro, drawing on the energy of a passionate home crowd, dug in
resiliently and swung the momentum of the match on its head to come
through by a 5-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 scoreline.
"I really wanted to do well this week, especially being at home," said Massaro.
"There was a lot of pressure on me going into that fifth. They say that
the home crowd helps and when you’re down at the end there, it
definitely does."
Perry, meanwhile, reached her first ever World Series final after she
defeated David in four games, claiming her second successive win over
the Malaysian five-time champion.
“Knowing Laura was waiting in the final for me, it gave me a bit of
extra fight actually," conceded Perry, who was less than a year old
when Opie and Wright met in the 1991 final.
“There is absolutely no pressure on me, so I’m just going to go out
there and try and play well. If that means that I get the win, then I’d
love to win my first World Series title at the British Open, that would
be really special.”
Results - Semi-Final: 2017 Men’s Allam British Open
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5 (75m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [5] Ramy Ashour (EGY) 3-0: 11-9 ret. (20m)
Draw - Men’s Final
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Results - Semi-Finals: 2017 Women’s Allam British Open
[5] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 (63m)
[7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [6] Nicol David (MAS) 3-1: 11-8, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7 (56m)
Draw - Women’s Final
[5] Laura Massaro (ENG) v [7] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
