Australian Number One Pilley Inspired By Burj Khalifa by Nathan Clarke photos PSA
April 19, 2016
- Australian number one Cameron Pilley, the World No.14, says the
chance to compete in front of the Burj Khalifa during the 2015/16 Dubai
PSA World Series Finals will be inspiring him ahead of the last PSA
World Series tournament of the season - this month's El Gouna
International.
Pilley travels to Egypt holding the last
qualification spot on the PSA Road To Dubai Standings but knows he will
have to perform at his best to hold on to his chances of competing at
the Finals, which brings together only the top eight players on the
Road To Dubai Standings to compete for one of the most lucrative purses
in the sport at $160,000, and fend off a field of eight players who are
in contention to qualify in one of four available places.
"After
seeing the pictures come out last week I have to say it looks
absolutely amazing and it would be awesome to get a chance to play
there," said Pilley.
"I've been close to reaching the
World Series Finals before on a couple of occasions and I'm in
contention at the moment so it would be a great achievement for me to
get the chance to play in such a great location.
"The Burj
Khalifa is an iconic location and having the court right in front of it
looks spectacular so I'm looking forward to El Gouna to really push for
a spot in that eight."
The Australian reached his first ever
PSA World Series tournament final in December during the Hong Kong Open
in the midst of his best ever form but has failed to progress beyond
the second round of a major tournament since. However, the 33-year-old
is keen to avoid any pressure ahead of a crunch week in El Gouna.
"It would mean a lot to be there," he said.
"I
watched the tournament a lot even before I was a pro and seeing the top
eight compete in the Finals was always special. I've never done it so
it's a goal to be there.
"I've made mistakes in the past
when thinking too much about 'what if' so I'll go to El Gouna as
relaxed as I can be and just try and play my best and see what happens."
Pilley
begins his El Gouna International campaign against World No.4 Omar
Mosaad on April 24 where victory would see the 33-year-old take a huge
step towards securing his place in Dubai.
The 2016 El Gouna
International takes place from April 21-24 at the Movenpick hotel El
Gouna and 24-29 at the New Marina El Gouna.
