Gaultier, Elshorbagy Advance as Men's TOC Into Second Round by Nathan Clarke
photo courtesy squashpics.com
January 18, 2014
- German squash star Simon Rosner survived an epic 100-minute encounter
against Indian No.1 Saurav Ghosal during the second day of action at
the J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York today. In a contest which saw
both players give their all, Rosner twice came from behind to
eventually triumph 12-14, 16-14, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5 and record his first
ever PSA World Tour win over Ghosal. “I knew it would be a
really tough match,” said Rosner. “Saurav is a great player with lots
of skill. Whenever we’ve played before the matches have always been
very close. “The first few games
today were crazily intense and we both played some great squash. He
played some unbelievable shots throughout the match so I’m just really
happy to win. “I ended 2013 on a
high so hopefully I can continue to build on that now. I’ve got nothing
to lose going into the next round so I’m going to enjoy it and give it
my best.” Rosner will take on
No.5 seed Karim Darwish in the second round on Monday after the
Egyptian former World No.1 survived a similarly dramatic encounter
against countryman Omar Mossad. Former World No.1
Darwish was forced to dig deep and showed his championship pedigree,
coming from 2-0 down to record a 3-2 victory in an 81-minute match-up. “It was a very tough
match, especially for a first round of an event,” said Darwish. “He’s
is in the top ten but that is just a sign of how tough squash is right
now. “I was 2-0 down but I
told myself to relax and enjoy myself. I had to change a few things in
my game and my tactics and thankfully I came back strongly and won. “This tournament is a
very special event in the PSA calendar. There are thousands of people
passing by every day and it’s a great feeling to play here as a player
and credit goes to John Nimick who runs the tournament for making it
such a great event.” Elsewhere England’s
Chris Simpson recorded his first ever victory on the glass court at
Grand Central, surviving an early scare against Egyptian qualifier Ali
Farag to prevail 3-1 after losing the opening game. Farag was forced off
court during the second game due to a facial injury suffered when
Simpson accidentally caught him with his racquet and it proved a vital
moment as the Englishman went on to win the game in emphatic fashion
11-0 before clinching the match. “That was my first win on the glass court here which was very special for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Simpson. “During the injury
break I was telling myself to keep warm and keep focused. I felt that I
had found a bit of a zone before it happened so I didn’t want momentum
to shift and I managed to do come out with a good win.” No.1 seed Gregory
Gaultier and No.3 seed Mohamed Elshorbagy began their title campaigns
with comfortable 3-0 victories over Tom Richards and Todd Harrity,
respectively, while Tarek Momen, Daryl Selby and Alister Walker also
booked their places in round two. 2014 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions – Round 1, Day 2 Results [3] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [WC] Todd Harrity (USA) 3-0:11-3, 12-10, 11-2 Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 3-0:11-5, 11-6, 11-8 Chris Simpson (ENG) bt [Q] Ali Farag (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-0, 12-10, 11-5 [8] Daryl Selby (ENG) v [Q] Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 [5] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-2: 6-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 Simon Rosner (GER) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-2: 12-14, 16-14, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5 Alister Walker (BOT) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 18-16 [1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-6 Schedule of Play, Sunday January 19 – Second Round [2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Stephen Coppinger (RSA)
