Azan Ousts Mustonen In Pittsburgh Shock by Howard Harding 1 February 2014
- Unseeded Muhd Asyraf Azan doubled Malaysian interest in the
quarter-finals of the 3 Rivers Capital Pittsburgh Open when he upset
No.7 seed Henrik Mustonen in the PSA World Tour International 25 event
- the fifth tournament of the 2014 US Pro Squash Series - at Rivers
Club in Pittsburgh, USA.
The 27-year-old from
Kuala Lumpur, ranked 35 in the world, defeated Finland's World No.36
Mustonen 13-11, 6-11, 11-2, 6-11, 11-6 in 44 minutes - and will now
take on top seed Alister Walker for a place in the semis.
In the quickest match
of the day, Botswana's US-based Walker - ranked 19 in the world -
despatched Brazilian qualifier Vinicius Rodrigues 11-0, 11-2, 11-4 in
just 27 minutes.
Fifth seed Ryan
Cuskelly looked like another upset victim after the first two games
against qualifier Farhan Zaman. "I came out a little slow, and he was
attacking from the start," said the Australian. "I didn't feel too
sharp, so I tried to focus on getting my shots tighter and my length
better, and he started to make a lot of mistakes."
Left-hander Cuskelly
recovered to beat the Pakistani 9-11, 14-16, 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 after 72
minutes and will now line up against second seed Karim Abdel Gawad.
The Egyptian also
survived a first round battle against a qualifier from Pakistan -
beating Syed Ali Mujtaba Shah Bokhari 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10.
"I had not played him
before and he came out shooting from the start," said the World No.16
from Cairo. "At first, I was shooting with him. Then, when he won the
first game, I decided to be more patient and pick my spots."
Tournament director
Steve Baicker-McKee was delighted with the opening day of the event:
"We had a tremendous first day of the main draw. The standing room only
crowd was treated to some high level squash, with most of the seeded
players advancing. We are looking forward to some great quarter finals
tomorrow."
RESULTS: PSA International 25 3 Rivers Capital Pittsburgh Open, Pittsburgh, USA
1st round: [1] Alister Walker (BOT) bt [Q] Vinicius Rodrigues (BRA) 11-0, 11-2, 11-4 (27m) Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) bt [7] Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 13-11, 6-11, 11-2, 6-11, 11-6 (44m) [8] Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 11-4, 12-10, 11-9 (50m) [4] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt [WC] Joel Hinds (ENG) 11-5, 9-11, 11-3, 11-5 (50m) [3] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt [Q] Yasir Ali Butt (PAK) 11-6, 11-8, 5-1 ret. [6] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt [LL] Baba Tunde Ajagbe (NGR) 11-5, 11-2, 11-8 (30m) [5] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt [Q] Farhan Zaman (PAK) 9-11, 14-16, 11-5, 11-8, 11-4 (72m) [2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [Q] Syed Ali Mujtaba Shah Bokhari (PAK) 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 (48m)
Quarter-final line-up: [1] Alister Walker (BOT) v Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) [4] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v [8] Cesar Salazar (MEX) [3] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v [6] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) [2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [5] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
