Men’s
World No.3 Mohamed ElShorbagy and Women’s World No.1 Nour El
Sherbini kept the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong
Open titles in Egyptian hands after they beat compatriots Ali Farag
and Raneem El Welily, respectively, to triumph in the final of the
2017 edition of the PSA World Series event.
ElShorbagy
captured his third successive PSA World Tour title - and the 29th of
his career - after an 11-6, 5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-3 victory over
Farag in 64 minutes at the Hong Kong Park Sports Centre saw him pick
up his third Hong Kong Open title after also winning the tournament
in 2014 and 2015.
There were some brutal rallies in the first four games until, at two
games apiece, ElShorbagy overpowered his fellow Egyptian to continue
his incredible start to the season, completing a third win in a row
over the World No.4 and making it four titles from five tournaments
this season.
"We’ve
played so many battles in the last few weeks and I want to
congratulate him and all of his team," said ElShorbagy, who
overtakes World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad to move back up to No.2
in the World Rankings.
"He’s played unbelievable squash at the last few tournaments and I’m
looking forward to having many more battles with him in the future.
"I’m happy I’m playing well again this year, I’ve done a lot of work
this summer and I’m really proud with the way I’ve started this
season, but there is still a long season ahead. I’m going to enjoy
this trophy for a day or two and then I will look forward to my next
event."
In
the women’s final, World Champion Nour El Sherbini ended a 20-month
wait for a World Series title after she claimed a comfortable
victory over World No.2 Raneem El Welily.
22-year-old El Sherbini’s last World Series crown came back in March
2016 when she felled World No.5 Nouran Gohar to win the prestigious
British Open, and she overcame Egyptian opposition once again in
Hong Kong to win this tournament for the first time.
The match was a repeat of April’s PSA Women’s World Championship
final, in which El Sherbini prevailed, and the 22-year-old from
Alexandria rediscovered that form against a tired El Welily, who had
come through five-game encounters against Nour El Tayeb, Joelle King
and Camille Serme in the build-up to the final, with an 11-5, 11-8,
11-5 victory seeing her capture the 13th title of her career.
“It’s
my first World Series title in almost two years, so it’s special,”
said El Sherbini.
“This title was really important for me so I could get my confidence
back and to feel that I’m playing well before the World
Championships. This tournament has given me a huge push and I’m
really happy to win the Hong Kong Open.
“It’s my second time here and I played well, so I can’t wait to come
back next year.”
ElShorbagy’s
victory sees him strengthen his lead atop the PSA World Series
Standings to 75 points over second-placed Farag after three World
Series tournaments played, with El Sherbini moving up to second
behind El Welily.
Points are on offer at all eight World Series tournaments throughout
the 2017/18 season and, after adding the Hong Kong Open title to his
Qatar Classic crown from earlier this month, the Bristol-based
Egyptian is odds on to qualify for a top-eight berth, which would
guarantee him a place in June’s season-ending PSA World Series
Finals.
El Welily overtakes Nour El Tayeb to lead the way on the women’s
standings after also reaching the U.S. Open final, but holds just a
slender five-point advantage over El Sherbini.
The Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open will
feature two all-Egyptian finals for the first time in its 32-year
history after Mohamed ElShorbagy, Ali Farag, Nour El Sherbini and
Raneem El Welily all claimed wins on semi-finals day at the PSA
World Series tournament held at the Hong Kong Park Sports Centre.
The tournament becomes the third World Series event of the season to
host all-Egyptian finals, with the U.S. Open and Qatar Classic also
seeing Egyptians dominate and ElShorbagy and Farag will go
head-to-head in a repeat of the men’s U.S. Open final.
ElShorbagy
overcame younger brother Marwan by a 13-11, 11-5, 12-10 scoreline to
reach a sixth successive PSA World Tour final.
“It’s always very tough physically and mentally playing your
brother,” said ElShorbagy.
“He’s had some wins over me, I’ve had some wins over him, so it was
always going to be tough, especially with the way he has been
playing this week. He did unbelievably well to take out [World No.1]
Greg [Gaultier], so I had to be at my best.
“I’ve put in a lot of hard work this summer to be back playing
finals again, it’s what I live for. It’s my sixth PSA final in a row
and I’m really happy to have my form back again and to be competing
in finals."
Farag,
who beat ElShorbagy to lift a maiden World Series title at the U.S.
Open, overcame World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad 11-8, 11-9, 6-11,
11-7 to set up a mouthwatering meeting with the two-time Hong Kong
Open champion.
“It was far from easy today, he’s won most of our matches,” said
Farag.
“To get the win against him today is such a pleasure. He’s very
talented, so tough to read, but I always enjoy playing him because
it’s always a fair match. I hope we keep playing a lot of matches
with each other in the future.
“In the last three tournaments, me and Mohamed have either won the
tournament or lost to each other. I really enjoy our battles, the
last two times he beat me, the time before that I won, so hopefully
it’s going to be a great match for the crowd and for us as well.”
The first ever all-Egyptian women’s Hong Kong Open final will be a
repeat of April’s PSA Women’s World Championship as El Sherbini and
El Welily battle for their first World Series titles of the season.
El
Sherbini defeated 2015 runner-up Laura Massaro after coming from 2-1
behind to claim her place in the title decider.
“Playing Laura is very hard, and in the middle of the match, I
thought that I just needed to give it everything,” said El Sherbini.
“I’m feeling good, it’s only my second time here in Hong Kong. I’m
happy with the way I’m playing and hopefully I can keep on going
tomorrow.”
Two-time runner-up El Welily, meanwhile, dispatched World No.3
Camille Serme in five games to reach her second World Series final
of the season after she lost out to compatriot Nour El Tayeb in the
final of the U.S. Open in October.
“I
started slowly today, I felt flat and mentally wasn’t prepared,”
said El Welily.
“I didn’t think I had anything left in the tank, but in the second,
my coach gave me the push I needed, my husband [men’s World No.7
Tarek Momen] too.
“I’m very happy to be through, to be in the final is amazing. It was
a great match today against Camille, she played really well. At
times, it felt like I was doing court sprints.”
The final of the Hong Kong Open will take place from 16:00 local
time (HKT) tomorrow (November 19th).
Both finals will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world) and
Eurosport Player (Europe only), while they will also be shown live
on mainstream broadcast channels around the world, including BT
Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
There will be an all-Egyptian semi-final line-up in a men’s PSA
World Series event for the first time in history after Mohamed
ElShorbagy, his younger brother Marwan, Karim Abdel Gawad and Ali
Farag prevailed on quarter-finals day to reach the last four of the
2017 Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open.
The Bristol-based ElShorbagy brothers, Mohamed and Marwan, will face
each other for a place in the final in what will their 10th meeting
on the PSA World Tour after they defeated Mohamed Abouelghar and
World No.1 Gregory Gaultier, respectively.
Both players won in four games to set up the latest instalment of
their brotherly rivalry, with Marwan winning their last two matches,
including an emotional victory during the Windy City Open last
February.
“I
miss these matches, we [Marwan and Mohamed] played four times last
season and I miss being on court with him somehow," said Marwan.
"I miss going into a tournament knowing that I would play him. I
still hate playing him, but I miss these moments.
“You remember these moments and he’s been in fine form recently. He
was in the middle of a shaky season when I beat him before but he is
playing really well this season, so I’m pleased to get the
opportunity to be on court with him when he’s in fine form.”
They will be joined in the last four by World Champion Karim Abdel
Gawad and U.S. Open winner Ali Farag. Gawad overcame fellow Egyptian
Tarek Momen by a 3-1 margin, while Farag defeated Declan James by
the same scoreline to write their names into the history books.
"We know we have very good players in Egypt and we are all around
the same age, from 23-26 years old," said Gawad.
"We're young and we've been competing with each other since we were
kids. I'm really glad that I'm one of the players to reach the
semi-finals. Hopefully we can always do great things for our sport."
History was also made in the women’s event as World No.3 Camille
Serme finally claimed her first ever win over 10-time Hong Kong Open
champion Nicol David on the PSA World Tour at the 17th attempt.
Since
first meeting in 2008, Serme had never got the better of the
eight-time World Champion and had only taken more than a solitary
game on one occassion previously to their quarter-final clash. But
at the Hong Kong Park Sports Centre, Serme - who lost to David in
the 2012 final - attacked well and kept her composure to end her
unwanted streak.
“It was a very tough game, it’s always a battle with her even if
she’s not at the top of the rankings any more,” Serme said.
“She’s still a great player and I knew it was going to be hard. I
can’t believe I have just done it. I think I had to attack and make
her work at the front of the court as much as I could.
“It would be amazing to reach the final, especially after losing in
the second round at the U.S. Open. It’s very positive to beat Nicol
for the first time so I could be in the semi-finals here. I wanted
to do my best and I’m enjoying my squash at the moment.”
Serme
will clash with El Welily - who she has beaten just once in seven
matches - after El Welily came through a five-game cracker with
Joelle King, winning it 14-12 in a nail-biting decider.
“I have no idea how I managed to pull that one off,” said El Welily.
“I had to go for the winners as much as I could because if I played
basic squash she would play a winning shot, so I had to steal it
before she did. All credit to her, she played a really good match."
World Champion Nour El Sherbini and World No.4 Laura Massaro will
meet in the day’s other semi-final. El Sherbini dispatched defending
champion Nouran Gohar in just 27 minutes, while Massaro was made to
work hard by Welsh No.1 Tesni Evans, but came through to win in four
games.
The semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open will take place from 15:00
local time (HKT) tomorrow (November 18th).
All four matches will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world) and
Eurosport Player (Europe only), while it will also be shown live on
mainstream broadcast channels around the world, including BT Sport,
beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
Malaysia’s
eight-time World Champion Nicol David and Egypt’s World No.4 Ali
Farag overcame Hong Kong siblings Annie and Leo Au on day three of
the 2017 Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open, PSA
World Series event to reach the quarter-finals.
Annie ended a 17-match losing streak against David last month at the
U.S. Open and she came within a whisker of making it back-to-back
wins over the Hong Kong Open champion.
David required a late fightback after falling 2-1 behind, with the
eight-time World Champion claiming an 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7
victory to set up a quarter-final meeting with French World No.3
Camille Serme, who also came out on top against Hong Kong opposition
as she beat World No.19 Joey Chan.
“She always plays well here, so I knew I had to really be on it
today,” said David.
“I stayed focus, but she played really well today. I had a little
lapse but I knew I needed to go up another level and I performed
really well, stuck to my game plan and I’m really pleased to win
that 3-2.
“I knew she would bring her game forward [from the U.S. Open], so I
needed to stay solid. I didn’t quite execute my game plan the way I
wanted to in the last match, which gave her more opportunities to
lob the ball. I tried to give her less time to work with and that
helped in this match.”
Elsewhere,
two-time runner-up Raneem El Welily overcame fellow Egyptian Nour El
Tayeb in a repeat of their U.S. Open final clash last month,
avenging that defeat in Philadelphia with an 11-8, 11-13, 11-7,
9-11, 11-9 victory.
"I’m very happy to win today, it wasn’t easy at all,” said El Welily.
“The last time we played, the fifth game was really bad from my
side. She went 9-1 up, so I knew it couldn’t be as bad. I took it
point-by point and I’m really glad to win.”
El Welily will take on New Zealand’s World No.9 Joelle King after
she upset England’s Sarah-Jane Perry, while World Champion Nour El
Sherbini will face defending champion Nouran Gohar.
The Egyptian duo claimed respective wins over Donna Urquhart and
Joshna Chinappa, with World No.4 Laura Massaro and Tesni Evans
completing the quarter-final line-up. Massaro got the better of
United States No.1 Olivia Blatchford, while Evans will become the
first female Welsh player to appear in the quarter-finals of a World
Series event after she defeated World No.10 Alison Waters.
Tournament wildcard Leo Au made headlines yesterday after he blew
the men’s draw wide open with a stunning win over last year’s winner
Ramy Ashour but he was unable to back up that victory, retiring
mid-way through the second game of his clash with Farag.
“It’s
never pleasing to win that way,” admitted Farag.
“He had a great match yesterday and I was ready for a big fight
tonight, but it was unfortunate for him.
"I’m not sure if he did it [the injury] today or if he had been
feeling it for a while, but I hope he recovers as fast as he can.”
Farag will line up against English qualifier Declan James, who moved
through to a maiden World Series quarter-final after his second
round opponent, World No.8 Fares Dessouky, pulled out through a knee
injury while the Egyptian was two games ahead.
World
No.1 Gregory Gaultier is also through to the last eight after he
came from behind to beat New Zealand’s Paul Coll 2-11, 11-7, 8-11,
11-9, 11-6, despite an out-of-sorts display from the Frenchman at
times.
“It took me a while to adapt, I felt really slow and couldn’t see
the ball,” said Gaultier.
“The ball was so fast at the beginning of the match, I didn’t have
my movement either. I had to really push myself in the second to
produce something. I fought with my head because I was struggling to
be accurate or move fast off the ’T’ and it was tough, he was always
recovering the shots and playing at a fast pace.
“But I managed to dig in and win the match. There are days when you
play well, days when you play differently, but at the end I just
tried to find a solution and play every single point.”
Gaultier goes through to play World No.6 Marwan ElShorbagy, while
Marwan’s older brother, World No.3 Mohamed, defeated French
qualifier Lucas Serme to set up a quarter-final meeting with Mohamed
Abouelghar, who saw off Germany’s Simon Rösner in straight games.
There were also wins for 2016 runner-up Karim Abdel Gawad and Tarek
Momen, who will go head-to-head for a place in the semi-finals.
The quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open begin tomorrow (November
17th) and all of the matches will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of
world) and Eurosport Player (Europe only).
Tournament
wildcard Leo Au caused one of the biggest ever shocks to have graced
the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open after the
Hong Kong No.1 sent defending champion Ramy Ashour crashing out on
day two of the PSA World Series event held at the Hong Kong Squash
Centre.
Illness had put Ashour out of action since winning September’s J.P
Morgan China Open and the three-time World Champion struggled to
break down a tenacious Au who, buoyed by his home crowd, recovered
from a one-game deficit to go 2-1 up but the World No.26 surrendered
a match ball to send the match into a decider.
Ashour fought back from 4-0 down to level in the fifth game but he
quickly began to fatigue and Au took full advantage, playing some
sublime squash as he racked up seven points on the bounce to claim
the biggest win of his career.
"I feel amazing because I didn’t expect much before the match,” said
Au, who will compete in the second round of the Hong Kong Open for
the first time.
“When I lost that match ball, I thought I had lost the match.
“I thought that he would be more focused in the fifth game and there
would be more pressure on me. It was a mistake to lose that match
point, but I’m happy to win in front of my home crowd because this
is my first time getting to the second round.”
Au
will face the in-form Ali Farag for a place in the quarter-finals
after the U.S. Open champion defeated English qualifier Tom Richards
by a 3-1 margin.
“I’m delighted, it’s not easy to be the last one on against Tom on a
court like this, it suits his gameplan quite well,” said Farag.
“Leo will be playing in front of his home crowd, he seems to be
going up the gears. I’m sure it’s going to be very tough and I’m
looking forward to it.”
Elsewhere in the draw, World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad dispatched
Mexico’s Cesar Salazar in four games, while Australia’s Cameron
Pilley beat German qualifier Raphael Kandra to ensure that he will
face the 2016 runner-up in the next round.
England’s Declan James upset Saurav Ghosal to reach the second round
of a World Series event for the first time and he will take on World
No.8 Fares Dessouky next. World No.7 Tarek Momen and 2016
semi-finalist Ryan Cuskelly will also line up in another of the
quarter-final fixtures after they beat Alan Clyne and Adrian Waller,
respectively.
The
female Hong Kong No.1, Annie Au, followed in brother Leo’s footsteps
as she also advanced to round two, beating compatriot Tong Tsz-Wing
by an 13-11, 11-9, 11-3 scoreline.
"I was really pleased to win the first two games because they were
really close,” said Annie.
“I think Tong played really well today and I wasn’t really in the
moment for the first two games because I wasn’t moving very well. In
the third game, I managed to come back and was more attacking.
“I tried to volley as much as I could [in the third game] to put her
under more pressure and it worked well."
Annie
ended an eight-year, 16-match losing streak against 10-time Hong
Kong Open champion Nicol David during last month’s U.S. Open and she
will face the legendary Malaysian once more after David overcame
Canadian qualifier Danielle Letourneau 11-2, 11-6, 9-11, 11-3.
David eased to comfortable victories in the opening two games but
World No.45 Letourneau proved to be a dogged competitor as she
fought back to take the third. From there, it was all World No.6
David though as she closed out the win to make it through to the
last 16.
“It’s great to be back here, Hong Kong is a special place for me,
there are a lot of memorable moments here, I won my first World
Championship title here and there’s a great vibe," David said.
“There are a lot of familiar faces and good memories here, so I
always come in with a good buzz when I step on the glass court.
"So many matches have been played here and I always have fond
memories of this tournament.”
World No.2 Raneem El Welily and World No.8 Nour El Tayeb will face
off in a repeat of the U.S. Open final after they beat Dipika
Pallikal Karthik and Fiona Moverley, respectively, while World No.19
Joey Chan upset World No.12 Emily Whitlock to join the Au siblings
in representing Hong Kong in the next round.
World No.3 Camille Serme awaits Chan after she cruised to victory
against Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold, while World No.9 Joelle King and
World No.7 Sarah-Jane Perry also claimed wins on day two.
The second round of the Hong Kong Open begins tomorrow (November
16th) and selected fixtures will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of
world) and Eurosport Player (Europe only).
World
No.3 Mohamed ElShorbagy prevailed in an entertaining five-game affair
with World No.28 Max Lee to send the local favourite out on day one of
main draw action at the 2017 Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong
Kong Open, the third PSA World Series event of the 2017/18 season.
The Bristol-based Egyptian has been in spell-binding form this season,
winning three of four tournaments, and was looking to improve on a
disappointed second round exit at last year’s tournament.
Lee delighted the home fans in the 2016 edition as he reached a maiden
World Series semi-final but he went down 11-7, 2-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-4
in 68 minutes to bow out in round one of the latest instalment of the
long-running tournament.
"I think Max played well, it was always going to be difficult playing
him on his home court," said ElShorbagy.
"I felt a little flat mentally, but it was the perfect first round to
sharpen me up. This is my fifth tournament in a row and I’ve played more
matches than anyone else so far this season but these are the kinds of
situations you want to be in, you want to challenge yourself and I was
up to that challenge.
"I played a very good fifth game, it was a very tricky match and I used
all of my experience."
Elsewhere,
World No.13 Mohamed Abouelghar was in superb form to dispatch England’s
former World No.1 James Willstrop, running the Yorkshireman ragged en
route to claiming the win by an 11-2, 11-9, 11-9 margin.
"I’ve played with James three times and the first time [in Qatar] he
wasn’t at his best because he had just returned from a hip injury, so I
just got away with it," said Abouelghar.
"I really admire his game and admire him as a player. I’ve learned a lot
from him, I always watch him to learn and today I just had to execute my
game plan and play with a slower pace because I know he controls the
game very well. To beat James in three games is huge for me."
Abouelghar will face recent Qatar Classic semi-finalist Simon Rösner in
round two after the German overcame France’s Mathieu Castagnet, while
ElShorbagy will take on French qualifier Lucas Serme after he upset
former World No.3 Omar Mosaad.
World No.1 Gregory Gaultier is also through after coming out on top in
an all-French affair with Gregoire Marche and he will take on New
Zealand’s World No.9 Paul Coll for a place in the last eight after Coll
beat Indian qualifier Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu. Marwan ElShorbagy and
Greg Lobban were the other winners on day one and will go head-to-head
in the next round.
In
the women’s event, World No.1 Nour El Sherbini got her tournament under
way with a win over fellow Egyptian Nada Abbas, beating the 17-year-old
11-5, 11-3, 11-1 in just 16 minutes to set up a second round fixture
with Australia’s Donna Urquhart.
“I’m really pleased, a 16-minute match is really short,” said El
Sherbini.
“Nada is one of the youngest players, she’s very good and on the way up.
I was trying to kill everything quickly and play my game instead of
hers.
“It will be a tough match against Donna, I’ve not played her in a long
time and I’m just looking forward to it and it’s going to be a tough
one.”
El Sherbini will be joined in the next round by defending champion
Nouran Gohar after she saw off tournament wildcard Liu Tsz-Ling in
straight games.
A
win for World No.4 Laura Massaro over Egyptian qualifier Hania El
Hamammy means that she is through to the last 16 to face Olivia
Blatchford, while there were also wins for Alison Waters, Joshna
Chinappa and Tesni Evans.
"One of my first coaches said to me when I was Hania’s age that the
first time you play a top pro on the Tour, you can sometimes take them
by surprise and a true reflection of your level is how well you do the
second time," said Massaro, who won over five games when the two played
in the first round of last year’s event.
"These youngsters can catch you out and play well and they deserve it,
but then you get the full respect and full attention of the player for
the second time and I think that’s what Hania got today. She deserves my
respect because of how well she played last time."
First round action from the Hong Kong Open continues tomorrow (November
15th) and selected fixtures will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of
world) and Eurosport Player (Europe only).
The
final qualifying round of the 2017 Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial
Hong Kong Open saw four out of five local players bow out of the World
Series tournament, with home hero and second qualifying seed Tsz Fung
Yip falling to Scotland’s World No.40 Greg Lobban (right).
World No.29 Yip caused a huge shock at last season’s tournament as he
delighted the crowd with a win over third seed Miguel Angel Rodriguez
but he was on the wrong end of an upset this time around as Lobban
played above his seeding to take a 3-1 win.
25-year-old Lobban will take on Zahed Mohamed next, while the top
qualifying seed Nicolas Mueller also bowed out after falling to
Germany’s Raphael Kandra, who added Mueller to a growing list of scalps
this season.
Elsewhere, Malaysia’s Nafiizwan Adnan came out on top in a titanic
five-game tussle with experienced Fin Olli Tuominen to set up a first
round clash with Egypt’s World No.8 Fares Dessouky.
England’s Adrian Waller also prevailed in five games over Welshman Joel
Makin, while Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu will make his Hong Kong Open main
draw debut at the sixth attempt after he defeated Egypt’s Youssef
Soliman to ensure he will face World No.9 Paul Coll.
In
the women’s event, World No.49 Tong Tsz-Wing (left) was the sole player
from Hong Kong to make it into the main draw. The 25-year-old axed
compatriots Fung Ching Hei and Vanessa Chu to emerge from the qualifying
rounds unscathed, recovering from a tie-break defeat in the opening game
of her fixture with Chu to set up a meeting with Hong Kong No.1 Annie Au
in round one of the main draw.
World No.46 Ho Tze-Lok was another Hong Kong casualty on the final day
of qualifying as she fell to 17-year-old Egyptian Nada Abbas, while Ka
Yi Lee also exited the tournament after she surrendered a 2-1 lead
against Malaysia’s Rachel Arnold.
Meanwhile, 2010 runner-up Jenny Duncalf fell to a surprise defeat
against Canadian World No.45 Danielle Letourneau - losing 3-0 in just 23
minutes - and Letourneau will be joined in the main draw by countrywomen
Hollie Naughton, who vanquished Haley Mendez of the United States.
There were also wins for Nadine Shahin, Hania El Hammamy and Milou van
der Heijden.
The main draw of the Hong Kong Open will be held at the Hong Kong Squash
Centre between November 14-16 before moving to the glass court erected
at the arena in Hong Kong Park Sports Centre on November 17-19.
Every match from the main draw will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of
World) or Eurosport Player (Europe only), while semi-finals and finals
will be shown live on mainstream broadcast channels around the world,
including BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
Tickets can be purchased by completing and sending a booking form via
email to cady@hksquash.org.hk or by fax to 852-28690118
The booking form can be downloaded here: www.hksquashopen.com/ticket.php
For more information, please visit the tournament website:
www.hksquashopen.com/home.php
Three-time
World Champion Ramy Ashour is hoping to make his first PSA World Series
appearance of the 2017/18 season at this month’s Cathay Pacific Sun Hung
Kai Financial Hong Kong Open as the Egyptian maverick targets a
successful defence of his title.
Ashour has won the long-running tournament on three occasions, with his
victory over World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad in the final of last
year’s Hong Kong Open bringing a 16-month wait for a World Series title
to an end.
A multitude of hamstring and knee injuries have prevented Ashour - a
fan’s favourite - from becoming a regular figure on the Tour over the
past three years and he followed up a title win in September’s J.P.
Morgan China Open with withdrawals from both the U.S. Open and Qatar
Classic, citing internal illness.
Those withdrawals mean that Ashour currently resides outside of the top
eight on the PSA World Series Standings - with the top eight qualifying
for a coveted place at June’s PSA World Series Finals - but the
30-year-old says that his fitness is the number one priority ahead of
Hong Kong.
"Being mentally and physically healthy is more important than anything,"
said Ashour.
"I want to play again because I love my sport and I love and respect the
people on social media and around the world who always support me in my
ups and downs.
"I want to play and win for them because that will be my thank you to
them.
"[Winning last year was] super special, it's amazing [that there was a
16-month gap] as I never count. I enjoy winning, it's addictive, but you
can always play better squash and there is always more to come."
Ashour will take on local favourite and tournament wildcard Leo Au in
round one, with a win likely to see him pitted against World No.4 Ali
Farag in a blockbuster round two clash. World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad
is on the same side of the draw, while the top half of the draw features
heavyweights such as World No.1 Gregory Gaultier and two-time winner
Mohamed ElShorbagy.
The women’s event, meanwhile, sees reigning champion Nouran Gohar and
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini seeded to meet in the quarter-finals, while
Raneem El Welily, Camille Serme, Laura Massaro and 10-time winner Nicol
David are also in attendance.
The qualifying stages of the 2017 Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial
Hong Kong Open take place between November 12-13 at the Hong Kong
Football Club. The main draw will be staged at the Hong Kong Squash
Centre between November 14-16 before moving to the glass court erected
at the arena in Hong Kong Park Sports Centre on November 17-19.
Action from every round of the tournament will be shown live on SQUASHTV
(rest of world) and Eurosport Player (Europe only), while the
semi-finals and finals will be shown live on mainstream broadcast
channels around the world, including BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports
Australia and Astro.
Tickets can be purchased by completing and sending a booking form via
email to cady@hksquash.org.hk
or by fax to 852-28690118
The main draw of the 2017 Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong
Kong Open has thrown up some difficult first round fixtures for the home
players on display after the country’s No.1 male player Max Lee and
tournament wildcards Leo Au and Liu Tsz-Ling were all handed matchups
against former winners of the World Series tournament.
Taking place at the Hong Kong Squash Centre between November 14-19, the
Hong Kong Open will be the third World Series tournament of the 2017/18
season and home hero Max Lee will come up against two-time winner
Mohamed ElShorbagy in round one.
Lee became the first player from Hong Kong in over 30 years to reach the
semi-finals last year and the man he lost to there, eventual winner Ramy
Ashour, will aim to take out home opposition for a second year in
succession when he clashes with men’s wildcard Au in round one.
Ashour - who has three Hong Kong Open titles to his name - is seeded on
the bottom half of the draw and could meet World No.5 Ali Farag in round
two if he beats Au, while World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad is also
involved in the bottom half as he looks to do one better than last
year’s runner-up finish at the hands of Ashour.
World No.1 Gregory Gaultier is seeded first for the tournament and he
begins his campaign against fellow Frenchman Gregoire Marche, who
collected a third successive Open International de Squash de Nantes
title earlier this month.
Gaultier is yet to taste success at the Hong Kong Open - losing in five
finals - and, if results go according to seeding, he will meet
ElShorbagy in the last four for a place in another final.
Women’s wildcard Liu will take on defending champion Nouran Gohar in
round one of the women’s draw, with Gohar seeded to meet World No.1 Nour
El Sherbini in a mouthwatering quarter-final fixture.
Elsewhere, England’s Laura Massaro opens up against a qualifier and is
seeded to meet El Sherbini in the last four, while the bottom half of
the draw also features a host of world-class talent, with Raneem El
Welily, Camille Serme, Nicol David and Sarah-Jane Perry all involved.
Two-time runner-up El Welily meets World No.24 Fiona Moverley in round
one and could come up against Perry in the last eight.
Perry ended a four-match losing streak to El Welily in January’s J.P.
Morgan Tournament of Champions and a second successive win could see her
through to face either World No.3 Camille Serme or Malaysia’s record
10-time winner Nicol David in the semi-finals, with the duo seeded to
meet in a titanic last eight clash.
Points for the World Series Standings will be on offer as players aim to
qualify for the season-ending PSA World Series Finals - with only the
top eight players on the men’s and women’s standings earning a spot at
the season-ending tournament.
The qualifying stages for the 2017 Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial
Hong Kong Open take place between November 12-13 at the Hong Kong
Football Club. The main draw will be staged at the Hong Kong Squash
Centre between November 14-16 before moving to the glass court erected
at the arena of Hong Kong Park Sports Centre on November 17-19.
Action from every round of the tournament will be shown live on SQUASHTV
(Rest of World) and Eurosport Player (Europe Only), while the
semi-finals and finals will be shown live on mainstream broadcast
channels around the world, including BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports
Australia and Astro.
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