Egypt's
Ali Farag, the World No.3, won his first PSA World Tour title since
October 2017 courtesy of a 3-1 victory over in-form Simon Rösner in the
final of the 2018 UCS Swedish Open in Linköping, Sweden.
Farag last tasted title success when he triumphed at the U.S. Open to
win the first World Series title of his career, but capped off a sublime
week that saw him return to his best form in Sweden with a comfortable
victory over Rösner - preventing the German from adding the Swedish Open
to the Tournament of Champions crown he collected last month.
30-year-old
Rösner started strong, looking to pick up on where he left off following
an impressive semi-final defeat of Tarek Momen. But ultimately he came
up short as 25-year-old Farag began to turn the screw, exerting
consistent pressure that eventually sapped the energy from Rösner and
paved the way for a victory that came after 51 minutes of action.
"I'm over the moon to have won the title here at this great event," said
Farag.
"I've heard great things about this event for years and it exceeded all
my expectations. It has been a great event.
"Today,
after losing the second game I got some great words from Tarek (Momen)
so I have to thank him, and my wife and family back home, for their
support because without a full team behind me I wouldn't have been able
to do it."
After the match Rösner said: 'He was too good today. I just tried to
hang in there but I didn't have enough in the tank to make it harder. He
was controlling and playing smart."
Germany's
Simon Rösner will be hoping to collect his second PSA World Tour title
in succession when he faces Egyptian World No.3 Ali Farag in the final
of the 2018 UCS Swedish Open tomorrow.
The 30-year-old from Paderborn made history last month when he claimed
the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions title - becoming the first
German ever to win a World Series event - and he continued to go from
strength-to-strength in Linköping as he defeated Tarek Momen, whom he
beat in the Tournament of Champions final, to set up a showdown with
Farag tomorrow.
Rösner
started the tournament slowly, struggling to get past England's Declan
James in round one. But, after impressing in a straight games victory
over Daryl Selby yesterday, he continued to improve as he came through a
compelling 62-minute encounter 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7.
"It's feels good to finally be in the final here after many years of
trying," said Rösner.
"And it's amazing to be into my second final this year already - after
only two events played. I'm a little speechless.
"I only just won my first round match here. It could easily have been
over for me (against Declan James) so to be in the final now is a great
achievement and I'm happy with how my game went today.
"I was lucky to come out on top of this first two games - and that 2-0
lead is a huge difference to being level at 1-1."
Momen had spent over 150 minutes on court leading into their match, a
fact Rösner played on as he attacked out of the blocks in the first
game.
While the Egyptian World No.7 began to grow in confidence throughout the
second, becoming more competitive in the rallies and using his speed to
move Rösner and sap at his physical strengths, World No.6 Rösner
ultimately stood firm to prevail.
He'll
now face Farag after the 24-year-old came through a nail-biting
four-game battle with Paul Coll of New Zealand
Farag steamrollered past former World No.1 James Willstrop in the
quarter-finals courtesy of a sumptuous and flawless display and he
carried that into today's encounter, outclassing Coll to take an early
2-0 game lead.
Coll gamely fought back, saving match ball in the third to extend the
match and drag Farag into an attritional battle. But, with game ball in
hand in the fourth, a ragged error allowed Farag back into it and he
pounced to take the match 11-5, 11-5, 11-13, 12-10.
"In
the first two games today I felt like I picked up where I left off last
night," said Farag
"I was controlling the T very well, but he stepped up after that and
made it very hard for me from the third onwards. I was getting edgy out
there but at 6-3 down in the fourth I told myself to try and step it up,
which I was able to do and I'm very happy to be through."
An
absolute masterclass performance from Ali Farag saw the Egyptian World
No.3 dispatch former World No.1 James Willstrop with ease to secure his
place in the semi-finals of the 2018 UCS Swedish Open and underline his
credentials as title favourite.
Farag was sublime as he moved with an effortless grace and hit with
devastating precision to twist and turn Willstrop at every opportunity,
leaving the tall Englishman unable to find a way to stop the onslaught
as Farag wrapped the match up 11-2, 11-4, 11-5 in just 30 minutes.
"Players like James are the guys who I grew up watching and dreaming of
playing against so it is an honour to play against him here today," said
Farag.
"I am really happy with how I played. Everything unfolded the way I
wanted. I was in control of the T for most of the match and whenever I
went for a shot it came off as well - so I couldn't ask for any more
than that."
Farag
will face New Zealand's Paul Coll for a place in the final after he
defeated Omar Mosaad 3-0, while Egypt's Tarek Momen showed impressive
grit and desire to back up his first round, 97 minute victory over
Mathieu Castagnet with a 54-minute defeat of Australian Cameron Pilley.
Momen was far from his usual explosive self during the first, losing it
11-8 as Pilley controlled the court. But the World No.7 cut an
altogether different figure in the second as he began to impose his
speed and agility on play and make life difficult for the tall
Australian.
After
levelling Momen then showed off his soft hands in the third to take it
11-2 before keeping his composure to take the match in four games.
"I'm happy that I managed to recover and regroup from yesterday and just
play as good as I can," said Momen.
"I think today's match was really good and I'm happy that it didn't go
to 5 (games), as that will allow me to have some more recovery for
tomorrow."
Momen
will face Germany's Simon Rösner in the semi-finals after he defeated
England's Daryl Selby 3-0 courtesy of a polished and crisp performance.
"I had a really tough match yesterday but today I found my rhythm and
found my length and found my short game as well - everything seemed to
be working well," said Rösner.
The opening day of action at the 2018 UCS Swedish Open was dominated by
marathon match-ups as the world's best players treated the local crowd
in Linköping, Sweden, to a thrilling display that saw five matches
stretch beyond the hour mark.
The
opening match set the tone for what was to follow as recent J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions winner Simon Rösner was required to call upon
all his experience to see off England's Declan James in a tense
79-minute encounter.
After claiming his first ever World Series title in New York just over
ten days ago, Rösner was quickly brought back to reality as James tested
and probed from the offset, causing difficulty in all areas of the court
before Rösner finally managed to do just enough to complete the win in
five games.
"Declan is a big guy like me, so there were some traffic issues at
times," said Rösner.
"He gave a huge fight today. I was playing well in patches - maybe a
little edgy when going short, but that was because of the pressure he
was putting me under as he was moving me around.
"The first round is sometimes the toughest. I was struggling to hit with
quality and that got me frustrated at times - but credit to him because
he got me to that stage.
"I'm just really glad to get it in the end."
Rösner
will take on another Englishman, Daryl Selby, after he edged Frenchman
Gregoire Marche in a similarly tight 79-minute match, while Egyptian
Tarek Momen - the man who Rösner beat in the New York finale - required
97-minutes to get past Marche's compatriot Mathieu Castagnet.
Momen
looked the stronger player throughout the first game as he pushed
Castagnet into all four corners of the court. But the Frenchman hunted
every ball with relentless hunger, retrieving and pressuring Momen at
every opportunity, to steal the game after 30-energy-sapping minutes -
before doubling his lead courtesy of an 18-minute second game.
With Castagnet beginning to tire in the third the Egyptian pounced on
the opportunity, taking control of the rallies to establish a presence
on the scoreboard before holding his nerve in a dramatic fifth-game to
complete the victory which came after 97-minutes of play - setting a new
record for the longest match in the history of the event.
"I have to be very thankful that I won today," said Momen. "I was
playing against a superhuman out there. It was unreal.
"In the first game - I was annoyed to lose it of course - but I thought
I had put a lot of work into him. But I was so wrong - he just didn't
stop at all.
"Every now and then I got some momentum, but he he was just solid as a
rock. I think I played well throughout the match and for me, it's a big
boost to come back and win the mental battle at the end."
Momen
will face Australian Cameron Pilley - who won an hour long encounter
with Tom Richards of England - in the quarter-finals, while the bottom
half of the draw will see Ali Farag clash with James Willstrop and Omar
Mosaad take on Paul Coll, the New Zealander who defeated Malaysian
Nafiizwan Adnan after a physically punishing 72-minute match.
England's Joshua Masters pulled off a major upset in the final round of
qualification at the 2018 UCS Swedish Open to down top seeded Adrian
Waller - ranked 23 places above him on the World Rankings - to secure a
place in the main draw of the PSA M70 event taking place in Linköping,
Sweden.
Masters had failed to impress as he struggled against local hope Erik
Jakobsson in the first round of qualification, requiring four games to
get past the Swedish challenger, but looked a more confident and
complete player as he controlled Waller, taking a crucial second game
12-10, en route to an impressive win.
He'll now line up against tournament top seed and World No.3 Ali Farag
in the first round with hopes of causing huge upset.
Elsewhere in qualification, experienced Finnish campaigner Olli Tuominen
secured a 3-2 win over Germany's Raphael Kandra - setting up a first
round match with England's James Willstrop - with Nafiizwan Adnan of
Malaysia and Englishman Tom Richards completing the line up of
qualifiers.
Main draw action from the tournament – which first began in the 1970s
and this year sees ActiPro Event celebrate their 15th year running the
tournament – gets underway from 1:00pm, with all main draw matches shown
live on SQUASHTV (Rest of the World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only),
while tickets start from 100 SEK and can be purchased on the tournament
website.
World
No.1 Gregory Gaultier has withdrawn from this week’s UCS Swedish Open
after suffering a partial rupture of his adductor during last month’s
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions - meaning that current World No.2
Mohamed ElShorbagy will overtake the Frenchman at the summit of the
men’s World Rankings next month.
Defending champion Gaultier will be unable to defend the ranking points
he accrued while winning last year's Swedish Open and, with the points
set to expire on February 28, will see his points average dip below
ElShorbagy’s average on March 1, regardless of the Egyptian’s
performance at the Windy City Open later this month.
The withdrawal of the three-time winner, who injured himself during an
epic quarter-final clash with England’s Nick Matthew last month in New
York, sees compatriot Gregoire Marche move into the main draw, while
Tournament of Champions runner-up Tarek Momen takes the number two seed
spot and will face World No.27 Mathieu Castagnet.
Germany’s Simon Rösner, who beat Momen in New York to lift a maiden
World Series title, becomes the number four seed and will play England’s
Declan James, with Australia’s Cameron Pilley moving into the final
seeded position to face a qualifier.
Despite Gaultier’s absence from the tournament, the Swedish Open - which
takes place between February 8-11 at Linköping Sporthall - features a
host of top-class talent, with new top seed Ali Farag looking to build
on the superb form that has seen him rise to World No.3, while the likes
of Rösner and Momen stunned the squash world to reach the title decider
of the Tournament of Champions last month.
New Zealand’s Paul Coll - a finalist at last week’s Motor City Open - is
also included, while the experience of former World No1 James Willstrop
and 2015 World Championship runner-up Omar Mosaad will also be on show
in an unpredictable draw.
The inaugural Swedish Open took place in the 1970s and the 2018 edition
will see tournament promoters ActiPro Event celebrate their 15th year
running the tournament.
Qualification for the tournament takes place between February 6-7 at
Linköping Squash Center and Norrköping Squash Center, with main draw
matches taking place on the glass court at Linköping Sporthall between
February 8-11.
All main draw matches will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and
Eurosport Player (Europe only), while tickets start from 100 SEK and can
be purchased on the tournament website:
www.swedishopensquash.se/tickets
Revised Main Draw – 2018 UCS Swedish Open
[2] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[Qualifier] v [8] Cameron Pilley (AUS)
[6] Daryl Selby (ENG) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
Declan James (ENG) v [4] Simon Rösner (GER)
[3] Paul Coll (NZL) v [Qualifier]
[WC] Rasmus Hult (SWE) v [7] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) v [Qualifier]
[Qualifier] v [1] Ali Farag (EGY)
France’s
World No.1 Gregory Gaultier is relishing defending his title when the
UCS Swedish Open takes place February 8-11 at Linköping Sporthall.
The tournament – which first began in the 1970s and the 2018 edition
will see ActiPro Event celebrate their 15th year running the tournament
- will see a high-quality draw battle it out for the PSA M70 title, with
the likes of World No.3 Ali Farag and J.P. Morgan Tournament of
Champions winner Simon Rösner and runner-up Tarek Momen joining the
current World No.1 at the event.
The charismatic Frenchman – who is a three-time winner at the Swedish
Open – saw off 2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad by an 7-11, 11-3,
11-0, 11-8 scoreline in the final last year and Gaultier is looking
forward to playing at the tournament in Linköping once again this year.
“I’ve been playing Sweden since the first edition”, said the
35-year-old.
“At my first event there I remember beating [PSA Chief Executive and
former World No.5] Alex Gough in round one. I keep playing there because
I’ve known them for many years and they always do such a great job.
“It’s always full, they do a really good job with marketing and you
can see all of the signs and photos in the city – I think we should take
example from them when you see what kind of an event they can put on.”
Gaultier will start his title defence against compatriot and World No.27
Mathieu Castagnet and is keen to see more European events follow in the
Swedish Open’s footsteps in the future.
“I want to encourage more people to organise tournaments in Europe,”
said Gaultier.
“We travel so much and so far away that it’s good to have tournaments
close by and in Europe.
“As long as the tournament will be there then I will keep going to
encourage [Tournament Promoter] Fredrik Johnson and all of these guys
that love squash so much. They always put on a successful event.”
Qualification for the tournament takes place between February 6-7 at
Linköping Squash Center and Norrköping Squash Center, with main draw
matches taking place on the glass court at Linköping Sporthall between
February 8-11.
All main draw matches will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and
Eurosport Player (Europe only), while tickets start from 100 SEK and can
be purchased at:
http://www.swedishopensquash.se/tickets
Main Draw – 2018 UCS Swedish Open
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[Qualifier] v [5] Simon Rösner (GER)
[7] Daryl Selby (ENG) v Cameron Pilley (AUS)
Zahed Mohamed (EGY) v [3] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) v [Qualifier]
[WC] Rasmus Hult (SWE) v [8] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) v [Qualifier]
[Qualifier] v [2] Ali Farag (EGY)
