Malaysia’s
World No.42 Nafiizwan Adnan came back from the brink of a quarter-final
exit at the Montreal Open as he overturned a two-game deficit against
Egypt’s Karim Ali Fathi to reach the last four.
Adnan bowed out at the quarter-final stage of this tournament the last
time he appeared in Montreal two years ago, and he looked set to suffer
a similar fate after a superb display of attacking squash from Fathi saw
the number three seed take the first 13-11 before pulling away in the
second to double his lead courtesy of an 11-6 victory.
Adnan finally adjusted to Fathi’s style in the third game and was a
runaway winner as he took it by an 11-3 margin before turning the screw
against a tiring Fathi in the fourth and fifth games to complete the
comeback.
Germany’s Raphael Kandra will stand between Adnan and a place in the
semi-finals after the World No.43 dispatched French qualifier Baptiste
Masotti in five games.
Meanwhile, Spanish top seed Borja Golan came back from a game down to
defeat Arturo Salazar in four and he will line up against New Zealand’s
Campbell Grayson, who saw off American Todd Harrity in the third of the
night’s four matches to go the distance.
Day
one of main draw action at the 2018 Montreal Open saw French qualifier
Baptiste Masotti upset second seed Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi in a thrilling
five-game spectacle at the Club Sportif.
Masotti, making his debut at the PSA M25 tournament, matched Al Tamimi
stride for stride in the opening two games, with a series of tins from
the Qatari World No.35 ultimately being the difference as Masotti opened
up a two-game lead.
Al Tamimi fought back in the third and fourth games to level and looked
to be on the verge of winning after Masotti injured his leg at the end
of the fourth.
But 22-year-old Masotti, the World No.79, refused to be beaten and
showed an iron will as he fought through the pain barrier to record a
surprise 11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 9-11, 11-8 victory to earn his place in the
quarter-finals.
Germany’s Raphael Kandra lies in wait after the World No.42 dispatched
India’s Ramit Tandon in straight games and he will be joined by top seed
Borja Golan in the next round, with the Spaniard claiming a 3-0 win over
Chris Hanson to set up a last eight clash with Arturo Salazar.
Egypt’s Karim Ali Fathi is also through courtesy of a 3-0 triumph
against tournament wildcard David Baillargeon, and his reward is a
fixture with Malaysia’s Nafiizwan Adnan for a place in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson dispatched Canadian No.1 Shawn
Delierre in straight games to ensure that he will take on United States
No.1 Todd Harrity in the quarter-finals.
