[Q] Joe Lee (Eng) 11/5, 11/9, 11/3 (39m) [7] Cameron Pilley (Aus)
Cameron Pilley
12/10, 11/8, 12/10 (60m) Nick Matthew
[Q] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
11/5, 11/4, 11/4 (30m)
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng)
Magnificent
Matthew Wins 2015 CASE Swedish Open
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England's
34-year-old Nick Matthew, the current World No.3, got the better of long
term adversary Gregory Gaultier,
the World No.2 from France, in the final of the 2015 CASE Swedish Open,
PSA International 70 tournament, beating the 32-year-old 3-0 to retain
the title he won in 2014.
It was the 32nd meeting between the pair on the PSA World Tour and
despite Gaultier breezing into the final without dropping a game during
the tournament, it was Sheffield's Matthew who dominated the contest
from the outset, putting in an accomplished performance to record a
second consecutive PSA World Tour victory over Gaultier and take the
title 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 after 63-minutes on court.
"I felt like I played well today
and I always seem to play really well here in Sweden," said Matthew.
"I've won here five times now and
I've been in the final seven times. It's a great venue and the people
here are knowledgeable and really appreciate what we do so when you're
in this surrounding you always play at you best."
In the opening game it was the Englishman who took the early ascendency,
utilising his usual style of attritional play to forge a 10-5 lead
before sealing the game with an audacious forehand volley nick - but
only after Gaultier had mounted a late surge, saving four game balls to
get within two points of the game.
The duo traded points throughout the opening parts of the second game,
but when ahead 8-6, Gaultier made two consecutive errors to allow
Matthew to draw level and the 'wolf' made the opportunity count, turing
the screw to take the next three points, and the game, unanswered.
Gaultier
(left in blue) continued to be plagued by errors in the third game and
Matthew kept the pressure on and was rewarded with the victory, his
first 3-0 win over the Frenchman since the semi-finals of the 2014
Swedish Open.
"Greg played so well in the early rounds but he maybe needed a closer
match earlier in the tournament because i could tell he wasn't at his
best physical condition today whereas I had a few close 12-10s so that
maybe helped me," he said.
Matthew will now go into the
second PSA World Series event of the year, the Guggenheim Partners Windy
City Open, in confident form and he'll be hoping to stop the run of
Egyptian World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy after he added the J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions to his ever increasing trophy collection in
January.
Matthew
On Course To Retain Swedish Open
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England's
34-year-old World No.3 Nick Matthew (right)kept alive his hopes of
retaining the CASE Swedish Open, PSA International 70 title, after
seeing off the challenge of German World No.10 Simon Rösner during the
semi-finals in Linkoping today.
Matthew, who produced an impressive display to beat Ramy Ashour 3-2
and win the title in 2014, ensured his place in the final with a
hard-earned 3-1 victory over the 27-year-old from Paderborn and he will
now line-up against long-time adversary Gregory Gaultier, the man he
beat in the finals of the 2011 and 2013 World Championships, to contest
the final.
"What I was really pleased with was that when it came to the big points
today I was able to raise my game and make them count," said Matthew
afterwards.
"That's going to be especially important tomorrow against Greg because
he looks in good form and I'm glad it didn't go into a fifth game
because I'll need to be fresh tomorrow for the final."
The Englishman, a notoriously strong starter, lived up to his billing as
he tested the tall German's physical abilities from the off, taking the
opening game after 14-minutes but Rösner mounted a spirited fight-back
in the second game and levelled the scores following some impressive
action.
After restoring his advantage in the third, Matthew was forced to use
everything in his locker to prevent the match from going into a fifth
game, a scenario he has never experienced against Rösner in their five
previous meetings, showing his mental composure and resolve to save four
game-balls before eventually sealing the match in a tight tie-break,
winning 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 13-11 in 62-minutes.
"I was maybe a little guilty in the fifth game at 5-1 up of thinking
about the next day and you can't do that against someone like Simon," he
said.
"He can win points quickly and he's a very exciting player. He's an up
and coming player so I'm happy to have won in four."
Gaultier
(left), the current World No.2, ensured his place in the final with a
comfortable 3-0 victory over Stephen Coppinger, ending the South
African's hopes of reaching back-to-back finals on the PSA World Tour
with a dominant 11-4, 11-3, 11-6 win which took just 33-minutes.
The victory means the Frenchman goes into the title-decider without
having dropped a single game during the tournament.
Coppinger
Halts Willstrop Comeback
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South African Stephen Coppinger
(below right in black), the 30-year-old World No.16, ended the return to
action of England's James Willstrop during the quarter-finals of the
2015 CASE Swedish Open, taking out
the former World No.1 3-1 to book his place in the last four.
It
was the first time that Cape Town's Coppinger had recorded a victory
over Willstrop on the PSA World Tour, having failed on all three
previous attempts, but he outshone the Yorkshire-based man from the
start, continuing to show the kind of composure and discipline that has
seen him rise eight places in the world rankings in the last three
months whilst finishing as runner-up at the recent Motor City Open.
After taking the lead in the first game, Coppinger showed his hunger by
coming from 3-7 down in the second game to extend his advantage and take
a commanding lead against Willstrop. The Englishman mounted a spirited
fightback in the third game, eventually taking it 13-11 courtesy of four
game balls, but he couldn't maintain momentum and Coppinger saw out the
match 11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7 after 63-minutes.
"We all know that James is an outstanding squash player but he had quite
a slow start today and only found his rhythm after a while," said
Coppinger.
"He
has just come back from an injury and will certainly be back even
stronger next game buy I'm very pleased to get the win today."
Coppinger will now face World No.2
and tournament top seed Gregory Gaultier in the semi-finals after the
Frenchman easily disposed of qualifier Tom Richards while defacing
champion and number two seed Nick
Matthew (Left in Red) faces German Simon Rösner for a place in the final
after a closely fought 3-0 victory over Australian Cameron Pilley.
Richards Romps Past
Swiss Star In Sweden
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England's Tom Richards, the 28-year-old World No.34 who earned his place
in the main draw of the 2015 CASE Swedish Open after progressing through
qualification, pulled off a shock victory over Switzerland's World No.18
Nicolas Mueller during the opening round of action in Linkoping.
Richards, who has plummeted from a high ranking of No.12 in 2013 after a
series of injuries, had to come from behind against the talented Swiss
star but showed impressive signs of composure and consistency to
overcome Mueller 9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-5 in 54-minutes.
"I came off feeling as though I had played ok - not great and not bad
either so I'm happy to get that win," said Richards after the match.
Elsewhere on the opening day there were routine wins for top seeds
Gregory Gaultier and Nick Matthew, as they got the better of Fares
Dessouki and Olli Tuominen, respectively, while England's James
Willstrop made a winning return to the PSA World Tour following a
five-month injury lay-off, beating compatriot Chris Simpson in a closely
fought 3-2 encounter that tested him over 72-minutes.
World Champion Ashour To
Contest 2015 Swedish Open
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2014 Qatar PSA World Champion Ramy Ashour will look to add the
Case Swedish Open trophy to his impressive collection of titles
when the 2015 staging of Scandinavia's most prestigious squash
tournament gets underway at the Linköping Sporthall, Sweden on
Thursday February 5.
Ashour, who defeated current World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy in
one of the most dramatic World Championship finals of recent
years, will be a hot favourite to win the title but will face
stiff competition from defending champion Nick Matthew, who beat
Ashour in the 2014 final, and World No.2 Gregory Gaultier at the
head of a start-studded field.
With six top 10 players taking part, including English top 10
duo Peter Barker and James Willstrop and Simon Rösner, Germany's
World No.10, the 2015 Case Swedish Open looks set to be one of
the tightest PSA International 70 events of 2015.
"We're delighted to have such a strong collection of players
competing in the 2015 Case Swedish Open and look forward to what
promises to be a very exciting week of squash," said Fredrik
Johnson, CEO of ActiPro.
"I am sure that in 2015 we will once again be treated to some
world class action on the magnificent glass court here in Sweden
and I cannot wait to see it unfold."
2015 Case Swedish Open - Entry List
1. Gregory Gaultier
2. Nick Matthew
3. Ramy Ashour
4. Peter Barker
5. James Willstrop
6. Simon Rösner
7. Marwan Elshorbagy
8. Nicolas Mueller
9. Cameron Pilley
10. Stephen Coppinger
11. Chris Simpson
Wildcard: Rasmus Hult
Having been held for the first time in the 1970s, the Swedish
Open has grown to become one of the biggest International-level
tournaments on the PSA World Tour calendar and will enter its
twelfth year under the stewardship of ActiPro events.
The 2015 CASE Swedish Open will take place at Linköping
Sporthall, Linköping from February 3 - February 8 and tickets
can be purchased by visiting
www.swedishopensquash.se
