PSA International 70, Grasshopper
Cup, Zurich, Switzerland
Gaultier
Wins 2015 Grasshopper Cup
#PSAWorldTour
French
World No.3 Gregory Gaultier lived up to his billing as the number
one seed at the 2015 Grasshopper Cup, PSA International 70 event,
taking home the title following a commanding 3-0 victory over German
Simon Rösner in the final at Zurich's Puls 5.
Gaultier dominated from the outset against the World No.10 who
looked visibly fatigued from spending over 200-minutes on court
going into the finale, including a mammoth 94-minute semi-final, and
the Frenchman rarely looked troubled as he claimed the 29th PSA
World Tour title of his career without the loss of a single game
during the tournament.
The
man known as the "General' was in charge throughout the competition
and he dispatched all comers to send a strong message out to his
main title-rivals ahead of the Allam British Open, which gets
underway on May 11, where he'll be hoping to retain the title he won
in 2014.
"Winning this title means a lot because I haven't won a tournament
for around six months," said Gaultier.
"I've had a fantastic week here, not only because I won, but because
the quality of the event has been very high and I'm really happy
with the form I have had on court through the week.
"It gives me a lot of confidence going forward to have a good week
like this so I'm very happy."
Gaultier
And Rösner Reach Grasshopper Final
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Number
one seed Gregory Gaultier, the French World No.3, will take on
German World No.10 Simon Rösner in the final of the 2015 Grasshopper
Cup, PSA International 70 tournament, in Zurich's Puls 5 venue.
The Frenchman will be gunning to collect the 29th PSA World Tour
title of his career against the powerful man from Paderborn, who'll
be competing in his 15th final, and after reaching the decider
without dropping a single game en route the former World No.1 will
be firm favourite to lift the trophy.
Gaultier secured his place in the final with an accomplished and
polished display against World No.5 Miguel Angel Rodriguez,
preventing the dynamic Colombian from using his electric pace as he
dictated proceedings from the very first point.
"I'm really excited to be into another final and I'm looking forward
to the challenge ahead," said Gaultier.
"All credit to Miguel as he's done really well this year but I guess
it was my day today and I'll go now prepare myself as best I can and
hopefully I'll be able to do my best to win another trophy
tomorrow."
Rösner had to come through a 95-minute battle with World No.9 Omar
Mosaad in order to book his place in the final, doing just enough to
remain ahead of the powerful Egyptian, despite seeing two match ball
opportunities go wasted, in what was a battle of hard-hitting
giants.
"It's quite hard to get your head around leading 2-0 and being so
close to winning and then not finishing it off," said Rösner.
"I had to dig deep and just forget about that third game and really
concentrate in the fourth and I'm so happy, and relieved, to win
against Omar and I'm hoping to come out fresh against Greg tomorrow
and give it my all."
World
Champion Falls In Grasshopper Quarters
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World Champion Ramy Ashour's hopes of winning back-to-back PSA World
Tour tournaments came crashing down as he limped off court against
compatriot Omar Mosaad during the quarter-finals of the 2015
Grasshopper Cup in Zurich’s Puls 5 venue.
Ashour defied all logic to come from two-games down to beat home
favourite Nicolas Mueller in his first round match and Mosaad showed
his intent from the opening point, taking the ball short at every
opportunity to test Ashour's movement following his first round
battle, and it was a tactic that paid dividends.
The imposing World No.9 played with composure to take a two-game
lead and while Ashour mounted a fightback to claw one game back, an
awkward looking lunge during the third game left him anguishing and
it proved to be the final nail in his tournament coffin, with the
three-time World Champion and winner of last week's El Gouna
International conceding the match with Mosaad dominantly ahead 11-3,
11-8, 7-11, 9-4.
"Of course I am happy to reach the semi-finals but that is not the
way I want to win and it is hard for me," said Mosaad.
"I'm really sorry for what happened to Ramy. He played amazing in El
Gouna last week but had a tough match against Nicolas Mueller last
night, where I think he got injured, so I hope he has a speedy
recovery.
"Tomorrow I play Simon Rösner and I will do my best and hopefully
play well."
Mosaad's last four opponent came through a tough match against
Indian qualifier Saurav Ghosal to book his berth in the semi-finals,
struggling to find his best form during the encounter but managing
enough to keep the Indian pocket rocket at bay, whilst top seed
Gregory Gaultier, the World No.3, was in commanding form against
England's Daryl Selby.
The Frenchman controlled proceeding from the start in a
scintillating performance, winning 3-0 in just 45-minutes.
"Daryl is a great mover and he absorbs pressure really well so you
always have to be on your toes and control the court against him and
break his rhythm," said Gaultier.
"I managed to move a little better today than the first round and
play more accurately. I had a little bit more confidence today as
well ager the first round and I feel like I played quite well
today."
Gaultier will take on World No.5 Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Colombia
in the last four.
Ashour
Ends Home Hopes In Swiss Rollercoaster
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World Champion Ramy Ashour triumphed in a frenetic roller coaster of
an encounter with home favourite and World No.20 Nicolas Mueller
during the second day of first round action at the 2015 Grasshopper
Cup, PSA International 70 tournament.
In front of a sell-out crowd in Zurich's Puls 5 venue, Ashour, who
beat World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy last week to win the El Gouna
International in one of the greatest matches of recent times, got
off to a lethargic start, showing signs of rustiness following his
four-month injury-absence pre-El Gouna as he struggled to find his
rhythm on court.
Sensing his opportunity, Mueller pounced, producing some of his best
ever squash to race into a two-game lead to leave Ashour staring at
a first round exit before he produced a miracle comeback to win 3-2
after an throughly enthralling 69-minutes.
"I think I was on my fourth or fifth wind my the end of that match
but I just kept on digging and digging," said Ashour.
"Nicky was playing amazingly well, which he always seems to do
against me, and the crowd were all fully behind him as well but I'm
proud of how I managed to stay positive and push to get the result.
"I had a brutal tournament in El Gouna last week and coming here was
not easy but the promoters are doing an amazing job looking after
the players and I'm really happy to be in Zurich for the first time
and delighted to win today."
The turning point in the match came in the third game, when at 9-9
Ashour upped his level to save the match and grasp a foothold and
deliver a hammer blow to the local hero.
Mueller lifted himself again in the fourth and again found himself
just two points away from glory, levelling the game at 10-10, but
again it was Ashour who won the crucial points and the maverick
Egyptian then upped his game again to storm to a 6-0 lead in the
fifth.
In a see-saw encounter Mueller brought it back to 5-6, but he
couldn't find the killer blow and saw his hopes of recording a huge
upset vanish as the 27-year-old from Cairo came back to win in
dramatic circumstances.
Ashour will now face compatriot Omar Mosaad in the quarter-finals in
what promises to be a bruising all-Egyptian encounter.
Gaultier
Gallops Through In Grasshopper Cup
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Number one seed and World No.3 Gregory Gaultier wasted no time in
securing his place in the quarter-finals of the 2015 Grasshopper
Cup, PSA International 70 tournament, ruthlessly dispatching Cameron
Pilley 3-0 during the first day of action at Zurich's stunning Puls
5 venue.
The 32-year-old Frenchman from Aix-en-Provence started the match
slowly and it was the 6' 3" Australian who raced into an 8-4 lead in
the first game, but Gaultier showed exactly why he's remained one of
the sport's dominant players over the last decade, scoring seven
unanswered points to take the opening game and set up the platform
from which to dominate.
From then on the man known as 'The General' was in charge, and
despite Pilley mounting a strong challenge in the third game to hold
a 7-2 lead and take advantage of Gaultier's impatience as he tried
to get off court before midnight, it was the top seed who saw out
the match 11-8, 11-7, 11-9.
"At the beginning he was on fire and I was on the back foot but I
managed to regroup and find my length and play with some better
variation," said Gaultier.
"It was a tough match and obviously I'm happy to go through 3-0
especially because that was maybe the first time in my career that
I've played that late, but you have to come prepared to deal with
the conditions.
"I had a bit of a lack of concentration in the middle of the second
and third games but I'm happy how I responded to get the win."
Earlier in the day England's Daryl Selby, the unseeded World No.15,
upset the seedings by beating World No.11 Borja Golan 3-0, showing
the form and skill that previously took him as high as World No.9 in
the process.
Selby controlled proceedings from the start and after spending an
agonising 216 minutes on court during the recent El Gouna
International, the 32-year-old was relieved to complete the
straight-games 13-11, 11-9, 11-5 win.
"It's massive to get a 3-0 win against Borja in the first round,"
said Selby.
"I've been in good form recently and I want to finish the second
half of the season strong and carry that form all the way through to
the end. I'm unseeded here and took a bit of a chance as I knew
whoever I got would be tough, but it paid off."
Gaultier
Tops Grasshopper Cup Draw
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World No.2 Gregory Gaultier will be favourite to claim a 29th career
PSA World Tour title when the 2015 Grasshopper Cup, PSA
International 70, tournament gets underway in Zurich on Wednesday
April 15.
The maverick Frenchman has failed to add to his career tally since
winning the 2014 NetSuite Open but he'll be hungry to return to
winning ways when the tournament moves to the new all-glass court at
the city's stunning Giessereihalle Puls 5 venue but with six of the
world's top ten players, including 2014 World Champion Ramy Ashour,
all in contention, it promises to be an electric week in
Switzerland.
Home favourite Nicolas Mueller will take on Ashour in the first
round, when he'll be hoping to spring a huge upset, while wildcard
Reiko Peter faces a tough task against World No.9 Simon Rösner in
one of the toughest 16-man draws seen on tour this year.
And with Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Tarek Momen, Borja Golan, Mathieu
Castagnet and Omar Mosaad also all in contention, Swiss squash fans
will be in for a treat of top class action.
