England’s
Laura Massaro came through triumphant in a gritty five game
encounter with Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb to win the 2015 Women’s
Delaware Investments US Open, PSA World Series tournament,
in Philadelphia today while Frenchman Gregory Gaultier
defeated Omar Mosaad to lift the men’s trophy for the third
time in his career.
Massaro displayed the tenacious fighting spirit that has
epitomised her career as she dug deep to come from
two-games-to-one down against an in-form El Tayeb while
Gaultier continued his scintillating form this week at
Drexel University as he out-classed 27-year-old Mosaad to
record a straight-games win.
“Winning
this title feels extra special to me because of the break
that I had from the sport earlier this year and going 18
months without a title before winning in Macau a few weeks
ago,” said Massaro.
“To win two tournaments in a month, and a major title such
as the US Open, means a lot and I’m really proud with what
I’ve achieved.”
In the men’s draw Gaultier backed up impressively from his
victory over World No.1 and 2014 champion Mohamed Elshorbagy
in a tough 3-2 semi-final to produce a polished performance
against Mosaad, who looked to be feeling the effects of his
intense semi-final victory over Nick Matthew.
“Winning
this title again in an amazing feeling - it’s tough to
describe it,” said Gaultier.
“You work hard all your life for these moments. I started
playing squash when I was four years old and I always
believed in my capacity that I could one day be a top player
but it’s a team effort to win tournaments like this.
“The individual lifts the trophy but there’s a team behind
me of physios, coaches, family and friends and all these
people are the ones who keep you motivated. I’ve played well
for ten days and I’ve had a great vibe with the crowd here
so it’s great to end the week on a high.”
Momentous Moment As Mosaad
Reaches First Ever World Series Final
Egyptian
World No.6 Omar Mosaad (right) celebrated the biggest win of his
career in Philadelphia as he knocked three-time World Champion Nick
Matthew out of the 2015 Delaware Investments US Open to reach the
final of a PSA World Series tournament for the first time ever.
Mosaad
played with composure and control as he recorded his first ever win
against Matthew in twelve attempts, prevailing 11-9, 3-11, 11-5,
11-7, in a victory that was made all the more poignant for the
powerful 27-year-old from Cairo as it came just two months after the
tragic death of his mother and sister in a car accident in Egypt.
“Reaching the final of a World Series event for the first time in my
life means an awful lot to me,” said Mosaad.
“Beating Nick for the first time, in my first ever World Series
semi-final, is an amazing feeling and I feel like I’ve been playing
really well this event and I’ve been trying very hard to improve
recently.
“Before the season my family had an accident and I lost two of them
and when I was playing in Macau earlier in the season I was confused
and not focused.
“After that I worked hard with my coaches who did a great job with
me in helping me stay focused on being inside the court and it’s
really been working well this tournament and we will see what
happens tomorrow.”
The
man known as the ‘Hammer of Thor’ will now face World No.3 Gregory
Gaultier (left) in the showpiece finale after the 32-year-old
Frenchman ended a five match losing streak against World No.1
Mohamed Elshorbagy in breathtaking fashion - winning a dramatic 77
minute semi-final.
The match-up, their 15th on the PSA World Tour, was a repeat of the
2014 semi-final – when Elshorbagy triumphed in straight-games to
knock the Frenchman off the top of the world rankings to occupy the
No.1 slot for the first time in his career.
“It seems like I play well here at the US Open,” said Gaultier.
“I’ve won this title and few times and made the final as well but
last year I lost to Mohamed at this stage when he was chasing me at
the top of the rankings so I’m happy that it was my turn today.
“He has beaten me the last few times we have played but I’ve been
very close the last couple of times especially. I analysed those
matches with my team and I knew what I had to do and I feel like I
played quite well today.”
In
the women’s event England’s Laura Massaro (right) maintained
her bid to win the prestigious Delaware Investments US Open title
for the second time in her career with an accomplished 3-0 win over
Egypt’s Omneya Abdel Kawy in the semi-finals.
She triumphed in 2011 and finished as runner-up in 2013 - the year
the US Open made history by becoming the first PSA World Series
event to offer equal prize money to men and women - and will compete
agains Nour El Tayeb (below left) in the final as she guns for her
first major PSA World Tour title since winning the 2013 World
Championship.
“I’m
really pleased with how I played this evening and I’m thrilled to be
in a major final once again,” said Massaro.
“I’m enjoying my squash at the moment and I think having such a
tough match and beating Nicol yesterday took some pressure off me.
I’ve felt relaxed all day and that certainly helped tonight.
“I’ve watched Nour play this week and she’s in great form,” added
Massaro. “It’s a major final and I’m really excited for it. There
won’t be any pressure on me so I’m just looking forward to it.”
England’s Massaro
Downs Defending US Open Champion David
England’s
Laura Massaro (right) ended Malaysian Nicol David’s bid to win a
record fourth-consecutive Delaware Investments US Open title after
emerging victorious in a gripping five-game battle at Philadelphia’s
Drexel University today.
World No.3 Massaro mounted a dramatic comeback the last time the duo
met at the Allam British Open in May when she recovered from 2-1 and
match-ball down to come through an enthralling 77-minute encounter
and she proved that lightening can indeed strike twice as she once
again dug deep to recover from two games down to eliminate the World
No.2 after 71 minutes of intense action that had the crowd on the
edge of their seats.
“Being
two games down against Nicol is always going to be an uphill battle
but I knew I could do it because that’s what happened last time we
played so I kept that in my mind and it was maybe in her mind as
well,” said Massaro.
“She was playing well and I was being hard on myself after the first
game and then the second went so quickly. In the third I came out to
fight my hardest because I don’t ever want to lose 3-0 to anyone so
I wanted to make the score respectable.
“I was just taking it one rally at a time and I guess it came good
for me in the end. We’ve played a lot of matches over the years and
that was probably one of the most back-and-forth so I’m just
massively relieved."
Massaro
will take on Egypt’s Omneya Abdel Kawy (in foreground) in tomorrow’s
semi-finals after the World No.6 eliminated India’s Dipika Pallikal
while Nick Matthew ensured there will be English representation in
both the men’s and women’s draws after a commanding win over Fares
Dessouki.
Since winning the title in 2007 the 35-year-old from Sheffield has
made the semi-final or better on every appearance at the prestigious
North American event and will now compete in the last four for a
seventh time after dispatched his 21-year-old opponent with
consummate ease - making just five errors in the entire match to put
Dessouki to the sword in 46-minutes.
“I
think that was maybe my best tactical performance of the week,” said
Nick Matthew (right).
“I’ve made the final here a few times in the last few years but
never got past that final hurdle so hopefully this is the year that
I can change that - but I’ll take it one step at a time. I struggled
for form in the first round so I’m just enjoying my squash at the
minute and hopefully that will continue.”
Matthew will face Omar Mosaad for a place in the final after the
powerful Egyptian beat Daryl Selby 3-2 to secure an appearance in
the semi-finals of a PSA World Series event for the first time in
his career.
Quarter
Finals
Top Half of Draw
El Tayeb Downs World
No.1 El Welily In Philadelphia Thriller
World
No.8 Nour El Tayeb won arguably the match of the week at the 2015
Delaware Investments US Open, PSA World Series tournament, as she
knocked World No.1 Raneem El Welily out of the competition in a
thrilling high-quality quarter-final encounter in Philadelphia
today.
The pairing, two of the best and most audacious shot-makers on the
women’s tour, put their friendship on hold at Drexel University as
they came out firing, hitting winners for fun as they traded points,
rallies and games in a high octane encounter that went all the way
to a fifth and decisive game in front of an enraptured crowd.
After almost 70 minutes of action and some of the most physically
punishing rallies seen on the stunning all-glass show court all week
and with the scoreline reading 2-2 and 9-9, a fortuitous nick handed
El Tayeb match ball and she duly converted to record one of her best
ever wins and move into the semi-finals.
“Raneem and I are great friends off court and it took me a little
while to forget that tonight but I had to keep telling myself she’s
just another opponent and pretend I don’t like her very much,” said
El Tayeb.
“I wanted to win just as much as she did and I gave everything to
beat her and to make the semi-finals means so much to me. But I
didn’t come here to beat the World No.1 and then lose in the next
round so I’ve got to recover and prepare now for the semi-finals as
best I can and give it my all.”
The win handed El Tayeb just her second every victory over El Welily
and it was made all the more remarkable due to a dramatic turn of
events in the third game as the match looked to be heading towards a
premature end when El Tayeb screamed out in pain after a heavy fall.
But the 22-year-old returned to court following an injury time out
and, despite her visible discomfort, played through the pain to book
a place in the US Open semi-finals for the first ever time.
“I still felt pain in my shoulder (after the fall) but it’s the
quarter-final of the US Open and opportunities like this might not
come again so I just had to push through and forget about it and I
owe a lot of thanks to my fiancé Ali (Farag) for keeping me
motivated to push on.”
Elsewhere
there was double delight for French squash enthusiasts as Gregory
Gaultier (left) and Camille Serme out-classed their quarter-final
opponents, Simon Rösner and Nour El Sherbini, respectively, to reach
the last four of the men’s and women’s events.
32-year-old Gaultier, a two-time US Open winner, demolished German
out-classed Rösner in an emphatic straight-games triumph while Serme
(below right) was similarly ruthless as she dispatched 2014
runner-up El Sherbini, the Egyptian World No.7 - also in straight
games.
“Beating
Simon 3-0 is a good performance and one I’m happy with,” said
Gaultier.
“He’s No.6 in the world and close to the four guys so he’s a very
dangerous opponent but I was very fluid in the first two games - I
feel confident and I’m really enjoying my squash.
“I’ve felt good all week and as long as I play well that’s all that
matters. I’ll keep doing my routines during the day off tomorrow and
stay as healthy
as possible and do all the things that I need to do to stay in the
best shape for the semi-final.”
Gaultier will now face World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy (left), the
defending men’s champion who defeated French number two Mathieu
Castagnet, for a place in the final while Serme will take on El
Tayeb.
“I’m really pleased to be in the semi-finals especially be beating
such as dangerous player 3-0,” said Serme.
“I’m looking forward to playing again on Friday and hopefully I can
play well again.”
Pallikal Powers Into US Open Quarter-finals As Matthew Marches On
Indian
number one Dipika Pallikal (right) secured a place in the
quarter-finals of a major PSA World Series event for just the third
time in her career after she knocked World No.5 Alison Waters of
England out of the 2015 Women’s Delaware Investments US Open in
Philadelphia earlier today.
World No.19 Pallikal, ranked one place above compatriot Joshana
Chinappa, last appeared in the final eight of a major event in March
2012 when she lost out to eventual winner Nicol David at the Kuala
Lumpur Open. But after ending her six tournament long first-round
exit streak with an impressive 3-2 win over former World No.4 Joelle
King on Sunday she once again upset the odds to eliminate Waters
after a 50-minute encounter.
“Obviously I’m delighted to win especially because I haven’t played
well in my last two tournaments,” said Pallikal.
“To beat two top players in a row here is very pleasing and gives me
a great confidence boost. Even more so because I’ve come very close
to beating some of the top players recently and not been able to
convert it into a win.”
The
24-year-old from Chennai twice came from behind against the
Englishwoman, who at times appeared to be struggling with a back
injury, to complete the win which sees her through to face Omneya
Abdel Kawy (left) for a place in the semi-finals after the Egyptian
ended hopes off an all-Indian clash by defeating Chinappa in
straight-games.
“I’ve been working hard to stay positive in recent months and that
helped today and I’m glad to get through and I’ve got a day off now
to recover before my next match as well which is good because I need
to do some laundry - I wasn’t expecting to make the quarter-finals!”
In
the Men’s draw England’s Nick Matthew (right) moved one step closer
to reaching a 68th PSA World Tour final after easily dispatching
Egyptian qualifier Zahed Mohamed 3-0.
It took the 35-year-old Englishman five games to get past compatriot
Chris Simpson in the first round but he produced an altogether more
polished performance to eliminate the 23-year-old World No.34 in
47-minutes to set up a last eight match-up with Fares Dessouki - the
man he eliminated at the same stage twelve months ago.
“I had a bit of a blip in the third game there but that’s probably
the best I have played this season so far,” said Matthew.
“It’s been a little bit of a struggle this season to find my rhythm
so I’m pleased to have done that but the key now is not to get ahead
of myself and to keep working on my game tomorrow and make sure I
get my basics right. Even though I felt well that means for nothing
in the next round and I have to make sure I keep improving.
“Dessouki has a good mix of English basics with Egyptian flair so
it;’s going to be incredibly tough and I’ll certainly need to be
ready for him.”
2nd Round Top Half of
Draws
World Champion Ashour Out Of US
Open
Three time World Champion Ramy Ashour’s 2015 Delaware Investments US
Open campaign ended in misery today as the 28-year-old Egyptian
conceded his second round match against Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet
while World No.1s Mohamed Elshorbagy and Raneem El Welily
successfully negotiated their respeictve encounters.
Ashour, the charismatically talented man from Cairo, has endured an
injury-plagued 18 months on the PSA World Tour and has failed to
compete in more than two consecutive events since he limped of court
against Nick Matthew at the 2013 World Championship. Victory today
would have seen Ashour reignite his ferocious rivalry with No.1
Elshorbagy but his injury troubles appeared to strike again as he
exited court after less than five minutes of action to hand victory
to World No.9 Castagnet.
“It’s really difficult for me to be happy to win like this,” said
Castagnet. “Ramy is such a great and fair player and we all want to
see him playing because he’s such a special player so it’s very hard
to be happy right now.
“It’s a busy period on the tour so it’s important that we all work
hard and manage our bodies well in order to perform at all these
events and I’ll go away and prepare for the next round now.”
Castagnet
will now take on the defending champion Elshorbagy (right) after the
24-year-old from Alexandria secured his quarter-final berth with a
comfortable straight games win over Scotland’s Greg Lobban,
withstanding an early onslaught from the World No.38 before easing
to an 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 win.
“I have great memories of playing here in Philadelphia especially as
winning and becoming number one here last year was a great moment
for me,” said Elshorbagy.
“I love playing here so I’m pleased to get through today and keep my
tournament hopes alive for another round. Greg is a good player and
I admire how he plays but I’m happy that I was able to get the win
today.
“I’m going to have a tough match on Wednesday with Mathieu because
he’s always a very tough guy to play. The last time we played he won
so I’ll certainly have to be at my best if I’m to get through that
one.”
In
the women’s draw top seed and World No.1 El Welily continued her
journey towards a maiden US Open title with victory over former
World No.2 Jenny Duncalf in an entertaining four-game encounter.
The 26-year-old was caught flat as Duncalf, the current World No.17,
came out on fire hitting a succession of flamboyant winners to take
the first game but El Welily showed the composure and skill that has
taken her to the top the rankings as she overturned the deficit to
complete an impressive come from behind 4-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9
victory and set up a last eight encounter with compatriot Nour El
Tayeb.
“She was playing really well and taking every opportunity that was
put in front of her in that first game especially so I had to come
out more alert in the second game,” said El Welily.
“It’s great to see her playing so well again but I’m happy to be
through to the next round. It’s definitely going to be hard playing
against a friend like Nour but it’s a great time for Egypt at the
minute with five girls in the top ten - so we all know we’ll have to
play each other at some point.”
El Tayeb booked her place in the quarter-finals courtesy of a
straightforward victory over England’s Emma Beddoes while 2014
runner-up Nour El Sherbini had to dig deep to complete a hat trick
of Egyptian wins and avoid a shock defeat against Australian
qualifier Donna Urquhart.
The second round of the 2015 Delaware Investments US Open will
feature a total of twelve Egyptians across both the Men’s and
Women’s PSA World Series tournaments after players from the North
African country dominated play on day two of first round action at
Philadelphia’s Drexel University.
A
quintet of players, led by World No.7 Omar Mosaad and No.8 Tarek
Momen (right) - who will face each other for a place in the
quarter-finals - moved into the second round of the Men’s draw to
join World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy and World Champion Ramy Ashour
who secured their passage during the opening day of action
yesterday. Also progressing were a trio of rising stars in the guise
of Mazen Hesham, Zahed Mohamed and Fares Dessouki.
Hesham
(left) was sublime as he saw off England’s World No.11 Peter Barker
3-0 to set up a second round clash with Dessouki - who came through
a titanic battle against World Junior Champion Diego Elias in what
is certain to be a match-up that will dominate the PSA World Tour
for years to come - with Mohamed upsetting the odds to defeat
Australian World No.17 Cameron Pilley 3-1.
“I’m really happy to be here and win my first round match,” said
21-year-old Hesham.
“Fares and I have played a lot and we know each others game a lot –
we’ve come through the juniors together. It’ll be a tough match and
hopefully we can put on a good show for the crowds.”
In
the Women’s event World No.6 Omneya Abdel Kawy swept past American
wildcard Sabrina Sobhy while World Junior Champion Nouran Gohar beat
compatriot Kanzy El Defrawy to set up an second round clash with
defending US Open champion Nicol David (right) of Malaysia.
Gohar and David clashed at the China Open in September when the
18-year-old star stunned the World No.2 at the quarter-final stage
but David, who beat Hong Kong’s Joey Chan 3-0, will be confident of
overturning that result as she bids to win a record fourth
consecutive US Open crown.
“It feel great to be back on court in Philadelphia - it’s always
nice to be back here,” said David.
“I’m really excited about this week and hopefully I can keep
improving match by match. Getting off to a 3-0 win is important as
you just want to get in and get your game together.
“I had to step up and play the big points well against Joey and I
did that so I’m happy and I can go and enjoy the rest day now
especially because I have my team here with me to work on me and
help me perform at my best against Nouran in the next round.”
There
was also double delight for Indian players Dipika Pallikal and
Joshana Chinappa in the Women’s event as they defied the odds
against top ranked opposition to reach the second round of the US
Open for the firs time ever.
“With Joshanna winning today as well is great for Indian squash,”
said Pallikal after her win over former World No.4 Joelle King.
“We’re both continually pushing each other to improve and I think
women’s squash in India is at it’s best right now so hopefully we
can keep performing well in this tournament.”
1st Round
Top Half of Draws
World No.1s Off To
Winning Start At US Open
World
No.1s Mohamed Elshorbagy (right) and Raneem El Welily got their 2015
Delaware Investments US Open campaigns off to successful starts at
Philadelphia’s Drexel University earlier today with comfortable 3-0
wins in their respective first round encounters.
Defending Men’s champion Elshorbagy came through a testing match-up
with tenacious Mexican Cesar Salazar to book his place in the second
round. The 24-year-old from Alexandria, who is now based in Bristol,
England, was forced to draw on plenty of big match experience as he
came from behind to rescue both the first and second games against
the No.30 before eventually pulling away to complete an 11-9, 11-9,
11-8 victory.
“It’s good to be back here in Philadelphia especially because this
is where I first got the World No.1 ranking last year,” said
Elshorbagy, who topped the November 2014 PSA World Rankings courtesy
of his semi-final victory over Grgeory Gaultier en route to taking
the title here 12 months ago.
“Cesar played really well and I know how dangerous he can be. I knew
I couldn’t afford to take him lightly and I’m glad I was lucky
enough to take those crucial points at the end of each of the first
two games.
“I’m looking forward to a rest day and coming back here again on
Monday for the next match.”
Elshorbagy
will now take on Scotland’s Greg Lobban (left) in the second round
after the 23-year-old World No.38 produced the upset of the round to
defeat World No.13 Max Lee in a thrilling 65-minute encounter.
After comfortably defeating Hong Kong’s number two Leo Au to secure
his place in the main draw Lobban inflicted further misery on the
Far Eastern country by defeating Lee, the Hong Kong number one,
11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 2-11, 11-7.
“I’m pretty exhausted to be honest,” said Lobban afterwards. “I had
a tough one against Leo (Au) last night and I knew it was going to
be tough again against Max. He likes to keep the pace really high
and it was a different kind of match today.
“I played Elshorbagy last year at this event and lost three nil but
I’m looking forward to it, it’s good to play these top guys – it’s
why I play these big events.”
In
the Women’s event World No.1 Raneem El Welily (right), who comes
into the event as the top seed for the first time in her career,
began her campaign to dethrone incumbent champion Nicol David - the
women she knocked off the World No.1 ranking spot in September -
with an imposing 3-0 win over Emily Whitlock.
El Welily took just 28-minutes to defeat her English opponent during
a day of action that was dominated by Egyptian stars, with Nour El
Sherbini and Nour El Tayeb also progressing to the second round.
“I’m trying to play sharper than I did last week and keep my focus
throughout each match in this tournament and I’ve started well so
hopefully I can keep that going now,” said El Welily, who lost to El
Sherbini in the semi-finals of the Carol Weymuller open last week.
“I enjoy playing this event; it’s a great venue, great court and
great tournament so I’m excited to keep improving each day I play.
I’m the top seed but there’s no pressure on me here. I’m not
thinking about any pressure, I’m just focusing on each match.”
Top seeds Alan Clyne and Ryan Cukelly led the way through
qualification at the 2015 Delaware Investments US Open in
Philadelphia today, coming through the final round of qualification
to book their places in the main draw for the first PSA World Series
event of the 2015/16 season.
Clyne came from behind to see off talented French youngster Luca
Serme while Cuskelly impressed with a 3-0 win over Paul Coll as they
led an eight strong contingent into the Men’s main draw while in the
Women’s event New Zealand’s Joelle King continued her comeback from
injury with a convincing win over top seeded Line Hansen.
Clyne will now take on Alister Walker of Botswana in the main draw
with Cuskelly taking on top ten player Mathieu Castagnet while World
Junior Champion Diego Elias will face Egypt’s Fares Dessouki in a
compelling looking encounter after the Peruvian defeated Gregoire
Marche in a thrilling five-game encounter.
In the Women’s event King will hope to continue her form against
India’s Dipika Pallikal.
American Amanda Sobhy is brimming with excitement ahead of the upcoming
Delaware Investments US Open and is hoping to get off to a good start
when the event begins on Saturday October 10.
The charismatic 22-year-old claimed silverware at the NetSuite Open last
week with a win over Sarah-Jane Perry in the final and she is set to
face off against the Englishwoman in the opening round of the first PSA
World Series event of the season.
“I'm very excited about the US Open this year,” said the World No 11.
“Unfortunately I had to miss out on it last year but to be coming back
this year for what is the biggest US event and being the top ranked US
player is a great feeling so hopefully I can go out there and play
well.”
Sobhy, who is unseeded for the event, missed out on last year's
tournament due to university commitments but was part of the 2013 event
which became the first PSA World Series event to feature equal prize
money for both the men and the women, something which she enjoys being a
part of.
“US Squash has been doing some great things in recent years, especially
getting parity between the men and the women and it feels great to be
involved in that movement,” she said.
After completing a degree in social anthropology at Harvard University,
Sobhy turned her attention to the PSA World Tour in a full time capacity
which culminated in last week's sensational display in San Francisco.
Sobhy says that, while her life as a professional is markedly different
from her university days, she is enjoying being able to focus on her
career.
“A lot of people have told me that I should expect to watch my ranking
plummet now that I’m a full-time pro and it’s my job but I’m trying not
to think about it,” New York-born Sobhy said.
“I’m just going out and trying to enjoy playing a full season without
worrying about school or homework. I’m not putting any extra pressure on
myself and I’m just trying to do my best in each tournament. Now that
I’m not in school I have more time to train.
“I used to maybe train a couple of hours a day for five days a week but
with exams and classes and papers it was kind of all over the place. Now
I can focus on having a really set structure and programme that I can
track and it’s such a nice feeling to be able to focus fully on my game
instead of cramming it all in.”
2015 US Open Draws Released
The draws for the 2015 Delaware Investments US Open - the first PSA
World Series event of the 2015/16 season - has been released and will
see some of the top stars on the PSA World Tour pitted against each
other from the off in what promises to be a dramatic week of action
across both the men’s and women’s tours.
Philadelphia’s Drexel University will play host to the week-long event
which gets underway on October 10, when World No.1s Mohamed Elshorbagy
and Raneem El Welily will begin their campaigns against potentially
tricky opposition in the form of Cesar Salazar and Emily Whitlock,
respectively.
In the men’s draw defending champion Elshorbagy will be pleased to see
championship rivals Nick Matthew, the World No.2, Gregory Gaultier, the
World No.3 and World No.4 Miguel Angel Rodriguez all drawn against
difficult first round opposition in the form of top 25 players Chris
Simpson, Saurav Ghosal and Stephen Coppinger.
In the women’s draw El Welily will be hoping to add to the China Open
title she won earlier this month while defending champion Nicol David
will be aiming to make a successful return from injury to lift the title
for a fifth consecutive year but could face talented Egyptian youngster
Nouran Gohar - the 17-year-old that knocked her out of the China Open at
the quarter-final stage - in the second round of what is a tough looking
women’s draw,
2015 US Open
Draws World Class Line Up
The 2015 Delaware Investments U.S Open looks certain to be one of the
toughest and most enthralling World Series events ever seen on the PSA
World Tour with a plethora of world class stars, including eight current
and former World No.1s, set to descend on Philadelphia’s Drexel
University from October
10 - October 17.
The top eight ranked players on both the men’s and women’s tours will be
on show in what is a truly stellar field, that also includes five World
Champions, with the likes of Egyptian World No.1s Mohamed Elshorbagy and
Raneem El Welily leading the cast and holding the number one seedings
and favourite tags.
Elshorbagy will be aiming to retain the title he won in 2014, a victory
that elevated him to No.1 for the first time in his career, but will
face a difficult task with the likes of three-time World Champion Nick
Matthew, winner of 30 PSA title Gregory Gaultier and the enigmatic 2014
World Champion Ramy Ashour amongst the challengers.
Ashour, who beat Elshorbagy 3-2 to seal the 2014 World crown in dramatic
fashion, will be making his first appearance at the US Open since
winning the title in 2012 and he’ll be aiming to pick up where he left
off in what makes for a mouth-watering competition.
In the women’s draw El Welily’s toughest challenge is likely to come
from the player she dethroned atop the world rankings, Nicol David - the
2014 US Open champion - who will be hoping to reclaim her ranking and
retain her title.
2013 World Champion Laura Massaro and 2014 British Open champion Camille
Serme will be other standout names to watch along with World Junior
champion Nouran Gohar and American starlets Amanda and Sabrina Sobhy - a
duo with the potential to stun the best on their day.
The action gets underway on Saturday October 10 with every match being
played inside the walls of Philadelphia’s Drexel University with tickets
priced from $19 and available to purchase via:
http://www.usopensquash.com/ticket-overview/
2015 Delaware Investments US Open, Men’s - Entry List
(Seed, Name, Nationality, Ranking)
1) Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) [1]
2) Nick Matthew (ENG) [2]
3) Gregory Gaultier (FRA) [3]
4) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) [4]
5) Ramy Ashour (EGY) [5]
6) Omar Mosaad (EGY) [6]
7) Simon Rösner (GER) [7]
8) Peter Barker (ENG) [8]
9) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) [9]
10) Tarek Momen (EGY) [10]
11) Stephen Coppinger (RSA) [14]
12) Saurav Ghosal (IND) [15]
13) Cameron Pilley (AUS) [16]
14) Daryl Selby (ENG) [17]
15) Max Lee (HKG) [18]
16) Mazen Hesham (EGY) [20]
17) Fares Dessouki (EGY) [21]
18) Chris Simpson (ENG) [22]
19) Alister Walker (BOT) [23]
20) Tom Richards (ENG) [24]
21) Cesar Salazar (MEX) [25]
22) Adrian Waller (ENG) [26]
23) Nicolas Mueller (SUI) [27]
WC) Christopher Gordon (USA) [59]
2015 Delaware Investments US Open, Women’s - Entry List
(Seed, Name,
Nationality, Ranking)
1) Raneem El Welily (EGY) [1]
2) Nicol David (MAS) [2]
3) Camille Serme (FRA) [3]
4) Alison Waters (ENG) [4]
5) Laura Massaro (ENG) [5]
6) Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) [6]
7) Nour El Sherbini (EGY) [7]
8) Nour El Tayeb (EGY) [8]
9) Annie Au (HKG) [10]
10) Emma Beddoes (ENG) [11]
11) Delia Arnold (MAS) [12]
12) Nouran Gohar (EGY) [13]
13) Rachael Grinham (AUS) [14]
14) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) [15]
15) Jenny Duncalf (ENG) [16]
16) Dipika Pallikal (IND) [17]
17) Emilay Whitlock (ENG) [18]
18) Amanda Sobhy (USA) [19]
19) Salma Hany Ibrahim (EGY) [20]
20) Victoria Lust (ENG) [21]
21) Heba El Torky (EGY) [22]
22) Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) [23]
23) Joshana Chinappa (IND) [24]
WC) Sabrina Sobhy (USA) [49]
