England's
Laura Massaro and Frenchman Gregory Gaultier reigned supreme during
the final night of action at the PSA Dubai World Series Finals,
defeating Raneem El Welily and Cameron Pilley, respectively, to take
the honours and bring the lucrative week-long season-ending
tournament to a close in Dubai.
Competing in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest
building - Massaro twice game from a game down to defeat El Welily
in a thrilling 62-minute encounter that saw her collect the biggest
prize in the history of women's squash - with the $42,750 purse
equal to that collected by Gaultier - just three weeks after losing
in the final of the PSA Women's World Championship.
"I’m so pleased with my form all week," said Massaro.
"It
was really tough coming off the back of a loss at the World
Championship, and it was a big effort to keep training after that.
I’m just so pleased that it’s paid off - you go through so much pain
and hard work as a squash player. Moments like this make it all
worth it.
"I told myself it was the final match of the season, and coming on
for that fifth game I just told myself there was one game to go and
I'm so pleased to come through in the end. To have equal prize money
for the women and to be on an level par with the men in these big
events now, the women feel like we deserve it, and I hope that today
showed that we do."
Meanwhile
Gaultier, winner of the 2008 and 2009 iterations of the tournament,
saw off the challenge of surprise finalist Cameron Pilley in a
commanding 3-1 victory that sees him end the season on the highest
note possible - just four months after suffering a horrific ankle
injury that threatened to keep him away from the game for an
extended period of time.
"I started the season in a great dynamic winning events such as the
U.S. Open and World Championship and was the maybe best player on
Tour before the nightmare hit with injury in January," said Gaultier.
"I
had a few months where I didn't even hit a squash ball until the
British Open and it was only in El Gouna that I felt I was getting
back into it. This week I was able to play without tape and move
fluently for the first time and to end this half of the year with
this title is a really positive note for me and something I'm really
pleased with."
Pilley Downs World No.1 In World Series Finals Upset
click on images for larger view World
No.13 Cameron Pilley (right)
pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Series Finals history
as he downed odds-on title favourite Mohamed ElShorbagy, the World
No.1, in straight-game to reach the final of the 2016 iteration of
the tournament which is taking place in front of Dubai's iconic Burj
Khalifa - the world's tallest building.
The season-ending event brings only the top eight players on the
Road To Dubai Standings together to compete for a lucrative $160,000
purse and Pilley, who only just scraped into the competition at the
last moment, took full advantage of the opportunity presented to him
as he played with a relaxed and calm manner to produce some of his
best squash this season.
Competing
in the tournament for the first time in his career the man from
Yamba took the first few points of the semi-final and managed to
stay ahead throughout as he grasped at the scent of victory to power
to an 11-9, 11-5 win that sets up a title-decider with two-time
winner and current World Champion Gregory Gaultier.
"I play my best squash when I’m relaxed and I don’t overcomplicate
things on court," said Pilley.
"So today I just went in with a pretty simple game plan of staying
relaxed. It helps with my movement, it helps with my hitting, and it
helps with my shot selection if I’m in a relaxed state of mind.
There was no pressure on me, so I just went in and did my best.
"I’ve played ElShorbagy so many times I know as soon as I miss my
targets by a foot, half a foot, he just kills me. I had to make sure
it was tight and my lengths were getting to the back, otherwise he
just punishes you. I was pretty happy with how I did that today.
"I remember watching when (Anthony) Rickets won in 2006 and thinking
it was just amazing to see a fellow Aussie win this tournament so
for me to scrape into the top 8 and now be in the final is something
I can be really happy about."
Gaultier
(left) secured his berth with a 2-0 win over Colombia's Miguel Angel
Rodriguez while the women's tournament saw England's Laura Massaro
avenge her defeat to Egyptian Nour El Sherbini in the final of last
month's World Championship by downing the 20-year-old 2-0 to move
into the final for the second time in her career.
Massaro lost to Nicol David, the Malaysian who crashed out against
Raneem El Welily in today's second semi-final, in the 2012
title-decider but will be confident of claiming silverware this time
around after triumphing in a high quality 31-minute encounter.
"I’m
feeling pretty good right now," said Massaro (right).
"I’m happy with the way I played, I feel like I put some really good
work in since the World Championship and it’s always nice to turn
the result over.
"After the European Championships I had a couple of tough weeks of
training to try and come here and do well and I've made another
final this season which is great. It's always good to be playing for
a major title and I'm really pleased with how I kept the intensity
high throughout.
"It’s
a truly world-class event and, for the women to have equal prize
money to the men is phenomenal and really setting the bar for squash
and the rest of the world to follow. It’s a real privilege to play
here."
Egypt's Raneem El Welily (left) secured
her final berth with a victory over Malaysian star Nicol David.
click on images for larger view Cameron
Pilley (right), the 33-year-old competing in the PSA Dubai World
Series Finals for the first time in his career, became the first
Australian since David Palmer in 2008 to reach the last four stage
of the lucrative season-ending tournament after defeating Germany's
Simon Rösner 2-0 in a crunch encounter during today's final round
robin matches.
Having only qualified for the tournament, which brings the top eight
players on the Road To Dubai Standings together to compete for one
of the sport's most lucrative titles, by the skin of his teeth in
eighth position, the hard-hitting man from Yamba took full advantage
of the opportunity presented to him, playing in relaxed fashion to
run out an 11-2, 11-7 winner and set up a last four meeting with
World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy.
"It's an understatement to say I'm feeling pretty good right now -
considering that I just scraped in to this tournament and it's my
first World Series Finals, I am over the moon to be in the
semi-finals," said Pilley.
"The likes of Palmer and (Anthony) Ricketts have done well in this
event and I'm thrilled to follow in their footsteps and fly the
Australian flag, to a certain extent, and I'd be over the moon to
get a win tomorrow but I have to be delighted with how I played so
far.
"I changed a few things in my game and training last year and since
then, baring a few results, I've been very pleased with my form. I
feel like I'm playing the best squash of my career and physically I
feel good. Mentally I'm still keen which is a big thing when you've
been on Tour as much as me so I'm just looking forward to enjoying
the match tomorrow."
While Pilley will face ElShorbay, who lost a dead-rubber encounter
with Nick Matthew, the second semi-final will see World Champion
Gregory Gaultier take on Colombia's Miguel Angel Rodriguez - the
first South American ever to appear in the tournament's semi-finals.
Rodriguez
(left) came through after opponent Mathieu Castagnet was forced to
concede their encounter with injury after a brutal game and a half.
"That was a thrilling fist game and it was very important to play
the second different tactically but I have no words now," said
Rodriguez.
"Mathieu had an amazing season and I know he achieved a dream by
playing here - it was the first time in the World Series for both of
us but I hope he is ok.
"For me reaching the semi-finals of this tournament is amazing - I
have been dreaming of this for a long time, ever since I was a kid.
I have friends and family here supporting me and this is an amazing
way to end the season for me. You have to be so consistent now and
I'm improving and happy with my performances this week and I can't
wait to play the semi-final here tomorrow and see how it goes."
In
the women's tournament Malaysian Nicol David (right) kept alive her
hopes of winning the competition for a third time after defeating
World Junior Champion Nouran Gohar 2-0 to go through in second place
in Group A.
David required just one game to join group winner Laura Massaro in
the semi-final and duly delivered as she played with intent from the
opening exchanges, scampering around court with ease to take the
match and set up a semi-final with Raneem El Welily - the World No.3
who topped Group B.
"This win meant a lot to me," said David, who won the 2011 and 2012
iterations of the tournament.
"If you want to make the semi-finals you have to beat everybody else
so I wasn't thinking about winning one game, I was just focused on
winning the match.
"Nouran is fast and furious so I had to try and impose my pace and
was pleased to get the points when it mattered. She's feisty and
kept coming back so I'm really pleased to win 2-0 as that second
game could have gone ether way in the end.
"Now I need to be ready for a big battle tomorrow as I know Raneem
will be another tough match. I'm just going to focus on my game. I
know her style of play and what to expect so I just have to make
sure I go out there and make it all count." The
second semi-final will see Massaro (left) and Nour El Sherbini locks
horns just weeks after contesting the PSA Women's World Championship
Final - which El Sherbini won in a thrilling five-game battle to
become the youngest World Champion ever.
Results - PSA Dubai World Series Finals:
Round 3 Men's Group A
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) 2-0: 12-10,
12-10 (28m)
[5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 2-0:
11-9, 6-4 retired (37m)
Men's Group B
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [4] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 2-1: 7-11, 11-8,
11-1 (38m)
[8] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [6] Simon Rösner (GER) 2-0: 11-2, 11-7
(38m)
Women's Group A
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 2-0: 13-11, 11-9
(31m)
[3] Nicol David (MAS) bt [5] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2-0: 11-7, 11-9
(30m)
Women's Group B
[4] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 2-0:
15-13, 11-9 (20m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [7] Camille Serme (FRA) 2-0: 11-4,
11-6 (20m)
Fixtures - Semi-finals: Men
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [8] Cameron Pilley (AUS)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) Women
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
[3] Nicol David (MAS) v [4] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Matthew Crashes Out Of PSA Dubai World Series Finals
click on images for larger view England's
three-time World Champion Nick Matthew crashed out of the 2015/16
PSA Dubai World Series Finals today after a surprise defeat to
unfancied Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet (right, green top)
dashed his hopes of tournament success during the second day of
action at the lucrative season-ending event taking place in the
shadow of Dubai's iconic Burj Khalifa.
35-year-old Matthew, who missed last month's El Gouna International
due to an ankle injury, lost out to Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez
yesterday and slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Castagnet, the World No.6,
today that means he cannot progress beyond the round robin group
stage - and will face
World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy (left)
tomorrow where an ignominious whitewash could await.
For debutant competitor Castagnet it was a victory to be savoured as
it keeps his hopes of reaching the knock-out semi-finals alive ahead
of a showdown with Rodriguez.
"Nick is a legend of the sport so to be able to beat him is a great
achievement for me," said Castagnet.
"I was very confident with my game plan and I have to thank my
coaches for that. I had an injury a few weeks ago on my adductor but
my coaches really helped me so much to trust my capacity today.
"When you have been injured and step on court for the first time it
is not easy to be at your best straight away but I had a good
practice this morning which helped me a lot and I am enjoying every
second of being here in this tournament.
"Just to qualify and be part of the top eight is amazing for me and
I just want to try and play my best tomorrow and see what happens."
ElShorbagy
ensured he progressed to the last four after defeating Rodriguez (right)to
top Group A in the men's competition while World Champion Gregory
Gaultier also moved into the semi-finals after a blistering
performance saw him defeat Australian Cameron Pilley for the loss of
just four points in total.
Pilley and German Simon Rösner will face-off for the last remaining
semi-final berths in Group B while in the women's competition World
No.3 Raneem El Welily is the only player guaranteed a semi-final
spot courtesy of her hard-fought victory over Camille Serme during a
day of high-intensity action.
After dropping the first game El Welily came back to take the second
12-10 before powering from 6-8 down to reel off five consecutive
points in the third to take the match.
"I
don't know how I won that - she was playing really well and she was
in front for 80 per cent of each game so I'm really happy to win in
the end," said El Welily
(left).
"I had a very close win yesterday and an even closer win today but
I'm pleased because I didn't want to go into tomorrow's match with
the extra pressure of having to win to stay in the competition.
"I still want to win tomorrow though. I still have to give it my all
and be prepared for the match and the matches that follow and I have
to prove a few things to myself that I can come here play well and
win all my matches."
Serme
will now face World Champion Nour El Sherbini (right)with the winner
going through to the semi-finals while in Group A England's Laura
Massaro commands the driving seat in a three-way battle with Nicol
David and Amanda Sobhy for two semi-final places.
Massaro re-ignited her rivalry with David in breath-taking fashion
in Dubai, coming through an intense, high-quality 49-minute
encounter to place the pressure firmly on the chasing pair.
"Anyone
who thinks best of threes aren't hard should come out here and play
with one of us because that was really tough," said Massaro (left).
"Because you know there only are three games I think the intensity
is higher and every rally counts so mentally you are a little
different.
'In the third game all I was thinking was that I didn't want to have
to play tomorrow knowing that I needed to do something ridiculous to
go through the pool so I'm really happy with the end result and to
come through."
Results - PSA Dubai World Series Finals:
Round
2 Men's Group A
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
2-0: 11-8, 11-9 (29m)
[7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [3] Nick Matthew (ENG) 2-0: 12-10,
11-6 (29m)
Men's Group B
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [8] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 2-0: 11-3,
11-1 (24m)
[6] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [4] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 2-0: 11-3, 11-7
(29m)
Women's Group A
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [3] Nicol David (MAS) 2-1: 11-7, 8-11,
11-7 (49m)
[8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [5] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2-1: 8-11, 11-5,
11-7 (34m)
Women's Group B
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 2-0: 11-4,
11-8 (15m)
[4] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [7] Camille Serme (FRA) 2-1: 9-11,
12-10, 11-9 (41m)
Fixtures - May 26:
[4] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY)
[8] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [6] Simon Rösner (GER)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [7] Camille Serme (FRA)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [4] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) v [8] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [3] Nick Matthew (ENG)
[3] Nicol David (MAS) v [5] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
[7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Rodriguez And Pilley Upset Seedings On Opening Day
click on images for larger view The opening day of the 2015/16 PSA Dubai World Series Finals saw
underdogs Cameron Pilley (right) and Miguel Angel Rodriguez upset the form
book to claim significant first round victories in the lucrative
season-ending tournament which is taking place in the shadow of the
Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building.
Competing for a share of $160,000 - equal that on offer in the
women's competition - Australian Pilley defeated a struggling Omar
Mosaad, the Egyptian World No.4 hindered by a knee injury, while
'Colombian Cannonball' Rodriguez produced one of the best
performances of his season to claim his first ever win over World
No.3 Nick Matthew at the seventh time of asking.
After going one game down Rodriguez, the first South American ever
to compete in the tournament, fought back with vocal support from
the crowd to come through 8-11, 11-8, 11-9 and take a huge step
towards securing a place in the semi-finals of the men's tournament.
"I'm very happy with my performance today, to win my first World
Series tournament match is terrific," said Rodriguez (left).
"All the matches are tough and everyone here wants to win - it's a
very special tournament for all the players. It's not easy playing
the best of three format and the court is very bouncy as well so it
was a different challenge. I had to adapt as I usually have a slow
start but I was patient and in the third I managed to play well
tactically well and get the win.
"This is the first tournament in Dubai so it's great to be here and
for me, playing in the World Series Finals was a dream I had growing
up. It was a tough match today but there are no excuses for tomorrow
- playing the World No.1 will be tough and I need to focus because I
have a chance to make it to the semi-finals."
There were also victories for World Champion Gregory Gaultier
(right) and
World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy during the opening day of action in
the Men's tournament while World Champion and World No.1 Nour El
Sherbini lost to compatriot Raneem El Welily in a thrilling
encounter in the Women's draw.
El Sherbini has been the in-form player this year, winning the
Tournament of Champions and British Open to add to her World
Champion crown, but it was El Welily who came through an
exhilarating shot-making exhibition on her fifth match ball.
“I didn’t think I had it, especially at the end where I had four
match balls and couldn’t finish the match off,”
said El Welily
(left).
“But I’m happy to be through, there are so many emotions playing the
World Series Finals. There’s zero pressure, but you also want to do
well. You want to win, but you’re actually relaxed, so you don’t
know what to do or how you should feel or act on court.
“I’m happy with the way I played today. It’s my first time in Dubai,
it’s been great so far, and it’s a great court and a great venue.”
France's Camille Serme
(right) was the other winner in Group B while in
Group A World No.2 Laura Massaro and eight-time World Champion Nicol
David triumphed in their opening fixtures - with David on course to
complete a hat-trick of World Series Finals tournament wins after
seeing off tenacious opponent Amanda Sobhy.
"This is my first time playing in Dubai and it's just spectacular to
be competing here in front of the Burj Khalifa," said David.
"All the players are really excited to be here and it just spurs us
on to play even better squash.
"Amanda played some very good shots today and I let her in at times
and she took it on when she had an opportunity. But I just stuck to
my guns and managed to get the win in the end.
"The best of three format really does mean you to be on your game
from the very first point and I think because of that everyone is
upping their level - and it's great for the crowd as well to see
that intensity. You don't want to let anyone in confidence-wise and
I was very happy to win 2-0 in the end."
Men's Group A
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 2-0:
11-4, 11-6 (20m)
[5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [3] Nick Matthew (ENG) 2-1 8-11,
11-8, 11-9
Men's Group B
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [6] Simon Rösner (GER) 2-0: 11-2, 11-9
(39m)
[8] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [4] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 2-1: 11-7, 5-11,
11-6 (52m)
Women's Group A
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [5] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2-0: 11-7, 13-11
(33m)
[3] Nicol David (MAS) bt [8] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 2-0: 11-6, 13-11
(26m)
Women's Group B
[4] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 2-0:
12-10,17-15 (29m)
[7] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 2-0: 11-9,
13-11 (23m)
Fixtures - May 25:
[7] Camille Serme (FRA) v [4] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
[6] Simon Rösner (GER) v [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) v [3] Nicol David (MAS)
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) v [3] Nicol David (MAS)
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[5] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [8] Amanda Sobhy (USA)
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
