17/10/2016
Road to Dubai News
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After
securing the 2016 Delaware Investments U.S. Open title yesterday
courtesy of a superb 3-1 win over World No.1 Nour El Sherbini,
France’s Camille Serme has stormed to the top of the 2016/17 PSA
Road To Dubai Standings to sit alongside World No.4 Nouran Gohar at
the summit on 125 points.
It was 19-year-old Gohar who won the first PSA World Series
tournament of the season - August’s Hong Kong Open - but this week
in Philadelphia it was an inspired Serme, who beat the World No.2,
No.6 and No.1 to claim the spoils, who took the maximum 100 points
on offer to get within touching distance of confirming a spot at the
2017 PSA Dubai World Series Finals.
Only the top eight players on the standings will qualify for a
coveted place at the PSA Dubai World Series Finals - which will take
place inside the Dubai Opera House from June 5-9, 2017 - with every
match in the PSA World Series vital in determining who gets a shot
at one of the sport’s most prestigious and financially rewarding
titles.
“I made it to Dubai last year and it was an amazing experience and
one that I’d really like to have again,” said 27-year-old Serme.
“It’s certainly an aim for me this season to qualify once again
because I think it will be a fantastic tournament. I wasn’t really
thinking about it before the US Open but I now have a very good
chance of qualifying, so I'm very excited to hopefully keep playing
well.”
Serme and Gohar hold a narrow 20 point advantage over El Sherbini
and USA’s Amanda Sobhy at the top of the standings, with Nicol David
(65), Raneem El Welily (55), Laura Massaro (50) and Nour El Tayeb
(40) completing the top eight as it stands while in the Men’s
Standings US Open winner and World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy has gone
top.
ElShorbagy sits on 115 points, above compatriots Karim Abdel Gawad
(105) and Ramy Ashour (100) with English duo Nick Matthew and James
Willstrop joint fourth on 65 points.
Matthew secured a place in the top eight last season bur former
World No.1 Willstrop finished a disappointing 25th on the standings
after struggling with injury. But the 33-year-old has returned to
form so far this season, reaching the quarter-finals in Hong Kong
and bowing out to ElShorbagy in the last four this week, to move
into a solid position.
“Even at this early stage the opportunity to qualify for the World
Series Finals is in my mind,” said Willstrop.
“I heard so many good things about the tournament last year and
there’s so much positivity around it. Being on that stage as a top
eight player and competing in that event is a very prestigious thing
- so the motivation to try and qualify is great.
“To make it would be a great achievement at this stage of my career.
I’ve already made a few top eight finishes this season, so I’m
hugely motivated to try and keep progressing.”
Hong Kong’s Max Lee (55), Australian Ryan Cuskelly (50) and
Germany’s Simon Rösner (40) round out the top eight.
The journey towards the PSA Dubai World Series Finals continues on
November 13 when the 2016 Qatar Classic gets underway in Doha.
The 2017 PSA Dubai World Series Finals will take place from June 5-9
at the Dubai Opera, further information can be found by visiting
www.worldseriesfinals.com
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