RESULTS: PSA World Series Cathay
Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open, Hong Kong
Qualifying finals: Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Shaun le Roux (RSA) 11-9, 11-6,
3-11, 5-11, 11-8 (77m) Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 5-11,
11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 (67m) Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt Steven Finitsis (AUS) 11-8,
1-11, 11-6, 11-5 (51m) Max Lee (HKG) bt Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) 11-5, 6-11,
3-11, 11-5, 11-8 (50m) Lucas Serme (FRA) bt Nasir Iqbal (PAK) 11-3, 13-11, 11-8
(53m) Joe Lee (ENG) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 11-0, 11-4, 11-8
(40m) Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) 11-9,
11-7, 11-7 (40m) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) 11-8,
11-2, 11-3 (30m)
1st
qualifying round: Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Yeung Ho Wai (HKG) 11-4, 11-5,
11-6 (24m) Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt Henry Leung (HKG) 11-4, 11-8, 11-9
(30m) Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) 11-6,
11-7, 11-8 (38m) Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt Cheuk Yan Tang (HKG) 11-2,
11-5, 11-6 (24m) Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 11-8,
7-11, 11-8, 11-8 (45m) Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt Yuen Tsun-Hei (HKG) 11-5, 11-3,
11-1 (24m) Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) bt Chris Lo (HKG) 11-4, 11-4,
11-5 (21m) Max Lee (HKG) bt Ma Tsz Hei (HKG) 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 (25m) Lucas Serme (FRA) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 11-6, 11-7, 6-11,
11-7 (63m) Nasir Iqbal (PAK) bt Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 11-8, 11-9, 12-10
(27m) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 9-11,
11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (45m) Joe Lee (ENG) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 (38m) Adrian Waller (ENG) bt James Huang (TPE) 11-8, 11-4,
10-12, 11-1 (45m) Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) bt Chi Him Wong (HKG) 12-10,
13-11, 11-9 (34m) Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) bt Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 11-2, 11-9,
11-8 (28m) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Hon Fung Wong (HKG) 10-12,
11-3, 11-4, 11-2 (23m)
Final
Nick Matthew: Hong Kong Open Champion & World No1
England's Nick Matthew finished the year on the best of highs in
Hong Kong today when his maiden title triumph in the Cathay Pacific
Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open - the eighth and final PSA
World Series squash event of the year - will see him return to
number one in the world rankings next month after a 22-month gap.
The
2013 Hong Kong Open - one of the international circuit's
longest-standing events, which was launched in 1985 - came to a glorious
climax today on an all-glass showcourt at the Hong Kong Cultural
Centre on the spectacular Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront.
Three-time World Champion Matthew, 33, from Sheffield, went into the
event as the No.4 seed - but made his breakthrough in the semi-finals
where he ousted France's World No.2 Gregory Gaultier in a repeat
of last month's PSA World Championship final in Manchester.
But
his opponent was also a surprise finalist - and the first Spaniard ever
to teach the event's climax. Seventh seed Borja Golan, the World
No.7 from Santiago de Compostela, had brushed aside third seed James
Willstrop, the 2011 champion from England, in the other semi to
celebrate his first appearance in a World Series final.
Matthew (pictured above, right, in action with Golan) raced to a
two-game lead in the final - but Golan asserted his authority in the
third to reduce the deficit.
But
the Englishman, unbeaten by Golan in two previous Tour encounters,
raised his game in the fourth to close out the match 11-1, 11-8, 5-11,
11-5 in 65 minutes.
"It
feels amazing," said jubilant champion Matthew (pictured above with
women's champion Nicol David), who now boasts 28 PSA World
Tour titles. "I've been coming here since 2001 and I've struggled to
get out of the squash centre before now so to end the year on a high,
with this title and going back to No.1 is an amazing feeling.
"It's
been a great year for me: I got married this year as well so it's been
really special for me. I think Ramy (Ashour) has shown that he is the
best player so I'll take the ranking with a pinch of salt. I have to
beat him on a regular basis and that's the next goal but I have had my
share of injuries and know what it's like for him.
"I
think Borja deserves a lot of credit for how he played in his first
final," continued Matthew. "I think there was a lot of nerves in the
first game and maybe handling the lights going out as well was maybe
easier with my experience. I had a great start in that first game so
credit to him that he came back in the third.
"He
could have thrown in the towel but he came back and showed that he's got
a lot of big matches in him and he's on an upward curve in his career
for sure."
Semi
Finals
Matthew Survives Gaultier World Top Ranking Bid In Hong
Kong
England's World No.3 Nick Matthew outlasted World No.2 Gregory
Gaultier in today's semi-finals of the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung
Kai Financial Hong Kong Open - the final PSA World Series
squash event of the year - to give himself the chance to pip the
Frenchman to the World No.1 ranking in January.
In a
repeat of last month's PSA World Championship final in
Manchester, Matthew survived a dramatic 87-minute clash which went the
full distance - beating the four-time Hong Kong Open runner-up 11-13,
11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3 on an all-glass showcourt at the Hong Kong
Cultural Centre on the spectacular Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront.
World
champion Matthew (pictured above, right, with Gaultier), in the
event's final for the first time since 2004, will meet first-time
finalist Borja Golan, the seventh-seeded Spaniard who beat
England's No.3 seed James Willstrop 11-6, 11-3, 11-9 in the
earlier semi.
Victory over Matthew would have handed the new world number one ranking
to Gaultier - but Matthew must now win the title to snatch the top spot
from his French rival.
"I'm just so excited to be in the
final," Matthew said later. "The last time I made the final in Hong Kong
was a long time ago - there were black-and-white TVs," joked the
33-year-old No.4 seed from Sheffield.
"I'm
so happy I finally got to play here. It was great; I loved it. I've seen
it and almost tried too hard to get there, wanted it too badly, so
tonight I just tried to enjoy it, keep my focus and not look around too
much because there's a lot going on.
"This
was my fourth very tough match in four days," added the Yorkshireman,
now in the 58th PSA World Tour final of his career. "I played the World
No.10 in the first round and the one positive is that it got me into
top-10 speed from the very first round. I've had to work very hard and
sometimes that can be a blessing because you're up to speed early."
Of his
prospects in the final, Matthew said: "Borja's had an easier run, but
credit to him. You have to be in the position to make the most of that.
It has happened to me before. However, it's not always the best thing
because you've not been pushed enough. I'll be sharp so hopefully that
can play to my advantage.
"We
played in Qatar in the semis and it was a really tough match. He's got a
wicked boast, he kills the ball in the front, so I'll have to be very
aggressive, move well and recover well."
Just
three weeks after reaching his first World Series semi-final appearance
at the Qatar Classic, World No.7 Golan is now celebrating his
first final.
The
30-year-old from Santiago de Compostela went into the match 2/9 behind
on his career head-to-head count with Willstrop - but former World No.1
from England survived the second longest match of his career less than
24 hours earlier when he beat in-form Mohamed Elshorbagy in 122
minutes, saving two match-balls against the 22-year-old Egyptian before
clinching the deciding game 20-18.
"I'm
feeling really good now and I just want to enjoy the moment," said the
Spaniard (pictured above, left, with Willstrop) after his
semi-final upset. "That was only my second ever (World Series)
semi-final and to play and win it is unbelievable for me - and now
tomorrow I will be playing in my first ever final so I just want to
enjoy the moment and hopefully I can play well tomorrow and enjoy the
experience.
"Squash has many factors and I think James's game with Mohamed was one
of the factors," Golan continued. "James was struggling a bit with his
movement and I knew that I had to play an attacking game to the front. I
thought if I played to the back that I might lose that match so I had to
be risky and go to the front and it worked so I am really happy with
that.
"Playing in a location like Hong Kong is amazing. It was full of people
and the conditions are good. The court is unbelievable and it's an
historic moment for me so I want to enjoy tomorrow now."
Quarter
Finals
Willstrop Survives Mighty Hong Kong Marathon
England's 30-year-old former World No.1 James Willstrop recorded
one of the biggest wins of his career when he fought back from two games
down to beat higher-ranked 22-year-old Mohamed Elshorbagy in a
dramatic two-hours-plus Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong
Kong Open quarter-final today at the Hong Kong Squash Centre.
The
2011 champion boasted a 9-3 career head-to-head record over the younger
Egyptian before the opening match of the day in the eighth and final
PSA World Series event of the year. But Elshorbagy won their most
recent meeting at last month's PSA World Championship in England
and this month leapfrogged the Yorkshireman to celebrate a career-high
World No.4 ranking.
Fifth
seed Elshorbagy took the opening two games - a deficit from which
Willstrop (pictured above, left, with Elshorbagy) had never
before recovered in previous meetings. But the experienced Englishman -
a full-time pro since 1999, when his opponent was eight years old - dug
deep to draw level.
Then,
in a 39-minute fifth game decider, Willstrop saved two match-balls
against him - and finally clinched his own eighth match-ball to win
9-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 20-18 after 122 minutes.
The
match was the longest of Elshorbagy's career - and only beaten in
Willstrop's 14-year PSA career by a 127-minute semi-final battle against
compatriot Nick Matthew in the 2010 Canary Wharf Classic
in London.
"It
was a tough match - and that's part of the sport," admitted Willstrop
later. "I've got to do as much as I can to recover as quickly as I can -
it's a big challenge over the next 24 hours!
"It
was a really close match - we were very tightly-matched. It was so close
all the way - no player had any dominance at any stage, which is very
unusual as you usually get a phase where one player gets a lead but
there was hardly any of that.
"I
think we were both at the top of our games, both playing some quite
brilliant - and tough - squash.
"I'm
happy to have won the match - there are a lot of positive thoughts."
The
event now moves onto an all-glass showcourt at the Hong Kong Cultural
Centre at the harbour - where Willstrop will face surprise opponent
Borja Golan.
The
seventh-seeded Spaniard dropped the first two games to top seed Ramy
Ashour - but the defending champion from Egypt then clearly suffered
a recurrence of the hamstring injury which thwarted his world title bid
in November.
Having
lost the third game for just a single point, Ashour was 7-0 down in the
fourth when he offered his hand to Golan and departed quickly from the
court.
"The
last part of the game was not the best," said World No.7 Golan
(pictured above, left, with Ashour) after the 5-11, 5-11, 11-1, 7-0
(ret.) win in just 24 minutes - which takes him into his second
successive PSA World Series semi-final. "When you respect a player like
we all respect Ramy it is tough. He is such a talented player and that
is the last way that I want to win a match.
"I
hope he is soon on the court - but for a long time, not just a few
tournaments.
"I had
to change my game and try to play a little bit more to the front after
he got his injury because I knew he would struggle more there. I had to
do my job and keep going and I knew that in the third and fourth games
that I had to keep going. You could see he was moving worse and worse
every point."
On his
semi-final match, Golan added: "James is such a professional guy and
such a fighter, he can dig in and dig in for such a long time. He has
more experience in these kind of matches than me so I just have to stay
focused and play my game and hopefully I can do well tomorrow."
The
other semi-final will be the clash predicted by the draw, between fourth
seed Nick Matthew and second seed Gregory Gaultier - a
repeat of last month's World Championship final.
Matthew, the World No.3 from England had to recover from losing the
first game to sixth seed Amr Shabana to beat the mercurial fellow
former world number one 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-8 in 65 minutes.
Earlier, Frenchman Gaultier also got the better of an Egyptian - but was
taken the full distance for the first time in the event by No.8 seed
Tarek Momen before prevailing 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-5 in 73
minutes.
"The
match was very tough," said World No.2 Gaultier (pictured above,
left, with Momen). "To win 3/2 is never easy. Tarek is a very tough
opponent and he moves fast and has great skills and you have to be
alert.
"I
played a bit stupid in the fourth game when I was up 9-6 but he came
back strong and made no mistakes. I was glad I imposed my game in the
fifth and I'm just happy to go through with this win.
"I'm
in the semi-final and I just want to do my best," added the 30-year-old
from Aix-en-Provence, four times a runner-up in the championship. "I
would really like to win this tournament and finish the year on a
positive note. But there is still a match tomorrow which will be really
tough so I just need to get my recovery right and we will see tomorrow
what will happen."
Round
Two
Seeds Safely Into Hong Kong Quarters
All
eight seeds safely survived today's second round of the Cathay
Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open to move into the
quarter-finals of the eighth and final PSA World Series squash
event of the year at the Hong Kong Squash Centre.
England's James Willstrop led the way with a straight games win
over Simon Rosner, beating the top-ranked German 11-9, 11-9, 11-8
in 52 minutes.
"I
think it was a good quality game - it wasn't a five-set classic but it
was definitely quality," said the No.3 seed from Yorkshire (pictured
above with Rosner) who won the title in 2011 and was runner-up last
year. "Both took time and space away from each other and we had to be
focused and not give away any chances. We can both take a lot out of
today.
"Getting out in three is important," continued the 30-year-old world
No.5. "You only think about winning but getting off in three is
important as it keeps some in the tank and that is important for is all.
I don't think many other sports can play as many high intensity games in
short time, so energy in the tank is vital."
Willstrop will now take on 22-year-old Egyptian Mohamed Elshorbagy,
the fifth seed from Alexandria who reached the quarter-finals for the
first time after beating his younger brother Marwan Elshorbagy
11-3, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7 in 49 minutes.
"It was really tough, of course,
playing my brother," Elshorbagy senior (pictured above with his
brother) said later. "It's tough emotionally playing him. We've been
living together all our life. It has always been just me and him. We
always lived together in Alexandria, we live together in England. We
always train together every morning and every evening, so we know each
other mentally, physically, everything, so it has been really tough.
"Normally I'm on his side, but today I had to be against him - and it's
the match we're going to have to get used to more in the future."
Willstrop boasts a 9-3 career head-to-head lead over Elshorbagy, but the
Egyptian triumphed in their most recent clash in last month's World
Championship quarter-finals.
"It's
a big game," said Elshorbagy, who has now leapfrogged the Englishman to
a career fourth place in the new PSA World Rankings. "James has been
playing really well. I beat him the last time we played, at the World
Open, but he looks really fresh for this one. He had some tough times
emotionally because he had a new baby and stuff, so he looks really
hungry for this one. Malcolm [Willstrop] and Mick [Todd] are with him so
he's really serious about this one and wants to end the year on a high,
for sure.
"That
doesn't bother me because if I'm going to be beat someone, I like to
beat him when he's playing at his best. I'm happy that he's playing at
his best because he's a good guy."
Egyptians will compete in all four quarter-finals - with top seed and
defending champion Ramy Ashour leading the way after his 11-7,
11-5, 11-7 win over English qualifier Adrian Waller(both
pictured above). The World No.1 from Cairo faces Borja Golan,
the seventh seed from Spain who defeated England's Chris Simpson
12-10, 11-8, 11-4.
An
eagerly-awaited clash will take place between fourth seed Nick
Matthew, the reigning and three-time World Champion from England,
and sixth seed Amr Shabana, a four-time winner of the World
title, from Egypt.
Matthew fell to his lowest-scoring game since May in the opener against
Indian No.1 Saurav Ghosal. But the 33-year-old World No.3
recovered to level the match, then maintained the upper hand throughout
the next two games to beat the new World No.15 from Kolkata 3-11, 11-5,
11-4, 11-8.
"Credit to @SauravGhosal tonight," tweeted Matthew later. "He played a
perfect game for that court & made me play really well to win @HKsquash".
Five-time Hong Kong champion Shabana, competing in his 17th successive
event since 1996, beat Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller 12-10, 11-4,
8-11, 11-7.
Gregory Gaultier,
the second-seeded Frenchman, brushed aside Egypt's Karim Abdel Gawad
11-7, 11-9, 11-4 in 37 minutes and will now take on Gawad's compatriot
Tarek Momen, the No.8 seed who got the better of top-ranked Finn
Olli Tuominen 13-11, 11-13, 11-4, 16-14 in 51 minutes.
Round One Bottom Half
Shabana Survives Hong Kong Opener
Egypt's five-time champion Amr Shabana moved comfortably into the
second round of the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong
Open after beating French qualifier Mathieu Castagnet in
straight games in today's opening round of the eighth and final PSA
World Series squash event of the year at the Hong Kong Squash
Centre.
"I'm
very pleased to get through," said the 34-year-old No.6 seed
(pictured above with Castagnet) after his 11-6, 16-14, 11-5 victory
in 58 minutes. "Mathieu was a very tough opponent in the first round - I
played him a few weeks ago in the World Championship and came through in
a tough four-game match, so to get through is what it's all about.
"The
second game was crucial," continued the champion from 2005 to 2009.
"When I was 6-1 down, I knew I had to fight and that the whole game
would change if I didn't stay in there. I was fortunate to win that
second game but I stuck in there. It would have made a huge difference
if he had won it.
"The
easier the organisers make it for the players, the easier it is to
perform and they always put on a good show here," continued the former
World No.1 from Cairo. "It has been going on for over 25 years and the
organisers always take care of us and it shows in the way the players
are pumped up for this tournament.
"2013
was a very tough year for me. I have pulled out of a lot of tournaments
so it would be good to end the year on a high and carry some momentum
into 2014."
Shabana will now take on Nicolas Mueller after the Swiss number
one also overcame a qualifier from France. But the World No.26 from
Zurich was taken the full distance by Gregoire Marche - and had
to save a match-ball against the 23-year-old ranked just two places
lower before converting his own fourth match-ball to win 11-8, 11-7,
6-11, 5-11, 15-13 after 89 minutes.
"We've
played so many times in juniors and I won most of the huge battles we
had, so I think that was in the back of both our minds," explained
24-year-old Mueller later. "I was 2/0 up but then he started to up his
game and it became a real battle
"All
credit to him for coming back from 2/0 down and fighting that hard. He
played incredibly well but I'm really happy to get through."
England's World Champion Nick Matthew avenged his defeat by
compatriot Daryl Selby in March's Kuwait PSA Cup by
beating his England team-mate 11-5, 11-6, 13-11 in 54 minutes.
"I've
lost to Daryl from ahead before so I was aware of that tonight," said
the No.4 seed (pictured above with Selby), ranked three in the
world, later. "My shot execution wasn't perfect but I'm pleased to
progress."
Selby,
who moved into the world top 10 this month, told his Twitter followers:
"Really struggled on that court tonight. Frustratingly poor performance,
was lucky to get anywhere near taking a game."
Matthew progresses to face Saurav Ghosal, the Indian No.1 who
defeated France's World Series debutant Lucas Serme, a qualifier,
11-5, 11-4, 11-9.
Egypt's Tarek Momen ended local interest in the event when he
beat Hong Kong No.1 Max Lee(both pictured above) 6-11,
11-8, 14-12, 11-4. The eighth seed will now take on Olli Tuominen,
the veteran Finn who celebrated his 12th appearance in the championships
since 2000 by ousting Egyptian qualifier Omar Abdel Meguid 11-8,
11-9, 11-7.
France's No.2 seed Gregory Gaultier seemed in control of his
match against Laurens Jan Anjema when he comfortably took the
opening two games. But the Dutch champion fought back to take the third.
World
No.2 Gaultier re-established his authority on the match, however, to win
11-8, 11-2, 10-12, 11-7 - and set up a second round clash with Karim
Abdel Gawad.
The
22-year-old from Cairo became the sixth Egyptian to make the last 16
when he fought back from 2/1 down to beat English qualifier Joe Lee
12-10, 7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8 in 80 minutes.
Round
One Top Half
Brits Waller & Simpson Score Hong Kong Upsets
Englishmen Chris Simpson and Adrian Waller claimed notable
world top 20 scalps in today's men's first round of the Cathay
Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open to advance
unexpectedly to the last 16 of the eighth and final PSA World Series
squash event of the year at the Hong Kong Squash Centre.
Simpson, the World No.25 from Guernsey, took out in-form South African
Stephen Coppinger 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 in 51 minutes.
"It
was a very tough match and I'm really pleased to win," said the
Harrogate-based 26-year-old later (pictured above with Coppinger,
foreground). "There are no easy matches - Steve is ranked 16 so
that's a big win for me."
In one
of the final matches of the day, Waller became the only qualifier to
survive when he recovered from a game down to beat Australian Cameron
Pilley, the World No.14, 7-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 in 54 minutes.
"I'm
pleased with how I executed my game tonight and pleased to progress,"
said the jubilant 23-year-old from Enfield, ranked 31 in the world.
"Cameron is a really good player and you can never take a top 20 player
lightly whether you are above or below them so it's really pleasing for
me to get through."
The
pair will be joined in the next round by fellow countryman James
Willstrop, the third seed who brushed aside England team-mate
Adrian Grant, a former World No.9, 11-1, 11-3, 11-1 in just 28
minutes.
Londoner Grant, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, summed up
his game succinctly to his Twitter followers later: "Wow that was bad,"
said the World No.23.
Former
World No.1 Willstrop was delighted with his opening effort: "Sometimes
you just hit the mark. I played well today and it went my way but I have
to refocus now on the next round.
"I've
had a few short tournaments recently which adds a bit of perspective to
me. I felt fresh today and that's probably right as I've had a few more
days off than some of the other players," added the
30-year-Yorkshireman. "Played an accurate game today and sometime it
just works - very happy to play like that today. I have a lot of respect
for Adrian, we've had some real tough games in the past but it all went
my way today.
"Very
pleased. When you get to my age you know not to get carried away with it
- you just have to take confidence from it and refocus on the next game.
Much
was expected of top seed Ramy Ashour, the World No.1 from Egypt
who was making his PSA World Tour comeback after a hamstring injury
brought to an end his sensational 49-match unbeaten run in last month's
PSA World Championship semi-finals.
The
26-year-old from Cairo despatched Malaysian qualifier Mohd Nafiizwan
Adnan(both pictured in action above) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5.
"I
will stay worried for the rest of the tournament," admitted Ashour
afterwards. "I'm not going to be over cautious, but just cautious, and
will stick strictly to what the doctors have advised me to do, whether
it's the practice time, the warm up, the stretching. That way, if
something happens - God forbids - I know I would have done everything
possible.
"Tomorrow, whoever I play will be a tough match - whether Cameron, I
just had a four-setter with him, very tough, or Waller, same, he is a
tough opponent, won't be easy.
"I'm
just happy to play, I want to enjoy my squash, and do my best."
Ashour
was joined in the last 16 round by Egypt's Elshorbagy brothers Mohamed
and Marwan.
Fifth
seed Mohamed Elshorbagy, fresh from lifting his career-first
World Series title at last month's Qatar Classic, disappointed
the local crowd by beating Hong Kong wild card Leo Au 13-11,
11-1, 11-5 (both pictured above).
His
younger brother Marwan Elshorbagy - fresh from winning the
Edmonton Open in Canada at the weekend - defeated Australian Ryan
Cuskelly 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8.
For
only the second time ever on the Tour, the two Alexandrians will now
face each other for a place in the Hong Kong Open quarter-finals!
Serme Strikes Home For World Series Debut
Frenchman Lucas Serme will make his PSA World Series event
debut after masterminding his second successive upset in today's men's
qualifying finals of the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong
Kong Open.
The
21-year-old from Creteil becomes the lowest-ranked player to earn a
place in the main draw of the eighth and final PSA World Series squash
event of the year at the Hong Kong Squash Centre.
It was
in the first qualifying round that Serme claimed one of the biggest
scalps of the day when he ousted Scotland's World No.34 Alan Clyne.
Today, the World No.76 reached more than 20 places above him to claim an
11-3, 13-11, 11-8 win in 53 minutes over Pakistan's Nasir Iqbal.
"Happy doesn't start to describe it,"
the jubilant young Frenchman said later. "I wanted to win so much - it
is my first attempt to qualify for a World Series, and first time in
Hong Kong!"
Serme
will now face Saurav Ghosal in the main draw in his first ever
meeting with the World No.15 from India.
It was
a good day for Frenchmen in Hong Kong: Serme was one of a trio of French
qualifiers who will join second-seeded compatriot Gregory Gaultier
in the main draw.
Gregoire Marche
squandered a 2/0 lead against Shaun le Roux before fighting back
in the decider to beat the South African 11-9, 11-6, 3-11, 5-11, 11-8 in
77 minutes.
By
contrast, fellow Aix-en-Provence-based Mathieu Castagnet needed
only 30 minutes to see off England's Jaymie Haycocks 11-8, 11-2,
11-3.
The
most popular win of the day was achieved by local hero Max Lee.
But the Hong Kong number one had to fight back from 2/1 down to take out
Egypt's Andrew Wagih Shoukry 11-5, 6-11, 3-11, 11-5, 11-8 in 50
minutes.
There
was further Lee success when England's Joe Lee beat India's
Mahesh Mangaonkar 11-0, 11-4, 11-8 to make the event's first round
for the second year in a row.
Compatriot Adrian Waller also claimed his second successive main
draw appearance after defeating Indian Harinder Pal Sandhu 11-9,
11-7, 11-7.
The
other two qualifying slots went to Malaysian Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan
and Egyptian Omar Abdel Meguid. Adnan twice came back from behind
to beat New Zealand's Campbell Grayson 5-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8,
11-7.
And it
was second time lucky for Meguid who made amends for failing to qualify
last year by beating lone Australian Steven Finitsis 11-8, 1-11,
11-6, 11-5.
Lee Keeps Local Hopes Alive In Hong Kong
Max Lee
kept local hopes of success in the men's qualifiers of the Cathay
Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open alive today when he
became the sole Hong Kong player to survive the first qualifying round
of the eighth and final PSA World Series squash event of the year
at the Hong Kong Squash Centre.
Lee celebrated his four-place rise to 32
in today's new PSA World Rankings by defeating unranked 18-year-old
compatriot Ma Tsz Hei(both pictured in action above)
11-5, 11-3, 11-8 in 25 minutes.
The 25-year-old Hong Kong number one will
now Egypt's Andrew Wagih Shoukry for a place in the main draw.
Shoukry, a 23-year-old from Cairo who is ranked 21 places lower, beat
Hong Kong's Chris Lo, aged just 17, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5.
France's Lucas Serme pulled off
the biggest upset when he battled to an 11-6, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 victory
over Scotland's World No.34 Alan Clyne. The 21-year-old from
Creteil, ranked more than 40 places below Clyne, now faces Pakistan's
Nasir Iqbal in the qualifying finals.
Indian teenager Mahesh Mangaonkar
became the lowest-ranked winner of the day when he recovered from a game
down to overcome Finland's World No.37 Henrik Mustonen 9-11,
11-8, 11-5, 11-4.
The 19-year-old from Mumbai, ranked 98 in
the world, now faces England's World No.34 Joe Lee.
Egypt's Omar Abdel Meguid took a
step closer to his first appearance in the Hong Kong Open main draw when
he removed Germany's Raphael Kandra(both pictured in action
above) 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8. The 25-year-old World No.30 from Giza
will take on Steven Finitsis, the sole Australian in the
qualifying finals.
