04/06/2008
SCOTT WEALTH MANAGEMENT OPEN
Mosaad Claims Irvine Title
Scott
Wealth Management
Open 2008
The Sports Club LA,
USA, 28-May - 02-Jun, $20k |
Round One
30-May |
Quarters
31-May |
Semis
01-Jun |
Final
02-Jun |
[1] Alex Gough (Wal)
13/11, 11/5, 11/9
[Q] Jethro Binns (Wal) |
Alex Gough
11-7, 11-3, 6-11,
11-4
Julien Balbo |
Julien Balbo
10-11 (4-6), 11-10 (2-0), 11-9, 11-0
Liam Kenny |
Julien Balbo
11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9
Omar Mosaad
|
[8] Julien Balbo (Fra)
11/7, 11/5, 11/7
[Q] Tony James (Aus) |
[3] Miguel Angel
Rodriguez (Col)
11/13, 10/12, 11/7, 11/7, 11/6
[Q] Campbell Grayson (Nzl) |
Miguel Angel Rodriguez
11-8, 8-4 ret.
Liam Kenny |
[5] Liam Kenny (Irl)
11/9, 6/11, 7/11, 11/7, 11/5
Bernardo Samper (Col) |
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)
11/4, 6/11, 11/6, 11/8
[7] Simon Rosner (Ger) |
Simon Rosner
11-8, 7-11, 11-10
(2-0) 7-11, 11-10 (2-0)
Stefan Casteleyn |
Stefan Casteleyn
11-4, 11-6, 11-5
Omar Mosaad
|
Stefan Casteleyn
(Bel)
8/11, 13/11, 9/11, 11/6, 11/4
[4] Yasser El Halaby (Egy) |
[Q] Wade Johnstone (Aus)
11/6, 11/6, 11/9
[8] Stacey Ross (Eng) |
Stacey Ross
11-4, 11-6, 11-5
Omar Mosaad |
Jon Harford (Eng)
10/12, 6/11, 11/5, 11/5, 11/7
[2] Omar Mosaad (Egy) |
Qualifying Finals:
Wade Johnstone
(Aus) bt Joshua Greenfield (Nzl) 9/11, 5/11,
12/10, 11/5, 11/3
Jethro Binns (Wal) bt Regardt Schonborn (Rsa)
11/4, 11/7, 2/11, 11/5
Campbell Grayson (Nzl) bt Shaun Le Roux (Eng)
11/1, 11/4, 11/5
Tony James (Aus) bt Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind)
11/1, 11/6, 11/8
Qualifying Round One:
Wade Johnstone (Aus) bye
Joshua Greenfield (Nzl) bt Juan Carlos Pomalaza
11/4, 11/5, 11/6
Regart Schonborn (Rsa) bt Jose Angel Becerril (Mex)
11/6, 11/5, 11/8
Jethro Binns (Wal) bt Keith Pritchard (Can)
11/8, 11/6, 11/5
Campbell Grayson (Nzl) bt Ahmed Maged Hamza (Egy) 11/3, 11/5,
11/6
Shaun Le Roux (Eng) bt Brian Pashai
11/7, 11/4, 11/7
Gaurav Nandrajog (Ind) bt Mubashir Kazi
11/0, 11/5, 11/5
Tony James (Aus) bt James Ttophie
11/9, 11/9, 11/7 |
Mosaad
Claims Irvine Title
Egypt's Omar Mosaad triumphed in four games
over Frenchman Julien Balbo in the final of the Scott Wealth
Management Open to win the inaugural $20,000 PSA Tour squash event at
The Sports Club in Irvine,
in Orange County in the US state of California.
It was a
close-fought encounter between the pair - second seed Mosaad in his fifth Tour
final after straightforward straight games wins over lower-ranked opponents in
the previous two rounds, while the sixth-seeded Frenchman was following two
mighty four-game upsets over higher-ranked players, including event favourite
Alex Gough.
Each of
the four games in the final saw the score finely-poised at nine-all. But it was
20-year-old Mosaad who ultimately prevailed to win 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 to
claim the third - and biggest - PSA Tour title of his career.
Balbo
Bursts Into Irvine Final
After upsetting top seed Alex Gough in the quarter-finals,
France's sixth seed Julien Balbo maintained
his impressive form in the Scott Wealth Management Open by beating
fifth-seeded Irishman Liam Kenny to reach the final of the inaugural
$20,000 PSA Tour squash event at The Sports Club in
Irvine, in
Orange County in the US state of California.
Just a
single ranking position separates Balbo and Kenny - and the first two games both
went to tie-breaks, with honours shared as the pair began game three. In fact,
play had to be stopped at four-all in the first game, when racquet contact at
close quarters on the "T" broke Kenny's racquet and left Balbo with a minor cut
to the chin.
Balbo, the world No55 from Chambery, maintained the upper hand to take the third
game and stormed to a whitewash in the fourth to clinch a 10-11 (4-6), 11-10
(2-0), 11-9, 11-0 win after one and a half hours which takes the 29-year-old
into his sixth Tour final.
By contrast, the other semi-final was a more straightforward affair - one which
finally marked the end of the road for unseeded Stefan Casteleyn, the
tournament organiser who prevailed in two mighty five-game upsets to claim an
unlikely place in the last four.
Making a rare appearance on the Tour since retiring two years ago, the
34-year-old Belgian took out fourth seed Yasser El Halaby in the
first round, then despatched young German Simon Rosner, the seventh seed,
11-8, 7-11, 11-10 (2-0), 7-11, 11-10 (2-0) in the quarter-finals.
But his semi-final opponent Omar Mosaad, the No2 seed from
Egypt,
reached the semis after a straight games win over Englishman Stacey Ross.
"Both players attacked from the very start, hitting the ball with venom at such
a low angles to the floor that the rallies surely would have been short, had not
the ball been accelerated so hard," said event spokesman Oliver Berghof.
"While this produced squash of the highest calibre, it was exhausting from the
very start, and it was clear that this was going to be harder on Casteleyn, who
had survived two close five-game encounters on his way to the semi-final.
"What was particularly amazing to behold in these exchanges was the Egyptian's
ability to hit winners dead into the knick from shots by Casteleyn that were
themselves winners and would have been so with most other opponents," exclaimed
Berghof.
Mosaad soon claimed the 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 victory which takes the 20-year-old
world No25 from
Cairo into
his fifth Tour final in just over two years.
Stefan
Steps Up To Claim Quarter-Final Slot In LA
Making a
rare appearance on the PSA Tour squash since retiring two years ago,
Belgian Stefan Casteleyn upset fourth seed Yasser El Halaby in the
first round of the Scott Wealth Management Squash Open to secure an
unexpected place in the quarter-finals of the inaugural $20,000 event at The
Sports Club in
Los Angeles,
USA.
Now based in LA and the organiser of this new PSA event, Casteleyn twice came
from behind to overcome his opponent - winner of last week's Oklahoma City
Open - 8-11, 11-10 (3-1), 9-11, 11-6, 11-4.
The 23-year-old Egyptian showed himself composed and confident from the very
start and attacked with slow cross-court kill shots and a full array of
attacking shots that had Stefan Casteleyn digging deep and calling upon all of
his experience as a seasoned pro - not too long ago ranked seven in the world.
"Casteleyn's quick boast at the front and his backhand drop shot proved
especially effective and were irretrievable at crucial moments in the game, even
by someone as fast and quick to react as El Halaby," said event spokesman
Oliver Berghof. "To the very end El Halaby challenged for the game. The
scoreline notwithstanding, this was a match whose outcome was never assured,
keeping the audience spellbound with the exceptional quality of its squash."
Casteleyn, 34 and winner of his 13th Belgian national title earlier
this year, now meets
Germany's
Simon Rosner, the 20-year-old No7 seed who beat Frenchman Mathieu
Castagnet 11-4, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8.
Seasoned campaigner Alex Gough also safely made it through to the last
eight. The event favourite had to overcome fellow Welshman Jethro Binns,
a qualifier, prevailing 11-10 (3-1), 11-5, 11-9.
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