Gregory
Gaultier Grabs Heliopolis Glory
France's
former world number one Gregory Gaultier ended a 15-month ranking title
drought when he won the Rotary Heliopolis Open in Cairo,
beating local hero Omar Mosaad in four games in the final of the $42,500
PSA World Tour squash event at the Heliopolis Sporting Club.
The
27-year-old from Aix-en-Provence joins a distinguished cast of former winners of
this long-established Tour title, including Jansher Khan, Peter Nicol
and Egyptians Ahmed Barada and Amr Shabana.
But Gaultier
had to do it the hard way, beating three seeded players from the host city in
succession before clinching the coveted trophy.
Wins over
fifth seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda and Hisham Mohd Ashour, the fourth
seed, took the Frenchman in to the final against Mosaad, the 22-year-old third
seed who sensationally ousted Egyptian favourite Karim Darwish in the
semi-finals.
And the Cairo
hero opened up a first game lead against Gaultier before the experienced French
champion regained control to work his way to his 8-11, 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 victory.
The triumph
marks Gaultier's 17th career PSA Tour title - but his first ranking
success since winning the Tournament of Champions in New York in January
2009.
Mighty Mosaad
Ditches Darwish In Heliopolis Upset
Egypt's
Omar Mosaad celebrated the best win of his career in his home city Cairo
when he beat top-seeded compatriot Karim Darwish in five games in the
semi-finals of the Rotary Heliopolis Open to claim an unexpected
place in the final of the $42,500 PSA World Tour squash event at
Heliopolis Sporting Club in the Egyptian capital.
The
22-year-old's sensational victory marks Mosaad's first win over one his
country's 'big three' - Ramy Ashour, Amr Shabana and Karim
Darwish, the illustrious Egyptian trio which currently occupies three of the
top four places in the world rankings.
Twice third
seed Mosaad took the lead over the former world number one, and twice Darwish
dug deep to draw level. And the all-Cairo clash went the full distance in the
decider. But it was underdog Mosaad who ultimately prevailed, winning 12-10,
1-11, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10 to reach the tenth - and biggest, by far - PSA Tour
title of his career.
Mosaad will
face second-seeded Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in the final. The only
non-Egyptian in the last four, Gaultier had to fight back from a game down to
overcome fourth seed Hisham Mohd Ashour 7-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4.
The
27-year-old from Aix-en-Provence is celebrating his second Tour final appearance
in a row after making the climax of the ISS Canary Wharf Classic in
London last month.
Gaultier, who
topped the world rankings for the first time last November, is marking the 38th
Tour final of his career - but is looking for his first ranking title success
since winning the Tournament of Champions in January 2009.
Darwish &
Gaultier On Course For Cairo Showdown
Former world
number ones Karim Darwish and Gregory Gaultier remain on course to
meet in the final of the Rotary Heliopolis Open after straight
games' wins in the quarter-finals of the $42,500 PSA World Tour squash
event at Heliopolis Sporting Club in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
Darwish, the
top seed from Cairo looking to win the long-established title for the first
time, defeated top-ranked German Simon Rosner, the No7 seed, 11-4, 11-8,
11-6.
The world
number four, who topped the rankings for all but one month of last year, now
faces Cairo compatriot Omar Mosaad.
The
22-year-old ended Nicolas Mueller's run, beating the unseeded Swiss star
11-5, 7-11, 11-5, 11-4.
Gregory
Gaultier
will be hoping to deny the crowd an all-Cairo final when he takes on fourth seed
Hisham Mohd Ashour in the other semi-final. The 27-year-old Frenchman
beat fifth-seeded Egyptian Mohd Ali Anwar Reda 11-6, 11-5, 12-10.
Ashour faced
sixth seed Tom Richards - and had to recover from a game down before
defeating the Englishman 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.
Mueller Stems Domestic Dominance In Heliopolis Open
There
will be Egyptian interest in all four quarter-finals of the Rotary Heliopolis
Open, but rising Swiss star Nicolas Mueller denied a guaranteed local
semi-finalist when he beat eighth seed Omar Abdel Aziz in the only first
round upset in the $42,500 PSA World Tour squash event at Heliopolis
Sporting Club in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
The
20-year-old world No37 from Zurich came back from a game down to beat Abdel
Aziz, ranked four places higher, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6.
Mueller will now line up against a further Cairo-based opponent when he faces
Omar Mosaad, the third seed, for a place in the last four.
Cairo's world No4 Karim Darwish is the event's top seed. The 28-year-old
former world number one is hoping to see his name listed alongside illustrious
former winners of the prestigious title, including Jansher Khan, Peter
Nicol and compatriots Ahmed Barada and Amr Shabana.
Darwish cruised to an 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 win over Cairo-based Italian Amr
Swelim and will now meet Germany's Simon Rosner in the last eight.
It
will be Frenchman Gregory Gaultier who is expected to meet Darwish in the
final. The No2 seed, ranked six in the world, also overcame his first round
opponent in straight games, beating Englishman Chris Ryder 11-9, 11-6,
11-6. |