29/04/2012
GRASSHOPPER CUP 2012
Selby Denies Home Hero Mueller Grasshopper Glory
Grasshopper
Cup 2012
Official Site
23-28 Apr, Zurich, $25k |
Round One
25 Apr |
Quarters
26 Apr |
Semis
27 Apr |
Final
28 Apr |
[1] Daryl Selby (Eng)
11/4, 11/7, 11/9 (41m)
Kashif Shuja (Nzl) |
Daryl Selby
11-6, 11-4, 11-6
(34m)
Jan Koukal |
Daryl Selby
11-8, 11-5, 11-6
(38m)
Olli Tuominen |
Daryl Selby
12-10, 11-7,
8-11, 11-4 (70m)
Nicolas Mueller |
Jan Koukal (Cze)
9/11, 13/11, 14/12, 6/11, 11/8 (89m)
[Q] Fabien Verseille (Fra) |
Charles Sharpes (Eng)
11/8, 11/4, 14/16, 11/9 (58m)
[Q] Andre Haschker (Ger) |
Charles Sharpes
11-8, 11-6, 11-7
(36m)
Olli Tuominen |
[LL] Steve Finitsis (Aus)
12/10, 15/17, 5/11, 12/10, 11/4 (95m)
[3] Olli Tuominen (Fin) |
[4] Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy)
14/16, 6/11, 11/7, 11/8, 11/8 (115m)
[Q] Davide Bianchetti (Ita) |
Karim Abdel Gawad
11-5, 13-11, 11-5
(24m)
Kristian Frost |
Karim Abdel Gawad
6-11, 11-9, 11-6,
11-7 (70m)
Nicolas Mueller |
Kristian Frost (Den)
6/11, 11/5, 11/9, 11/7 (40m)
[WC]
Reiko Peter (Sui) |
Yann Perrin (Fra)
11/5, 8/11, 11/5, 12/14, 11/6 (72m)
Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy) |
Omar Abdel Meguid
11-5, 11-7, 11-3
(34m)
Nicolas Mueller |
[Q] Raphael Kandra (Ger)
11/5, 11/5, 11/5 (34m)
[2] Nicolas Mueller (Sui) |
Official Site |
Selby
Denies Home Hero Mueller Grasshopper Glory
England's Daryl Selby denied Nicolas Mueller the chance to
become the first local winner of the Grasshopper Cup in the
33-year history of the event when he beat the Swiss number one in the
final of the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event at the
Grasshopper Club in Zurich.
And by
doing so - in the first staging of the popular event for 11 years -
Selby kept the trophy in English hands following the 2001 title triumph
by former world No10 Mark Cairns.
Second
seed Mueller, the world No24 and the country's highest-ranked player of
all-time, became the first ever Swiss player to reach the final after
beating Egypt's No4 seed Karim Abdel Gawad in the semi-finals.
And
the 22-year-old from nearby Hirzel - who was also celebrating his 50th
appearance in a PSA Tour event - took world No11 Selby to a tie-break in
the first game, and forced the match into a fourth game after winning
the third.
But
ultimately it was the 29-year-old Englishman who prevailed, winning
12-10, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4 in 70 minutes to celebrate the 11th PSA Tour
title of his career.
"I'm
very happy with my win today - it's been 15 months since my last PSA
title," said a jubilant Selby after his victory. "The tournament has
been fantastically organised and I think we played a great final today
to round off a superb week."
Mueller Makes Historic Grasshopper Cup Final
Nicolas Mueller
claimed a historic berth in the final of the Grasshopper Cup in
Switzerland when he became the first home player for more than 20 years
to reach the climax of the PSA World Tour International 25 squash
event at the Grasshopper Club in Zurich.
Second
seed Mueller, the world No24 and already the country's highest-ranked
player of all-time, recovered from a game down to beat up-and-coming
Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 in 70 minutes.
Competing in the 50th PSA Tour event of his career, the 22-year-old from
nearby Hirzel is celebrating his ninth Tour final appearance - but his
first for more than two years.
Appropriately, after an 11-year absence from the international squash
calendar, the 2012 Grasshopper Cup will finish with a clash between the
event's top two seeds - after English favourite Daryl Selby
recorded his third straight games win in a row in the event.
The
world No11 from Essex defeated third-seeded Finn Olli Tuominen
11-8, 11-5, 11-6 in just 38 minutes to reach the 17th Tour final of his
career, and his second this month.
"Very
happy with a 3/0 semi final win over Olli," tweeted Selby later. "BIG
final tomorrow against home favourite @MuellerNicolas. Should be fun!"
Seeds
Sail Through In Zurich
All
four seeds scored straightforward straight games wins in the
Grasshopper Cup in Switzerland to set up the predicted semi-finals
of the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event making its
comeback at the Grasshopper Club in Zurich after an
11-year absence.
Egypt's Karim Abdel Gawad, at 20 the youngest of the four,
swiftly despatched newly-crowned Danish champion Kristian Frost
Olesen 11-5, 13-11, 11-5 in just 24 minutes.
The
fourth seed from Cairo will now face local hero Nicolas Mueller,
the Swiss number one. Spurred on by the partisan crowd, second seed
Mueller knocked out Gawad's compatriot Omar Abdel Meguid 11-5,
11-7, 11-3.
The
other semi will feature English favourite Daryl Selby and 'Flying
Finn' Olli Tuominen, the No3 seed.
"Daryl
made it clear why he is the number one seed in the tournament, not
letting any chance to Jan Koukal over the whole match," said
event spokesman Mark Meyer.
Selby,
the world No11, defeated Czech number one Koukal 11-6, 11-4, 11-6.
Tuominen took on rising English star Charles Sharpes - but the
experienced 33-year-old from Helsinki was too strong for the 20-year-old
Englishman, winning 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 in 36 minutes.
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Local
Hero Mueller Moves Into Grasshopper Quarters
While
marathon battles characterised the open day's play in the Grasshopper
Cup in Switzerland, local hero Nicolas Mueller progressed in
straight games to reach the quarter-finals of the PSA World Tour
International 25 squash event making its comeback at the
Grasshopper Club in Zurich after an 11-year absence.
"It's
always a thrilling moment when the local hero enters the court for the
first appearance during a tournament," said event spokesman Mark
Meyer. "But it also creates a lot of pressure and expectation: How
would Nici Müller cope with that?"
But
the 22-year-old from nearby Hirzel - the world No24 who is already the
country's highest-ranked player of all-time - coped admirably,
despatching German qualifier Raphael Kandra 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 in
just 34 minutes.
"First
round win at #grasshoppercup - amazing home crowd!!" tweeted Mueller
later. "Hope there will be even more people for my 2nd round at 7.30pm"
The
second-seeded Swiss star is expected to line up against favourite
Daryl Selby in the event's final. The world No11 from England also
prevailed in straight games - beating New Zealander Kashif Shuja
11-4, 11-7, 11-9 in 41 minutes.
But
the other two seeds were stretched to five games before being allowed to
take their places in the last eight.
Olli Tuominen,
the No3 seed from Finland, took on Australian Steven Finitsis, a
'lucky loser' who earned an unexpected place in the main draw after a
last-minute withdrawal. The first two games went to tie-breaks, the Finn
squeezing the first before Finitsis secured the second 17-15 with the
match already almost an hour long.
The
Australian took full advantage of too many errors by Tuominen to take a
2/1 lead before progressing to match-ball in the fourth at 10-9.
But
the Flying Finn fought back to force the match into a decider before
claiming his 12-10, 15-17, 5-11, 12-10, 11-4 victory after 95 minutes.
Experienced Davide Bianchetti, a 35-year-old qualifier from
Italy, surprised 20-year-old Karim Abdel Gawad, the No4 seed from
Egypt, by taking the first two games.
But
after five minutes short of two hours, Gawad emerged victorious 14-16,
6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 to claim his anticipated place in the
quarter-finals.
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