Tarek
Takes Colombian Crown
The
brave run of home hero Miguel Angel Rodriguez came to an end in
the final of the Club El Nogal Bogota Colombian Open when Egypt's
Tarek Momen claimed the PSA World Tour International 35
squash title after almost an hour-long battle at Club El Nogal in
the Colombian capital Bogota.
Unseeded Rodriguez, the Colombian number one, reached his fourth
national open final - and the 27th Tour final of his career - after a
sensational run which included upsets over the top seed and defending
champion Mohamed El Shorbagy and fourth-seeded South African
Stephen Coppinger.
But
third seed Momen was hungry for success in his maiden appearance in the
long-established Tour event in South America.
Playing on his home club courts, 26-year-old Rodriguez took the opening
game. But the 24-year-old from Cairo struck back.
"In
the second game, Rodriguez's endurance began to wear out given the
previous matches and he became imprecise, while Momen tightened his drop
shots and tied the match to one-all," said tournament spokesman Juan
Carlos Santacruz. "The continuous unforced errors of Rodriguez and
his anxiety in the rallies gave the Egyptian the advantage, becoming
more confident in his attack."
Rodriguez led early in the fourth game, but at nine-all in the fourth
took a brief injury break after an accidental clash with his opponent's
racket.
The
drama continued until 10-all, before a drop shot gave the Egyptian the
match 3-11, 11-4, 11-3, 12-10 after 58 minutes.
"Today
was a really tough match as I expected tough competition from Miguel,
but I wouldn't have thought he would put on such a great performance
after two hard matches he had during past couple of days," said Momen
after winning his second - and biggest - title on the PSA World Tour.
"He is
a true champion and I am so happy to have pushed myself so hard to win
that fourth game.
"I
have had the most amazing week here in Colombia," added the world No19.
"I would like thank the organizing committee, the sponsors and all the
amazing Nogal Club members, for their great hospitality and support
during this entire week, and making this event a great success.
"I
also want to thank the people who have supported me all the way back
home, my parents, coaches, teammates and friends…. I am not mentioning
names, so no one gets upset, hahaha!!"
Rodriguez was also more than happy with his performance: "It does not
matter about the result today, but from the last three I think I
prepared myself pretty well to start the season with good results."
Of his
victory over El Shorbagy, the world No25 added: "Mohamed is a fast guy
on court, and has great abilities with his wrist which makes it more
difficult to read and finally reach a ball. I wanted to win it at home
and I think the key of this match was mental strength and determination
in every shot.
"I did
it, and finally after seven years of joining the PSA, I have beaten a
top 10 guy - one of the goals for a player around my ranking!
"With
Stephen, I knew that I was going to be as hard as Shorbagy as we have
been training in Orlando together already for a few weeks. He is a
steady, strong guy that does not give you easy points. For me it was
important to win it to reach again a second consecutive final - the
third game was a thriller!
"I
want to say thank you to my Dad, Angel Rodriguez, who has been working
since I started playing; Sardar Ali Khan who has taught me a lot of
things which have helped me achieve a lot of great results since 2008;
and now David Palmer, who has changed a few things in my game,
which seem to be working!"
Miguel
Marches On In Bogota
Local
hero Miguel Angel Rodriguez maintained his mighty run in the
Club El Nogal Bogota Colombian Open by beating higher-ranked South
African Stephen Coppinger to reach the final of the PSA World
Tour International 35 squash event at Club El Nogal in
Bogota.
The
sensational win takes Rodriguez into the final of the established Tour
event in Colombia for the fourth time since 2006.
Unseeded, the Bogota-based Colombian number one made his breakthrough in
the previous round where he ousted top seed and defending champion
Mohamed El Shorbagy, the world No8.
The
world No27, winner of the trophy in 2008 and 2010, now faced South
African champion Coppinger, the No4 seed ranked a single slot higher.
"The
first game was long and intense," said tournament spokesman Juan
Carlos Santacruz. "Rodríguez waited for the right moment to attack
and won the first game. Two exceptional drop shots in the second game
motivated Coppinger to win the second game after 40 minutes."
Spurred on by the partisan crowd at his home club, Rodriguez reclaimed
the advantage to win the third game after a tie-break.
"In
the final game the Colombian attacked with precision and won," added
Santacruz.
The
11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 11-0 victory in 66 minutes was the 26-year-old's
second successive match lasting more than an hour.
Rodriguez will now face third seed Tarek Momen, the world No21
from Egypt making his maiden appearance in the Bogota event.
Momen
ended the giant-killing run of Henrik Mustonen, beating the Finn
who upset second seed Hisham Mohd Ashour in the first round.
The
24-year-old from Cairo needed just 20 minutes to quash Mustonen 11-7,
11-5, 11-2.
Rodriguez Outshines Shorbagy In Bogota
In a stunning victory
which thrilled the partisan Colombian crowd, unseeded hometown hero
Miguel Angel Rodriguez upset top seed and defending champion
Mohamed El Shorbagy to claim a shock place in the semi-finals of the
Club El Nogal Bogota Colombian Open, the PSA World Tour
International 35 squash event at Club El Nogal in the
country's capital Bogota.
It was a champion
battle between Egyptian El Shorbagy, the world No8 who won the title for
the first time last year, and Colombian number one Rodriguez, winner of
the trophy in 2008 and 2010 - and playing at his home club.
"It was a match with no
truce, great emotion, and happiness of a respectful and knowledgeable
crowd," explained tournament spokesman Juan Carlos Santacruz.
Rodriguez recovered
from a game down to take a surprise 2/1 lead.
"The fourth game El
Shorbagy was more insecure, couldn't concentrate to tie the match and
found himself against a completely focused Colombian who had all the
support of the crowd," added Santacruz. "Rodriguez who is known for
making history, won for the first time against a top ten player in his
club and city."
The 6-11, 11-8, 11-4,
11-8 victory after 73 minutes takes the 26-year-old world No27 through
to a last four clash with fourth seed Stephen Coppinger. The
South African, ranked a single place higher than Rodriguez, beat English
qualifier Jaymie Haycocks 11-6, 11-4, 11-4.
There was a significant
upset in the other half of the draw too where giant-killer Henrik
Mustonen ousted higher-ranked Egyptian Mohd Ali Anwar Reda.
The fair-haired Finn
reached the quarter-finals after a shock first round dismissal of No2
seed Hisham Mohd Ashour - and continued his rout of Egyptians by
recovering from 2/1 down to see off Reda 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-9 in
62 minutes.
The 21-year-old world
No49 will now face his third Egyptian in Bogota when he takes on
Tarek Momen for a place in the final. The third seed from Cairo
defeated New Zealander Martin Knight 11-7, 11-3, 11-4.
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