Unbeaten in Bogota over the past eight years, England's
Peter Barker celebrated his fourth Abierto Colombiano de
Squash Club El Nogal title in the Colombian capital today when
he defeated Egypt's world No11 Omar Mosaad in the final of
the PSA World Tour International 50 squash event at Club
El Nogal.
Winner of the title for three successive years from 2005, London
left-hander Barker made a popular return to the South American
country for the first time since 2007 - this time in his first
appearance as top seed.
"The match between Barker and Mosaad was vibrant, emotional and
technical," reported event spokesman Juan Carlos Santacruz.
"Barker took the lead in the first game due to the continuous
mistakes made by Mosaad when, by comparison, Barker played
concentrated and firm."
Barker went on to open up a two-game lead - but the third-seeded
Egyptian delighted the packed crowd by extending the match into a
fourth game after taking the third.
The world No7 leapt to a 5-0 lead in the fourth which Mosaad was
unable to counter. Barker increased the pressure before closing out
the match 11-4, 11-4, 8-11, 11-3 in 55 minutes to claim his fourth
Bogota title.
(Presentation picture shows Barker (right) and Mossad)
The triumph marks Barker's first PSA Tour title of the year - but
the 14th of the 29-year-old's career.
Mosaad &
Barker To Contest Colombian Open Climax
Egypt's Omar Mosaad ended local hero Miguel Angel
Rodriguez's run in the Abierto Colombiano de Squash Club El
Nogal at Club El Nogal in Bogota to set up a final
of the PSA World Tour International 50 squash event against
top seed Peter Barker.
After upsetting Egypt's title-holder Tarek Momen in the
opening round, unseeded Bogota boy Rodriguez had a fifth Colombian
Open final in his sights.
But
third seed Mosaad (pictured above, right, with Rodriguez)
proved to be an insurmountable Egyptian: "The strength and
consistency of the Egyptian eventually wore out the Colombian,"
explained tournament spokesman Juan Carlos Santacruz. "Strong
lengths to the back hand and killer drop shots from the back of the
court gave Mosaad a 2/0 lead.
"In the third game, Mosaad's attacking precision produced successive
winning rallies against a tiring Rodriguez."
The 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 victory brings up the 20th PSA Tour final
appearance of world No11 Mosaad's career - but the 25-year-old from
Cairo's first this year.
Mosaad was delighted with his triumph over the Colombian number one
in his home city: "I am really happy that I won today. Everyone
knows Miguel, he such a good player, he is no19 in the PSA rankings.
"Actually before this match, I was thinking what I was going to do
in this match because he had three advantages here - first one the
altitude, the crowd, and he is very fast," explained Mosaad.
"So I prepared myself mentally to this match and I am really happy
to win. So today I am going to have some spa and rest and wait for
my match tomorrow!"
England's Peter Barker celebrated his first appearance in
Bogota since winning his third successive title in the event in 2007
by reaching his fourth final. The world No7 from London defeated
top-ranked Australian Cameron Pilley, the No4 seed, 12-10,
11-5, 11-4.
World No13 Pilley led in the opening game, but Barker's experience
forced a tie-break to take the lead. After going 2/0 down, Pilley
again led briefly in the third - but left-hander Barker raised his
game to close out the match 3/0.
The win takes Barker into his second Tour final of the year - and
the 22nd of his career.
Miguel
Marches Into Bogota Semis
Unseeded Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez continued to
delight the packed crowds at Club El Nogal in his home city
of Bogota as he marched into the semi-finals of the
Abierto Colombiano de Squash Club El Nogal after overcoming
Australian Ryan Cuskelly in the quarter-finals of the
long-established PSA World Tour International 50 squash event
in the Colombian capital.
"Now I'm playing my first semi-final in a 50 International - I'm
very proud of myself," exclaimed the 27-year-old world No19 after
his 11-9, 4-11, 11-5, 11-3 victory over the Australian left-hander
(both pictured in action above).
Rodriguez, who recently became the second highest-ranked South
American player of all-time, made his breakthrough in the event when
he toppled defending champion Tarek Momen, the world No10
from Egypt, in the opening round.
"I
knew it was going to be tough match," continued the Colombian who
won bronze, his country's first squash medal, at last week's
World Games in the Colombian city of Cali. "Ryan has been
improved a lot and I had to be ready for another battle. I had to
play at my best in the fourth, picked up the pace a lot because I
did not want to go to a fifth game."
Rodriguez now faces a second Egyptian for a place in the final.
Third seed Omar Mosaad battled for four games to hold off
impressive young Mexican qualifier Alfredo Avila 11-9, 11-8,
3-11, 11-6.
"Alfredo was so good today - I am really happy to win," said Mosaad,
the tall world No11 from Cairo who is making his maiden appearance
in the event. "I tried to keep focusing in my game because Alfredo
is a very speedy guy and I tried to finish it in 3/0 but I couldn't.
"I
am glad to won today. Now I will try to relax for tomorrow and
prepare myself for my match against Miguel. I played him six years
ago in Ecuador. He won, but I will try to do my best!"
The other semi-final will see top-seeded Englishman Peter Barker
take on Australian number one Cameron Pilley, the No4 seed.
Pilley, the world No13, had to toil for 66 minutes to see off
Scotland's determined Alan Clyne 13-11, 11-4, 6-11, 11-3,
while Londoner Barker was on court for just 19 minutes when
Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet conceded the match with score
standing at 11-6, 11-0, 3-0.
It
later transpired that world No31 Castagnet suffered an injury to his
right leg in his marathon 94-minute five-game win over Mexican
qualifier Cesar Salazar 24 hours earlier.
"Unfortunately Mathieu couldn't recover from his tough match
yesterday and retired in the third," explained world No7 Barker. "I
thought I started pretty well and will try and do the same tomorrow.
"Tough conditions here, but an excellent tournament as always,"
added the left-hander who is a three-time champion of the event.
"All the players are being very well looked after."
Pilley added after his victory: "Very happy with my win today over
Clyney. The conditions were extremely tough but I stuck in there
well in the big points and managed to play my game for most of the
match.
"The club here is amazing so a bit of hot-cold recovery and food and
the body will be ready for the semi!"
Colombian
Open Revenge For Rodriguez
Colombian squash star Miguel Angel Rodriguez thrilled the
crowd at Club El Nogal in his home city of Bogota when
he pulled off the biggest upset in the Abierto Colombiano de
Squash Club El Nogal by beating defending champion and No2 seed
Tarek Momen in the first round of the long-established PSA
World Tour International 50 event to avenge his defeat in last
year's final.
It
was the highlight of the evening for the packed crowd, eager to see
their hero who is the second highest-ranked player of all-time in
South America - and keen to become the highest - and who arrived in
Bogota after claiming an unexpected bronze medal in last week's
World Games in the Colombian city of Cali.
Last
year, again unseeded, Rodriguez battled through to the final only to
lose in four games to rising Egyptian Momen in the pair's first
meeting. But this time the Colombian (pictured above, left, in
action with Momen) was in charge, taking just 39 minutes to earn
his revenge in an 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5 victory over the world No10
from Cairo.
Rodriguez, now ranked 19 in the world, will next face fellow
non-seed Ryan Cuskelly, the world No27 from Australia who
despatched Hong Kong qualifier Max Lee 11-7, 2-11, 11-8,
11-8.
There was a further shock earlier in the day when young Mexican
qualifier Alfredo Avila recorded one of the best wins of his
career when he beat England's Tom Richards 11-8, 7-11, 11-8,
11-6. It was a disappointing outcome for world No17 Richards who is
making his Tour comeback after a four-month layoff while recovering
from a hamstring injury.
Avila, the 22-year-old world No64 from Mexico City and now the
lowest-ranked player in the last eight, will face Omar Mosaad,
the No3 seed from Egypt who had a straightforward 11-3, 11-7, 11-5
win over local wildcard Nicolas Valderrama.
Egypt's former world junior champion Marwan Elshorbagy took
top seed Peter Barker the full distance before bowing out
after 78 minutes. The 20-year-old from Alexandria recovered from 2/0
down and led 9-6 in the decider - but experienced Englishman Barker,
the world No7 from London looking for a fourth Colombian Open crown,
reclaimed the upper hand to win 11-7, 11-5, 11-13, 11-13, 11-9.
Mexicans
Surprise In Colombian Open Qualifiers
Mexicans
Cesar Salazar and Alfredo Avila claimed surprise
places in the main draw of the Abierto Colombiano de Squash Club
El Nogal after notable upsets in the qualifying finals of the
long-established PSA World Tour International 50 squash event
at Club El Nogal in the Colombia capital Bogota.
Salazar beat experienced Canadian Shawn Delierre. The world
No39 from Montreal had game ball at 10-6 in the fourth to draw level
- but Salazar, 14 places lower in the world rankings, raised his
game to clinch the match 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 12-10 after 48 minutes.
Avila survived the qualifiers for the second year in a row. The
22-year-old world No64 from Mexico City became the lowest-ranked
player to qualify - and recorded one of the best wins of his career
- when he beat Henrik Mustonen, the world No36 from Finland,
10-12, 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 in 41 minutes.
Hong Kong's Leo Au survived the day's longest match, beating
higher-ranked Egyptian Omar Abdel Aziz 8-11, 11-4, 12-10,
9-11, 11-8 in 93 minutes.
Au
will be joined in the main draw by fellow countryman Max Lee,
the world No33 who denied North American interest in the main draw
by ousting US champion Christopher Gordon 11-6, 12-10, 11-8.
Bogota Beckons For Richards Colombia Comeback
After sustaining an injury which has put him out of action for
the past four months, rising English squash star Tom Richards
cannot wait to make his Tour comeback at next week's XVI Abierto
Colombiano De Squash Club El Nogal in Bogota.
Many of the world's leading players will be lining up in the
PSA International 50 Colombian Open, the first major PSA
World Tour event of the second half of the year, at Squash
Club El Nogal in the Colombian capital from 6-11 August.
"I don't think I've been looking forward to a tournament as much
as I am for this one for many years," said the world No17 from
Surrey who suffered a hamstring injury in the
opening round of April's Grasshopper Cup in Switzerland,
where he was seeded to reach the final.
"Whilst injuries are devastating, they do give you a chance to
take a step away from the game and refresh yourself mentally. It's
an old cliché, but I suppose people don't realise how much they
enjoy something until they are forced to stop. I feel fitter and
stronger than I've ever been before and so I'm just looking forward
to getting back into competition."
Richards (pictured below) was playing Swiss number one Nicolas Mueller,
with the score standing at nine-all in the first game: "As I went
for a normal lunge deep in the backhand corner I slipped on some
sweat and my heel kept going until my hamstring gave way. I knew it
was bad as I could feel a ripping sensation followed by a lot of
pain," explained the 27-year-old England number five.
"I could barely walk (something that lasted for a while) but
managed to get the first flight out in the morning so that I could
see physios and figure out what was wrong. Initially the prognosis
didn't seem too bad: In the tests that get performed to give an idea
of the level of injury, I performed OK and the pain seemed to be
subsiding. But I got a scan just in case and after a few crossed
wires here and there, it was eventually discovered that the injury
was a lot more severe than first feared.
"This then effectively ruled me out for at least three months and
potentially more. So I was to miss the Europeans, British Open and
Worlds.
"To say I was gutted was an understatement! I'd spent the
previous few months getting myself as prepared as possible with
those three events in mind. Missing the world teams was probably the
toughest to take as I haven't ever been involved in the event
before.
"This meant I now had a long rehab process in front of me -
nothing new to me after my knee injury - but mentally and physically
tough none the less," Richards continued. "For six weeks, I had to
do the same rehab every day (a severe test of motivation!) but I
treated the time off as a chance to get myself as fit as possible
and to take whatever positives I could.
"Luckily I have fantastic support from EIS Physios, so I was
closely monitored the whole way. So the past three months have
basically been spent in the gym, on the track running, or on a
bike."
Richards, who will be making his debut in the Colombian Open main
draw, faces a qualifier in the opening round - and is expected to
meet his first higher-ranked opponent, third-seeded Egyptian Omar
Mosaad, in the quarter-finals.
Fellow England team-mate Peter Barker is the event
favourite. The London-born world No7 is returning to the event after
a five-year absence - and after winning the prestigious South
American Tour title for the third year in a row in 2007.
Barker, who begins his latest Colombian campaign against Egypt's
former world junior champion Marwan Elshorbagy, is expected
to face another Egyptian in the final.
Cairo-based Tarek Momen is ranked three places below
Barker - and arrives in Bogota as the defending champion after
winning the title in his maiden appearance in the event last year.
But the No2 seed has a tough initial battle against local hero
Miguel Angel Rodriguez, the Bogota-based world No19 who is the
second highest-ranked South American of all-time. The match will be
a repeat of the 2012 final.
Rodriguez, 27, is celebrating the tenth successive appearance in
his country's most prestigious tournament - and boasts four
appearances in the final, including two on the winner's podium, in
2008 and 2010.
