Ahmad Al-Saraj (Jor)
12/10, 11/8, 10/12, 8/11, 11/7 (73m)
[Q] Seyhun Lee (Kor)
Ahmad Al-Saraj
5/11, 11/9, 9/11, 11/5, 13/11 Leo Au
[LL] Masaki Suzuki (Jpn)
11/6, 11/7, 11/5 24m [2] Leo Au (Hkg)
Seventh Heaven For Meguid In Yokohama
Egypt's Omar Abdel Meguid claimed his seventh PSA World
Tour title at the Pro Squash in Japan Yokohama - but the
top seed had to fight back from 2/1 down to overcome determined
second seed Leo Au in the final of the PSA Challenger 10
event at Yokohama Squash Stadium SQ-CUBE in Yokohama City,
Japan.
Meguid, the world No43 from Giza, reached the final without dropping
a game. But after winning the first against his Hong Kong opponent
ranked just three places lower, the favourite (pictured below in
action with Au) quickly went behind as Au took control.
The Egyptian regained the upper hand however to draw level, and
ultimately survived a tense decider to win the match 13-11, 9-11,
6-11, 11-7, 13-11 in 125 minutes - fittingly the longest match of
the tournament!
The triumph
marked 25-year-old Meguid's second title success in Japan after he
won the Pro Squash Kansai in Japan three years ago.
Top Seeds
Meguid & Au In Yokohama Final
Top seeds Omar Abdel Meguid and Leo Au will contest
the final of the Pro Squash in Japan Yokohama after
prevailing in straight games in the semi-finals of the PSA World
Tour Challenger 10 event at Yokohama Squash Stadium SQ-CUBE
in Yokohama City, Japan.
Egyptian Meguid and unseeded Indian Harinder Pal Sandhu
(both pictured in action below) reached the semis without
dropping a game.
"Sandhu
struggled with Meguid's heavy shots at the beginning of the match,"
reported event spokesman Hiromi Komae. "The rallies were
mostly controlled by Meguid - thus the match went to Meguid in three
games."
The 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 win brings up the 25-year-old from Giza's 11th
PSA Tour final appearance - and his second in Japan after winning
the Pro Squash Kansai in Japan three years ago.
By
contrast, the other semi-finalists, Ivan Yuen from Malaysia
and second seed Au from Hong Kong, both had lengthy full-game
matches the previous day.
Au, 23, was able to capitalise on too many unforced errors from his
unseeded opponent to win 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 - and reach his second
successive Pro Squash in Japan final.
Yuen Survives Yokohama Marathon
Malaysian Ivan Yuen defeated Australia's Rex Hedrick
to reach the semi-finals of the Pro Squash in Japan Yokohama,
the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 event at Yokohama Squash
Stadium SQ-CUBE in Yokohama City, Japan.
But it took the unseeded 22-year-old from Kuala Lumpur - ranked 63
in the world - 102 minutes to justify his higher ranking over the
event's No4 seed with his 6-11, 11-5, 10-12, 12-10, 11-6
quarter-final 'upset' over world No68 Hedrick (both pictured in
action below).
Yuen goes on to meet Hong Kong's Leo Au for a place in the
final after the No2 seed was taken the full distance by Ahmad Al-Saraj
before beating the Jordanian teenager 5-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 13-11
in 89
minutes.
Qualifier Yuta Fukui, the local hero ranked 169 in the world
who delighted the Yokohama crowd by ousting third seed Muhd
Asyraf Azan in the first round, was unable to progress further -
going down 13-11, 11-7, 13-11 to India's world No66 Harinder Pal
Sandhu.
Sandhu will face top seed Omar Abdel Meguid in the other
semi-final after the Egyptian despatched Taiwan's James Huang
11-8, 11-8, 11-8.
Quarter-final day opened with a major press conference (see
picture below) held in cooperation between the Japan Squash
Association and Pro Squash in Japan.
"Seven TV stations and 12 newspapers were there to report on our
sport, which could soon be chosen as the next sport to join the 2020
Olympic Games," said event spokesman Hiromi Komae. "The
Japanese media has been giving a lot of attention to squash since it
made it to the final three sports on the list."
Fukui Breakthrough In Yokohama
Local qualifier Yuta Fukui pulled off a mighty upset on the
opening day of main draw action in the Pro Squash in Japan
Yokohama when he defeated third seed Muhd Asyraf Azan to
claim an unexpected place in the quarter-finals of the PSA World
Tour Challenger 10 event at Yokohama Squash Stadium SQ-CUBE
in Yokohama City, Japan.
Fukui, a 25-year-old ranked more than 100 places lower than his
opponent, played the match of his life to overcome Malaysian Azan
11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6 in 64 minutes.
In
a rare quarter-final line-up featuring players from eight different
countries,
Fukui takes on India's Harinder Pal Sandhu, who took just 17
minutes to beat Canadian Fred Reid 11-3, 11-7, 11-7.
"Tsukue
made a good attempt in the first game, but the first seed from Egypt
kept a fast and furious pace and did not give Tsukue anything," said
event spokesman Hiromi Komae.
