‘Colombian Cannonball’ Miguel Angel Rodriguez and three-time World
Champion Nick Matthew slumped to surprise first round defeats on the
opening day of main draw action at the 2016 NetSuite Open, losing to
former World No.1 James Willstrop and French World No.29 Gregoire
Marche, respectively, in San Francisco.
Rodriguez’s match with Willstrop was due to be held at the glass show
court on Justin Herman Plaza, but, with the scores locked at 3-3 in game
one, a rapid change in temperature meant that the court became too wet
and slippery to play on.
After a short delay, the match was moved to the Bay Club San Francisco,
where Willstrop’s unparalleled accuracy and intelligent shot selection
saw him take the match in straight games to leave Rodriguez without a
win so far this season.
"It wasn’t the match either of us wanted, we wanted to be on that big
stage tonight," said Willstrop, who will face Simon Rösner for a place
in the last four.
"The difference the courts over there [Justin Herman Plaza] and here is
a million miles. If we had both written down a game plan before, it
would have completely changed. It’s like going from clay to grass,
that’s the situation we had, so it’s an interesting challenge and we had
to get our heads round it.
"I had to break up the pace and stick with it, because you can’t win
rallies easily on this court. The ball sits up, it’s bouncier and he
gets every single ball I throw at him, so it’s an almighty challenge to
win a rally off him. I had to be very patient."
Elsewhere, last year’s runner-up Matthew was making his first PSA World
Tour appearance of the season, while Marche had won his biggest ever
Tour title just three weeks previously at the Open International de
Squash de Nantes.
And the difference in match fitness between the two showed as a fine
display from Marche enabled him to power to an 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 victory
in 43 minutes to set up a quarter-final clash with Peru’s Diego Elias.
"It’s not the result I wanted, but I’m delighted to be back on the PSA
World Tour at the NetSuite Open," said Matthew.
"I came up against a sharp opponent. I have to keep working hard and
working smart to get back to the level I want to be at.
"I’m confident I will get better as the season goes on."
Peruvian two-time World Junior Champion Elias also caused a big shock on
day one, with a sensational come from behind victory over Egyptian World
No.10 Ali Farag.
Coming less than a week after he reached the final of the Al Ahram
Squash Open NEWGIZA in front of the iconic Great Pyramid of Giza,
Harvard graduate Farag looked to have carried his fine form into San
Francisco after nullifying Elias’s attacking threats to go two games to
the good.
But Elias responded brilliantly and the World No.34 took advantage of a
tiring Farag to battle to an an extremely hard-fought 8-11, 6-11, 11-7,
11-9, 11-7 victory.
"I felt so good on court and I'm so happy to get the win,” said Elias.
“I was just playing point by point, I wanted to play my best squash, be
happy and enjoy it. Even when I was 2-0 down, I just tried to keep
enjoying the match.”
World Champion Gregory Gaultier will take on Australian No.1 Ryan
Cuskelly in the next round after respective wins over Saurav Ghosal and
Max Lee, while Marwan ElShorbagy and Cameron Pilley will face off in the
other quarter-final.
The Women’s event saw United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy book her place in
the last eight courtesy of a victory over English qualifier Fiona
Moverley.
The match featured a series of quick-fire rallies as both players took a
game apiece, before Sobhy moved on to wrap up the win in four and set up
a quarter-final meeting with Hong Kong’s Joey Chan.
"She had a few good shots, but I’m happy I regrouped," said Sobhy
"She was hitting winners left and right, especially on her backhand side
so I just dug in and stuck to my game plan. I’m happy to win."
World No.2 Laura Massaro is through after beating Sobhy’s compatriot
Olivia Blatchford and she will take on compatriot Victoria Lust in the
quarter-final. Malaysia’s eight-time World Champion Nicol David and
fourth seed Joelle King were also winners, setting up respective
fixtures with Nour El Tayeb and Heba El Torky.
Peruvian World No.34 Diego Elias and Qatari World No.42 Abdulla Mohd
Al Tamimi overcame higher-ranked opposition in the final qualifying
round of the NetSuite Open to reach the main draw of the PSA M100
tournament taking place in San Francisco, United States.
World No.34 Elias, a two-time World Junior Champion, came up against
England’s Tom Richards in his fixture, with 30-year-old Richards
ranked eight places above Elias in the World Rankings.
But an apparent injury to Richards after the opening game saw him
struggle with his movement, and Elias picked him off to record an
11-5, 11-3, 11-1 triumph in 35 minutes, setting up a main draw clash
with Egypt’s Ali Farag, who reached the final of the Al Ahram Squash
Open NEWGIZA last week.
"The first game was very tough and long," said Elias.
"I think something happened, maybe he picked up an injury because he
wasn’t the same. But I’m happy with the win and to feel well on
court.
"It’s the first time I’ve played here, I got injured a week before
the tournament last year so it’s great to reach the main draw. I’m
very happy to be here. I didn’t think ahead to the main draw because
I was focusing on getting through qualifying first. I don’t care who
I face, every match is going to be hard."
Al Tamimi, meanwhile, secured his main berth courtesy of a fine win
over World No.36 Adrian Waller in straight games. The 21-year-old,
who has three PSA World Tour titles to his name, will take on World
No.12 Simon Rösner for a place in the last eight.
Frenchman Gregoire Marche and Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller were the
other victors on the final day of qualifying after they achieved
respective wins against Alan Clyne and Cesar Salazar.
Marche will lock horns with last year’s runner-up Nick Matthew in
the next round, while Mueller will line up against World No.7 Marwan
ElShorbagy.
Elsewhere, all of the top four qualifying seeds in the Women’s event
made it through to the main draw unscathed, with former World No.5
Low Wee Wern banishing the injury demons that have dogged the last
18 months of her career to defeat England’s Alison Thomson.
"I’m feeling great to be able to be back on court again. To be
honest, it feels a bit weird to be playing in the qualifying, I
haven’t done that in a long time. But it’s good to get two matches
in and to get to the main draw again.
"I’m just happy to get back on court again. When I first came back I
put a lot of pressure on myself to want to do well and win again.
After a while, you realise that you should just be happy to play
with no pain. So right now, this year that’s my goal. To play as
many matches as I can without any hassle.”
Low is set to face Egypt’s World No.12 Nour El Tayeb in round one,
while Fiona Moverley, Samantha Teran and Sarah Cardwell also rose to
victories.
Moverley and Teran will meet United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy and
Heba El Torky, respectively, while Cardwell will clash with
England’s Victoria Lust.
Eight-time World Champion Nicol David and 2013 World Champion Laura
Massaro will be the star attractions at the 2016 NetSuite Open when
the tournament, which has doubled prize money year-on-year, gets
underway in front of San Francisco's Oakland Bay bridge and Ferry
Terminal on Tuesday September 27.
David and Massaro, two of the most successful female players of all
time, will be joined by the likes of New Zealand's Commonwealth
Games Medalist Joelle King and home favourite Amanda Sobhy, the
Boston-based 21-year-old Harvard-gradute and defending champion
ranked No.8 in the world, at the event which takes place in a
specially constructed outdoor arena on Justin Herman Plaza.
Massaro, who held the World No.1 ranking from January to April this
year, will face American number two Olivia Blatchford in the first
round while David, who topped the World Rankings for an
unprecedented nine years from 2006-2015, will open her campaign
against local wildcard Reyna Pacheco – a Mexican immigrant who
discovered the sport via an Urban Squash programme in San Diego.
“Having committed to doubling the prize money available at this
year's Women's tournament we are pleased to see that some of the
biggest names in women's squash will make their debuts in San
Francisco next month,” said Tournament promoter John Nimick.
“The likes of Nicol David and Laura Massaro are up there with the
most successful female players of all time and have lit up squash
courts all over the world with their exploits. Their presence at the
tournament will serve to help inspire everyone involved in the local
squash community.
“With seven of the world's top 20 players in action I believe we’re
in for a special tournament in September.”
A total of 28 players from 14 countries will compete across the
tournament, with qualification starting on Sunday September 25 at
the Olympic Club and the Bay Club San Francisco.
2015 World Champion Gregory Gaultier will go toe-to-toe with
three-time World Champion and Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist Nick
Matthew, Pan American Gold Medalist Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Asian
Games Gold Medalists SauraGhosal and Max Lee and 2014 Commonwealth
Games Gold Medalist Cameron Pilley when the 2016 NetSuite Open gets
underway on September 27 in one of the most competitive ever
editions of the PSA M100 tournament,
In what promises to be a compelling battle for the title, 2014
winner Gaultier will be hoping to regain the silverware ahead of a
field that includes seven of the world's top ten players – with 14
nations in total represented in the draw.
“We are delighted to have so many of the world’s top players
competing in the 2016 NetSuite Open in what looks certain to be one
of the most competitive and entertaining editions of the
eight-year-old PSA Tour championship,” said tournament promoter John
Nimick.
“While we are very fortunate that players like Gaultier, Matthew and
James Willstrop have made San Francisco a regular stop on their
schedules, we are equally excited to welcome some of the most
talented up-and-coming players in the world this year to create a
draw that will have West Coast fans packing in around the all-glass
NetSuite Challenge court once again.
“Squash is booming in Northern California and with the NetSuite Open
now comprising high level PSA-sanctioned events for both men and
women, a new US Squash Junior Gold tournament and the perennial
Latitude38 adult skill level tournament, the week is a true squash
jamboree.”
