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TODAY at the
Canary Wharf Classic
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Day THREE at the
Wharf
It will be the top four seeds who contest the Canary Wharf
Classic semi-finals, three Englishman who have all been to the
final before, and a hungry young Egyptian ...
20-Mar, Quarter-Finals:
[3] Mohamed El
Shorbagy (Egy) 3-2 [Q] Henrik Mustonen (Fin)
3/11, 11/9,
7/11, 11/6, 11/9 (52m)
[2] James Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 Daryl Selby (Eng)
11/7, 11/5, 11/7 (47m)
[1] Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-1 Steve Coppinger (Rsa)
11/6, 11/4, 10/12,
11/3 (57m)
[4] Peter Barker (Eng) 3-1 Tom Richards (Eng)
8/11, 11/4, 11/5,
11/7 (56m) |
STATS: Head2Heads,
Player Info, CW Performance History
Photos & Videos
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Alan Thatcher reports from Canary Wharf |
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[3]
Mohamed El
Shorbagy (Egy) 3-2 [Q] Henrik Mustonen (Fin)
3/11, 11/9,
7/11, 11/6, 11/9 (52m)
Mo survives Mustonen battle
 Number three seed Mohamed El Shorbagy withstood a tremendous
battle from Finnish qualifier Henrik Mustonen to reach the
semi-finals.
Mustonen, the 22-year-old from Hollola, stunned El Shorbagy with
a high-paced attack to win the opening game 11-3.
El Shorbagy was clearly taken by surprise but worked his way
into the second game with some powerful kills at the front of
the court.
Mustonen continued to attack in the third and led all the way
through to win it 11-7, producing some phenomenal retrieving
that left his opponent flat-footed.
 The Egyptian began to look more comfortable as he dominated the
early stages of the fourth game but Mustonen refused to give up.
But El Shorbagy managed to maintain his advantage to draw level
at two games apiece.
He began the fifth in sensational style, blitzing his way to a
6-1 lead, but Mustonen staged a spectacular recovery to draw
level at 7-7, aided by two tinned service returns from his
opponent.
It was anyone’s match at 8-8 but El Shorbagy finished strongly
to book his place in the semi-finals. |
“I was taken by
surprise in the first game by the way Henrik played at such a
fast pace. He had nothing to lose and went flat out, going for
everything.
“I had no injury worries or anything like that. It was all down
to the way he played.
“It was good to play him again and see how some of the guys
lower down the rankings are playing, and especially someone my
own age, and to see if there is a gap between us.”
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“I didn’t need to
think about Daryl’s win over Nick last week to know that he is a
top player. It was always going to be a huge battle, especially
here, where he enjoys such enormous support.
“But I was very pleased with the way I played. It was a fairly
comprehensive performance and I’m pleased to win in straight
games.
“Mohamed is already five in the world. We know what an
outstanding player he is already and it should be another great
match.”
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(2)
James
Willstrop (Eng) 3-0 Daryl Selby (Eng)
11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (47m)
Willstrop subdues Selby
 James Willstrop was on top form
as he overcame the challenge of England rival Daryl Selby in
straight games. Selby, fresh from a win over England number one
Nick Matthew in Kuwait last week, was unable to make inroads
against Willstrop’s immaculate court control.
The number two seed moved ahead from 5-4 in the first game and
repelled a late flurry of points to win it 11-7. He was even
meaner in the second, building a 6-2 lead and quickly closing
out the game.
 In the third, Selby fought back from 3-7 with a handful of
points but Willstrop was aided by two lucky nicks on the left
wall as he closed in on a victory that took 47 minutes.
He faces No.3 seed Mohamed El Shorbagy in the semi-final, having
beaten the young Egyptian at the same stage of last week’s
Kuwait Cup, which provided revenge for the result in the World
Championship in December.
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[1]
Nick
Matthew (Eng) 3-1 Steve Coppinger (Rsa)
11/6, 11/4, 10/12, 11/3 (57m)
Matthew masters Coppinger
 Top seed Nick Matthew continued his march through the
Canary Wharf Classic with a polished performance against world
No.20 Steve Coppinger.
The tall South African did well to hit back from 8-4 down to win
the third game 12-10, with one amazing shot off his toes to take
him to game ball, but Matthew reasserted his authority in the
fourth, reaching 10-1 before Coppinger claimed two points to
make the scoreline more respectable.
Coppinger, like Matthew’s opponent last night, Miguel Angel
Rodriguez, is coached by Australia’s former world champion David
Palmer.
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 “David has
got together a good group of players and they can benefit from
the fact that he has only just retired and knows all of the
current players. He is therefore able to pass on some
significant information to his players about their opponents.
“Steve played very well tonight and in the third game it just
shows that you can never ease up. I was getting close to a 3-0
win but he came back strongly to win it.
“James and Mohamed looks like being a great game in the other
half of the draw but I will just concentrate on my own match.
“As players you have to get used to different court conditions
wherever you play. There are now glass courts all over the world
and it was quite cool in Virginia and rather humid in Kuwait.
“It’s nice and warm here on court at Canary Wharf with a
full-house crowd for every day, and that helps to make the ball
nice and bouncy.”
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“There are fine lines between winning and losing at the top end
of any sport. I’m eight in the world and Tom is 12 and the match
was very close.
“Tom attacked strongly at the start but I didn’t do anything
wrong in that game. I just decided to stick to my game plan and
it worked.
“I want to thank the crowd for staying right to the end. It
means a lot to play in front of a full house because the
atmosphere gives us a big lift.
“Nick in the semi-finals will be another massive match. I have
only beaten him once so tomorrow would be a good day to do it
again.
“I got my first win against James Willstrop on this court so why
not another one tomorrow?”
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(4) Peter Barker (Eng) 3-1 Tom Richards (Eng)
8/11, 11/4, 11/5, 11/7 (56m)
Barker meets Matthew after
resisting Richards challenge
 No.4 seed Peter Barker fought back from a game down to
beat English rival Tom Richards in the last match of the night.
Richards attacked in superb style at the start of the opening
game, hitting some sensational winners to build up a 5-2 lead.
As Barker settled into his rhythm, Richards managed to stay in
front to win the game 11-8.
A determined Barker took the attack to his younger opponent in
the second game and his tight lines forced a succession of
errors as Richards found the tin instead of the nick. Barker
maintained the pressure throughout the third with a run of
points taking him from 4-3 to 9-3 before closing out the game.
Richards reduced the error count at the start of the fourth game
to lead 3-1 but his hopes were dashed as Barker responded with
another decisive run of points to lead 6-4 then 8-5.
 The 29-year-old left-hander from Essex clinched victory in 56
minutes to clinch a semi-final clash with Nick Matthew.
Barker was runner-up to Matthew in 2011 and last year kept him
on court for 94 minutes in the semi-final before Matthew went on
to win his third Canary Wharf title against James Willstrop. |
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