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TODAY at
the Grasshopper Cup |
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Thu 14th Apr, Day FOUR, Round
One, Bottom
[5] Cameron Pilley (Aus) 3-2 [Q] Adrian Waller (Eng)
6/11, 7/11, 11/8, 11/2, 11/6 (70m)
[4] Marwan Elshorbagy (Egy) 3-0 [Q] Alan Clyne (Sco)
11/8,
11/9, 11/5 (42m)
Grégoire Marche
(Fra) 3-0 [6] James Willstrop (Eng)
11/8, 11/6, 11/7 (41m)
[2] Simon Rosner (Ger) 3-0 [Q] Paul Coll (Nzl)
11/8, 11/9, 11/5 (61m)
Pilley survives as Marche takes out
Willstrop
 It
was
the turn of the players in the bottom half ofthe draw tonight at
the Puls5 Arena in Zurich.
There was just one seeding upset tonight, although in the
opening match Cameron Pilley had to foght back from two-nil and
then 1-6 down in the fifth before getting past Adrian Waller.
The remaining matches were all over in straight games as
Marwan ElShorbagy and Simon Rosner justified their
seedings with wins over qualifiers Alan Clyne and Paul Coll,
while young Frenchman Gregoire Marche recorded one of his
best wins in beating sixth seed James Willstrop.
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photos by
Michele Bollhalder |
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"I think that was
tough mentally (to come back from 2-0 down) especially because
he beat me last time we played and I wanted to get revenge for
that.
 "But he played really well in the first two games and I was flat
- I had nothing. It was a matter of playing a lot smarter in the
third, fourth and fifth and I'm proud of the comeback and I
think I finished the match quite strongly.
"It's great to have big crowd here on the first round it is
something we really appreciate it so it;'s great to be here and
come through."
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[5] Cameron Pilley (Aus)
3-2 [Q] Adrian Waller (Eng)
6/11, 7/11,
11/8, 11/2, 11/6 (70m)
Pilley survives
 Fifth seed Cameron made it through to the quarter-finals, but at
two games down against qualifier Adrian Waller, and then 1-6
down in the decider, it looked an unlikely win.
The left-handed Englishman was well on top in the first two
games, but Pilley found something extra in the third to pull a
game back and then dominated the fourth.
It was Waller on top again in the fifth though as he took a 6-1
lead, only to thrown in a number of unforced errors as Pilley
stormed back to take ten points in a row and a place in the last
eight. |
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[4] Marwan Elshorbagy (Egy)
3-0 [Q] Alan Clyne (Sco)
11/8,
11/9, 11/5 (42m)
Marwan keeps Egyptian interest alive
 Egyptian number four seed Marwan ElShorbagy moved into the quarter-finals courtesy of an impressive straight-games
victory over tenacious Scotsman Alan Clyne in Zurich today.
In a nip and tuck opening game it was ElShorbagy who edged the
crucial points to on the scoreboard first, but he was soon fighting from behind in the second as Clyne
attacked and used his rapid court coverage to pressure ElShorbagy and counter at every opportunity.
Down by three points the Egyptian
fought back to overturn the momentum
and take the second game 11-9.
From then on it was Elshorbagy
who controlled proceedings as he cruised through the third game
11-5 to set up a last eight encounter with Cameron Pilley. |
“That second game was very
important.
 “He played much better than he had in the first and I think I
started to lose my length a little. He was putting my under a
lot of pressure and I had to work very hard to win it – it could
have been a different match if I hadn't come through that one.
“Winning in three is important because it helps me conserve
energy for tomorrow. Pilley is a great player and we've only
played once a long time ago so I want to make the most of the
match tomorrow.
“It's my first time here in Switzerland and Zurich is a great
city and all the people are really nice. To have crowds like
this form the first round is what we want as players.”
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“James has been World No.1 so he
is one of the best players out there so I knew it would be
tough.
“I’m really happy to beat him for the first time. I had to be
accurate with my length and not allow him to volley.
"I don’t
think he was 100 per cent but I had to make him work and stay
focused until the end and use my speed so I’m very happy with
that win.
“I had to take a few weeks out myself to recover from a niggle
and I’m happy to be back playing again now and happy that I can
move like I did today.”
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Grégoire Marche
(Fra) 3-0 [6] James Willstrop (Eng)
11/8, 11/6, 11/7 (41m)
Marche takes out Willstrop
 Frenchman Grégoire Marche surged into the
quarter-finals courtesy of a straight-games victory over an
under par James Willstrop, the English former World #1.
It was evident form early on that Willstrop, who has been
battling injury for over a year, was
struggling with his movement but Marche, who has himself
struggled to achieve full fitness recently, took full advantage
as he opened up the court to make life difficult for the
Englishman.
The first game was arguably the best of the match as the duo
traded points in a series of high class exchanges, but it was
Marche who moved ahead from the mid-point stage and from then on
Willstrop never truly looked like he would be able to find the
killer blow to put Marche away as his movement was exposed time
and again. |
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[2] Simon Rosner (Ger) 3-0 [Q] Paul Coll (Nzl)
11/8, 11/9, 11/5 (61m)
Rosner through in three
German Simon Rösner, the number
two seed and last year's runner-up, stormed into the
quarter-finals in the last match of the day as he
dismissed New Zealand's Paul Coll 3-0 to set up a quarter-final
match with Marche. Coll
kept close score wise right till the end of each game, and made
the German work very hard for every single point, but finally,
experience made the difference at the end of the first two games,
with the third game pretty quick with a few too many tired
unforced errors from the New-Zealander. |
"I was on my toes
all the time because he's a very tough competitor. I knew it
would be tough and that's exactly what it was. I'm pleased to
come through in three because you never want to get into a
fourth or fifth game with him because he never stops.
"I tried to change my tactics a bit today because I think my
game is suited to him so I'm very pleased I managed to stick to
the plan today.
"I'm in a position where I have to defend a runner-up finish
which isn't easy but I think I play better with pressure."
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