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Tuesday 12th Jan:
Men's Quarters (bottom), Women's Quarters
[8] Nouran Gohar (Egy) 3-2 [3] Laura Massaro (Eng)
10-12, 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 11-9 (77m)
[10] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) 3-0 [6] Alison Waters (Eng)
12-10, 11-3, 11-9 (38m)
[7] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 3-2 [4] Camille Serme (Fra)
11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8 (74m)
[2] Nicol David (Mas) 3-2 [5] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy)
11-6, 10-12, 10-12, 11-3, 11-5 (56m)
[3] Grégory Gaultier (Fra) 3-1 [6] Simon Rösner (Ger)
11-8, 8-11, 14-12, 12-10 (78m)
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-2 [8] Marwan ElShorbagy (Egy)
10-12, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (81m)
Quarters Flipagram - 8 matches, 30 seconds and
Kylie |
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Gallery |
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Shocks Galore in Grand Central quarters
A number of surprise results lit up the quarter-final stage of the
2016 Women’s J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions with Egypt’s
Nouran Gohar and US #1 Amanda Sobhy catching the eye
after they both caused stunning upsets against World #1 Laura
Massaro and England #2 Alison Waters, while Nour El Sherbini
downed fourth seed Camille Serme and second seed Nicol David
needed five games to get past Omneya Abdel Kawy.
 In
front of a packed and partisan New York crowd, American Amanda
Sobhy scored another stunning upset at the J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions in Grand Central Terminal as she defeated
6th seed Alison Waters of England. The 22-year-old Harvard graduate
had already eliminated the defending champion and #1 seed Raneem El
Welily of Egypt on Sunday.
Waters, a Toc finalist last year, had three game balls in the first
game when she took a 10-7 lead. Undaunted, Sobhy reeled off the next
five points to snatch the game and take the upper hand in the match.
 “I
just told myself that I had to keep fighting on every point. I knew
that if I won the first game, it would change the momentum in a big
way,” Sobhy said, and she indeed dominated the second game,
winning it 11-3.
The English veteran regrouped in the third, but the American left-
hander brushed back the challenge by winning the game 11-9 to earn a
trip to the semifinals on Wednesday. Commenting both on her victory
and the incredible roar that emanates in the lofty Vanderbilt Hall
confines from the vocal and supportive crowd, Sobhy said,
“This is incredible. The crowd was amazing – their support gives
me that second and third extra push. This is best place in the world
to play.”
The highest ranking American ever on the PSA World Tour, the Sea
Cliff, LI native reached her highest world ranking of no. 8 as of
January 1. With this victory, Sobhy also is assured of the best
American finish ever in a PSA World Series event.
”This may be the single greatest day in American squash history,”
said tournament promoter John Nimick, himself a former high-ranking
professional player.
 In
Wednesday’s semifinal, Sobhy will face the tournament’s eighth seed,
Nouran Gohar. The 18-year-old Egyptian registered her own
upset in the afternoon’s first match when she defeated the current
world no. 1 Laura Massaro by two points in the fifth game.
Nouran Gohar. The 18-year-old Egyptian
registered her own upset in the afternoon’s first match when she
defeated the current world #1 Laura Massaro by two points in the
fifth game.
Massaro, who had secured the top ranking spot at year-end by
claiming two titles and a runner up finish in the last three PSA
World Series events of 2015, took the early lead with a 12-10 first
game win.
The reigning World Junior Champion responded by pounding the ball to
the back of the court to win the second game 11-9 and even the
match. The fearless teenager continued to go toe-to-toe with her
32-year-old opponent to claim a ToC semifinal berth by winning the
last two games -11-8,11-9.
“I am so, so, so happy,” said a wide-smiling Gohar after the
match. “To beat the World no. 1 is just incredible.”
 As
with her semifinal opponent, Gohar was buoyed by the crowd.
“This is my first time playing here in Grand Central, and it is
now my favorite. The crowd just gives me so much energy”
She also received a confidence boost from being coached during
the match by former world no 1 and three-time ToC champion Amr
Sabana. “When I was getting tired towards the end, he just said
‘Just go and play. You do what you think you need to. You do it.”
And Gohar did.
 It
was a testament to Camille Serme’s strength of will that she fought
back after losing the first two games to the two-time World Junior
Champion to tie the match at two all.
Nour El Sherbini matched the 26-year-old Frenchwoman’s fighting
spirit with her own competitive intensity in the fifth. It was nip
and tuck most of the way through the last game, until El Sherbini
nosed ahead from 7 all to and won the match on a tin by Serme.
“I don’t know how I won that match,” El Sherbini said. “I was so
tired at the end; I was really glad to see that last bill hit the
tin.”
 ElSherbini’s
semifinal opponent will be Nicol David after she resolutely
eliminated Omneya Abdel Kawy in another five game contest.
After winning the first game 11-6 in 9 minutes, it looked like
David, who had won her first two matches in 20 minutes or less,
might have another short and efficient victory.
But Abdel Kawy, who is an extraordinarily skilled shotmaker, had
other ideas and consistently pushed David to the back of the court
enabling the Egyptian deploy her shooting game to great effect.
“I knew that in order to keep Omneya from being able to shoot so
easily I had to hit the ball more cleanly and deeper to keep her
behind me,” said David. The strategy worked as David took
control of the T and steamrolled through the last two games 11-3,
11-5.
 On
the men’s side, Gregory Gaultier of France surprised the full
house of fans by breaking out some split dance moves after he got
past Germany’s Simon Rosner with a hard fought four game victory.
Rosner had his chances - with the score tied at one game each,
Rosner failed to convert two game balls in the third. In the fourth,
the reigning World Champion eked out a 12-10 win to secure his ToC
semifinal berth.
 Nick
Matthew had three game balls at 10-7 in the first game of his
match against Marwan ElShorbagy, but it was the 22-year-old Egyptian
who won the game 12-10 and then took the second 11-7.
The Englishman, known for his extraordinary fighting spirit, settled
himself in the third.
“I knew that I needed to re-set and focus on one point at a
time,” said the three time World Champion. “I was getting a little
upset early on, so I had to calm myself and just focus on playing.”
Matthew proceeded to take control of the last two games, winning
each at 11-6.
“It has been a while since I have had a win from 0-2 down, so it is
a good confidence boost for me.”
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Monday 11th Jan:
Men's Quarters (top), Women's Round Two
(bottom)
[7] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 3-0 [Q] Mariam Metwally (Egy)
11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (27m)
[4] Camille Serme (Fra) 3-1 [16] Emily Whitlock (Eng)
11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 13-11 (52m)
[5] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) 3-0 [15] Joshna Chinappa (Ind)
11-9, 11-3, 11-9 (25m)
[2] Nicol David
(Mas) 3-0 [9] Annie Au (Hkg)
11-2, 11-5, 11-7 (27m)
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (Egy) 3-1 [5] Omar Mosaad (Egy)
9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 12-10 (76m)
[7] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) 3-0 Borja Golan (Esp)
11-3, 13-11, 11-4 (42m) |
Photo
Gallery and Quarters Flipagram |
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Castagnet clinches semifinal ToC berth;
David
defeats Au
“I can still hardly believe it” said France’s Mathieu Castagnet
as
he was leaving the majestic confines of Vanderbilt Hall at Grand
Central Terminal in New York City, the site of the J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions and what will now be the Frenchman’s first
foray into a World Series semifinal.
 After little more than an hour
on court against Spain’s Borja Golan in the evening’s last
quarterfinal match, Castagnet emerged with a 3-0 victory over 19th
ranked Golan to make it, for the first time, to the penultimate
round of a PSA World Series event.
“I was so nervous for the entire match,” said Castagnet,”even when I
was up 9-1 in the third I wasn’t completely confident that I would
win. Borja has already been to a few World Series semis, and I never
have.”
Although he may have been battling the nerves in his head,
the Frenchman’s outward demeanor was calm and strong. After securing
the first game 11-8, Castagnet jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the
second. The strong-willed Golan fought back to even the score at
nine all and even had game ball at 11-10.
While his fiery opponent
questioned calls and made a string of errors, Castagnet played
steady, retrieving squash and recaptured the lead at 12-11 securing
the game 13-11. The third game was entirely Castagnet’s as he took
an insurmountable 9-1 lead before closing it out 11-4 to win the
match.
“Tomorrow I will spend all day finding a solution to ElShorbagy’s
game,” Castagnet said with a wide smile, referring to his semifinal
opponent Mohamed ElShorbagy, the defending champion and top seed.
 The world #1 faced off against countryman Omar Mosaad, the
tournament’s fifth seed. Two of the sports’ towering figures -
literally- (Mosaad is 6’3” and ElShorbagy is 6’1’), both men can
hammer the ball and cover a lot of court.
Mosaad snatched the first
game 11-9, and went up 8-4 in the second. ElShorbagy, whose
competitive drive has kept him at the top of the world rankings for
the 15 out of the last 16 months, roared back to win the next seven
points, tying the match at one game each. After ElShorbagy won the
third, 11-5, the two traded leads in the fourth until ElShorbagy
closed out the game- and match – 12-10.
 In women’s action, 2014 ToC champion and second seed Nicol David
was
on and off the court in 21 minutes with an 11-2, 11-5, 11-7 victory
over Hong Kong’s Annie Au.
“There is always a nice buzz here at the
ToC which is energizing,” said the eight-time world champion. “And
the crowds are incredibly knowledgeable, so it is really fun to play
here."
 Fun was also the order of the day for David’s semifinal opponent,
Omneya Abdel Kawy. The 30-year-old Egyptian eliminated India’s
Joshna Chinnappa in straight games, although Chinnapa drew close at
8-9 in the third before succumbing 9-11.
“I didn’t play all that
much in December,” said Kawy,”so I was really hungry to play when I
arrived in NYC, and I really enjoyed being on court today.”
Kawy found it helpful to be coached by three-time ToC champion and
countryman Amr Shabana, who is a hero to most Egyptian players.
“It gives me confidence when he is coaching me,” said Kawy.
“He has all
the experience and he knows when you need technical advice and when
you need some motivation. And he’s Amr Shabana watching me play, so
I feel I must win.”
 Rising English star Emily Whitlock extended Camille Serme to four games in their quarterfinal pairing, winning the third 11-8 before
Serme closed at the match 13-11 in the fourth.
Bolstered by an
enhanced confidence as a result winning the British Open last year,
Serme says that winning that prestigious title made her realize
that there was no reason she couldn’t win more of the sport's major
titles.
 Serme will need to defeat 20-year-old Nour El Sherbini, who
defeated qualifier Mariam Metwally 3-0, in their semifinal on
Wednesday before she can lay claim to a ToC
championship.
Play continues on Tuesday with the remaining two men's and all
four women';s quarter-finals. |
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