Worlds Update: Salazar Through Tough Battle With Reda

Mexican Cesar Salazar celebrated his 150th PSA World Tour match win by defeating Mohamed Reda in a gruelling first round encounter at the 2015 Men’s World Squash Championship in Bellevue, Washington earlier today.

The World No.28 took 72-minutes to see on the in-form World No.50, who has collected three PSA World Tour titles inside the past few months, in what was a dogged encounter that saw both men enjoying periods of domination.

Salazar prevailed in a tight first game to open up an early lead and looked on course for a straight-games win when he quickly added the second but Reda response din fashion, upping his level and playing with increased accuracy and patience to secure the third and fourth games.

The fifth was a cat-and-mouse affair with neither man willing to make any errors as they tested each others patience in a series of steady exchanges but it was Salazar who, despite wasting three match ball opportunities, who sealed it.

“The first match in a big tournament is always tough,” said Salazar.

“I got off to a good start, playing with lots of energy, but in the third and fourth he started to play short more, and I played slow and lost confidence.

“In the fifth I started to play again! I hit more passing shots, and he started to make some mistakes. It was important to win the first points in that game. I regained my confidence.”

Result:
Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt [Q] Mohamed Reda (EGY) 3-2: 13-11, 11-6, 7-11, 4-11, 11-8 (72m)