Motor City Open: Grayson Stuns Elias in Round One

New Zealand qualifier Campbell Grayson stunned Peru’s Diego Elias as he knocked out the World No.10 in round one of the Suburban Collection Motor City Open.

World No.41 Grayson – who saw off Egypt’s Karim El Hammamy and Jamaica’s Christopher Binnie in qualification – battled back from two games down and saved matchball in the third to overcome the number four seed – who started to suffer with an injury late on in the third.

Elias had been battling a hamstring issue since November but recently made his return to action at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions, however, Grayson fought for every point and showed plenty of determination on court to see out a 9-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-8 win.

“I could sort of see him drop off a little bit towards the end of the third,” said Grayson.

“With his limp and everything that sort of spirited me up a little bit to get that game. Once I got there, I knew I was in.

“I had three tournaments in a row where I was in a position to beat top 20 players and I lost them all. I’ve had so many close matches this season and to finally get the win feels great.”

The Kiwi will now face Switzerland’s World No.24 Nicolas Mueller in the quarter-finals after he overcame English qualifier Richie Fallows in straight-games to ensure a safe passage through.

Hong Kong’s Leo Au also enjoyed a big win as he defeated Egypt’s Mazen Hesham in a testing five-game encounter. Au found himself two games down but was able to fight off match balls and fatigue in the third to gut out a 3-2 win over the Egyptian.

Au will now face top seed Marwan ElShorbagy with the Egyptian comfortably through in round one with a 3-1 win over Mexican qualifier Arturo Salazar in 42 minutes.

Second seed Paull Coll also had a comfortable evening as he defeated English qualifier Nathan Lake in straight games and will now line up against defending champion Ryan Cuskelly for a place in the semi-finals.

Australia’s Cuskelly started his title defence strongly as he downed France’s Gregoire Marche by a 12-10, 11-7, 11-1 scoreline.

Colombian cannonball Miguel Angel Rodriguez also guided his way through to the quarter-finals as he overturned a one-game deficit to win 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9 in 51 minutes. The Colombian will take on Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar in the next round after he defeated Scotland’s Alan Clyne in straight-games.

You can follow all of the live scores from the tournament here.

Results – Round One
[3] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 13-11 (36m)
[8] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt [Q] Richie Fallows (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (38m)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [6] Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-1: 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9 (51m)
[7] Leo Au (HKG) bt Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 13-11 (85m)
[5] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-0: 12-10, 11-7, 11-1 (47m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [Q] Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 (46m)
[Q] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt [4] Diego Elias (PER) 3-2: 9-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-4, 11-8 (77m)
[1] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [Q] Arturo Salazar (MEX) 3-1: 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 12-10 (42m)

Draw – Quarter-finals
[3] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[7] Leo Au (HKG) v [1] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) v [5] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
[8] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v [Q] Campbell Grayson (NZL)