Tournament of Champions RD1: Castagnet Dominant Against Salazar

France’s former World No.6 Mathieu Castagnet staged an impeccable performance to down Mexico’s World No.43 Arturo Salazar in straight-games in the opening round of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions.

The Frenchman was in imperious form from the outset as he overcame a difficult first game to then dominate in the second and third and close out an 11-7, 11-2, 11-3 in 26 minutes and advance to the second round.

Castagnet will face either Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng or England’s George Parker in the second round tomorrow.

“My last calf injury was eight or nine months ago,” said Castagnet following his win. “So, I’m starting to be more relaxed and I don’t want to think about the injury anymore. I’m really happy with the way I played today.

“Every day is different. A few weeks ago we lost in the semi-finals of the Men’s Team World Championship and I had a tough loss against Declan James, where I couldn’t even see the ball. Today is a new day and I had some good anticipation, I can’t really say I’m working on it but I must have had a good Christmas and I just want to play, so maybe that makes the difference.

“The French team are all really close friends, even if we are competing on the court, I’m really happy to see Gregory [Gaultier] back on the court and I think he will enjoy being here and it’s great to see the French players here.”

Result:
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Arturo Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-3 (26m)