Rodriguez Battles Past Waller To Ensure Top Four Seeds Reach Motor City Open Semi-Finals

Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez battled past No.7 seed Adrian Waller in a hard-fought four-game encounter to ensure that the top four seeds all progressed to the Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open semi-finals.

In the pair’s first meeting on the PSA Tour since 2014, it was Rodriguez who showed all of his experience to claim key points at crucial junctures in the match, in what was an otherwise even contest.

After trading points in the opening game on their way up to a 9-9 scoreline, it was Waller who blinked first, hitting a backhand volley drop into the tin when well placed to win the rally. Rodriguez took the subsequent game ball at the first time of asking and again moved away towards the latter stages of the second to double his lead.

As Rodriguez began to lose his lines early in the third, Waller took the initiative, closing off his opponent’s cross-court options and punishing any balls which fell short in the court. The Englishman reduced the deficit by taking the third 11-9 and went toe-to-toe with Rodriguez up to 7-7 in the fourth. However, from there, it was the 38-year-old who claimed four consecutive points to close out the match and walk off court after 56 minutes of action.

After the match, Rodriguez said: “He has been playing very good recently, he is very solid and he likes to play a high pace and low on the front wall. He reached very easily to my cross-courts so I was very aware of my cross-courts today. Overall though, I think I played much better than yesterday, the pace and accuracy of my shots were much better.

“I think in the third game I was leaving the ball too much in the middle of the service box on his forehand, and he was hitting winners from there. Credit to him because he fought back and he was next to me in the score in every game, but in the end of each game I managed to do something different and that was the difference in the match.”

Rodriguez’s opponent in the last four, Paul Coll, didn’t have it all his own way in his clash against lucky loser Rui Soares, despite eventually prevailing in straight games.

The World No.3 started the match strongly, finding a consistent length on the traditional court at the Birmingham Athletic Club and racing into a 9-5 lead. However, a broken string on Coll’s racket was a catalyst for a Soares comeback. The World No.60 rattled off five straight points to hold a game ball, but Coll remained composed to eventually take fight-back and take the subsequent tie-break by a 15-13 scoreline.

The New Zealand No.1 continued to trade points with Soares early in the second, but moved through the gears at the business end of the game to double his lead in the match. From there, the physical efforts exerted by Soares earlier in the match started to tell, with Coll happy to pin his opponent to the back two corners before cutting the ball in short, eventually finishing off the match after 35 minutes of action.

“Rui was a good with the racket, he hit a few winners, and I left the ball short on a few too many occasions,” Coll said following his victory. “I wanted to focus on playing how I wanted to play throughout the tournament and keep building on yesterday.

“I was up 9-5 in the first and I was a little annoyed that I let him back in, I just had to sort of keep my focus after that. I got a bit sloppy there after I broke my string and I lost concentration and let him back in. He’s got good racket skills, so I had to be on my mettle.”

Meanwhile, No.1 seed Diego Elias continued his quest for a fourth consecutive final thanks to a commanding victory over No.6 seed Nicolas Mueller.

The ‘Peruvian Puma’ flew out of the blocks, unsettling Mueller in fast-paced rallies and racing into an early 6-1 lead, which was subsequently converted into the first game. Although Mueller threw everything at his opponent in the second, including an eye-catching behind-the-back shot which drew applause from those in attendance, it was Elias who kept his cool at the business end of the second to double his advantage.

From there, Elias moved from strength to strength, forcing the Swiss player into some brutal movements and taking the third 11-5 to record his 12th consecutive win at the Motor City Open.

After booking his spot in the last four, Elias said: “I’m very happy to win again today in three. It was a very tough match, very fast-paced. With Nicky it is always fun to play him and get through.

“It’s always difficult if you give him the first few points in games like that, so I just wanted to start really strongly and I’m very happy I did that.”

Former finalist at the Motor City Open, Fares Dessouky, will be the man charged with trying to break Elias’ incredible winning streak in Detroit after claiming an impressive straight-game victory over compatriot and No.5 seed Mohamed ElSherbini.

The World No.15 dropped just 15 points on his way to an 11-3, 11-8, 11-4 victory in just 33 minutes of action.

“I’m happy to be in the semi-finals again because I love this tournament,” Dessouky said after the match. “ElSherbini is a very good friend of mine and he is playing unbelievably well these days.

“It was a very tricky match so I had to keep my focus and I am happy with the way I played today. A quick start is very important in any match, but especially when playing an Egyptian because it will be tight and you never know what will happen the next point. You have to keep pushing hard until the match is done.”

Day four of action from the Motor City Open commences at 17:00 (GMT-5) on Saturday, 3rd February, with every second of action available to watch live on SQUASHTV. For more information on the Motor City Open, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. 

Results: Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open Quarter-Finals

[4] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt [5] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-4 (33m)

[1] Diego Elias (PER) bt [6] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-5 (30m)

[3] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt [7] Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7 (56m)

[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Rui Soares (POR) 3-0: 15-13, 11-7, 11-6 (35m)

Draw: Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open Semi-Finals

[1] Diego Elias (PER) v [4] Fares Dessouky (EGY)

[2] Paul Coll (NZL) v [3] Miguel Rodriguez (COL)