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El Gouna & Women’s Worlds – DAY Four: AS IT HAPPENS
Follow us here for reports and reaction from day four of the Men’s El Gouna International Squash Open and the PSA Women’s World Championship.
Round two action draws to a close today, with a host of exciting matches on the cards.
You can watch the action LIVE on SQUASHTV and Eurosport Player from 18:30 local time (EET).
Not able to watch? Check out our live scoring page
Here’s the Order of Play for SQUASHTV & Eurosport Player
(All times are local EET)
18:30 [3] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v Olivia Blatchford (USA)
19:15 Fares Dessouky (EGY) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
20:00 [13] Emily Whitlock (ENG) v [2] Camille Serme (FRA)
20:45 Borja Golan (ESP) v [2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Massaro Comes Through King Test in Four – Chinappa Downs Waters
2013 World Champion Laura Massaro moved through to the quarter-finals of the Orascom Development PSA Women’s World Championship after the World No.2 overcame Joelle King in a tight four-game encounter.
33-year-old Massaro, who last month became the first female English player since 1951 to lift two British Open titles, hit consistent lines to go two games to the good, with her dominance on the backhand side in particular seeing her seize the initiative against an out of sorts King, who hit a number of errors early on.
But a drop in intensity from Massaro saw King fight back in the third game and she raised the consistency of her game to great effect, pulling away from 3-3 to take it 11-5.
The fourth game saw both players try to twist and turn each other in a bid to come out on top, with King building up a game ball to put herself within one point of restoring parity.
However, she was unable to convert and a steely Massaro drew on her renowned mental strength to prevail, taking her second match ball to close out an 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11 victory in 50 minutes.
“The fourth was really close and I felt like I had pulled away a bit, but then she ended up coming back really well and I was in a little bit of a battle really,” said Massaro.
“It’s quite hot on there and it’s quite bouncy being on a plaster court. I think I started quite well. Joelle was a little bit off at the beginning but she began to up her game a little bit. I felt like she started hitting to my forehand a little bit more and was keeping it off my backhand.
“It took me a little while to rejig my plan a little bit and try and figure that out. I was perhaps a little bit edgy towards the end more than anything, it was a tough draw for me to play her in the last 16 on a plaster court.
“Joelle is such a good player, she’s so physical and I’m just pleased to get through that in the end.”
Either 2014 World Championship runner-up Raneem El Welily or United States No.2 Olivia Blatchford will await Massaro in the last eight, with the Englishwoman defeating Egypt’s El Welily en route to her British Open triumph just over a fortnight ago.
With Blatchford in fine fettle after a strong run of form that has seen her reach the world’s top 20 for the first time though, Massaro conceded that an upset could be on the cards in her match with El Welily.
“Olivia is playing really well, so I might go down and watch that match later,” the Lancastrian continued.
“If Raneem wins, it’s another rematch. It’s a tough quarter-final for both of us. It’s a World Championship quarter-final, we’ve played a lot of big quarters, semis and finals and I think we’ll both generally feel that the pressure is off going into that match.
“It’s down to whoever can play their best on the day, but with the way that Olivia has been playing as well, there’s every chance that there could be another upset there.”
Indian No.1 Joshna Chinappa also earned her place in the next round courtesy of a dramatic 3-2 victory over England’s World No.9 Alison Waters.
Chinappa, who saw compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik bow out of the tournament in round one to eight-time World Champion Nicol David, recovered from 2-1 down to take it 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9 in 66 minutes.
Either World No.3 Camille Serme or World No.13 Emily Whitlock will await Chinappa for a place in the semi-finals.
“It was intense from the beginning. I definitely had some chances in the third game, especially to try and win that, but I hit a lot of errors in that game particularly.
“Alison’s so solid and she is where she is because of the results that she’s had. I knew I had a chance to win today, but I had to play out of skin to beat her.
“A lot of things came together for me today. I came into this tournament just thinking about things match-by-match, I will be playing the winner of Camille [Serme] and Emily [Whitlock]. Let’s see how that goes. I’m just going to enjoy my rest and not think about anything else.”
Result
[5] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [9] Joelle King (NZL) 3-1: 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11 (50m)
[12] Joshna Chinappa (IND) bt [8] Alison Waters (ENG) 3-2: 11-5, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9 (66m)
Elias Ousts Salazar to Reach Maiden World Series Quarter-Final While Rösner Beats Fathi
Peruvian World No.22 Diego Elias claimed a place in the quarter-finals of a World Series tournament for the first time in his fledgling career after triumphing in a highly-entertaining clash with Mexico’s Cesar Salazar at the El Gouna International Squash Open.
The duo – roommates for this tournament – played some fast and furious squash, with only the odd error punctuating what was a free-flowing and exciting contest between the two Latin American players.
Elias, the 20-year-old two-time World Junior Champion who stunned World No.6 Ali Farag in round one, sent Salazar into all four corners of the court with regularity to come back from 8-5 down in the first two games, with Salazar’s impressive retrieval skills keeping Elias at arm’s length until the Peruvian edged ahead to take it 11-9.
Salazar came within a point of levelling the encounter in the second, only to squander a game ball, with Elias taking it 13-11 on the tie-break before erupting with a passionate roar.
The momentum was all with Elias in the third game as he took the first five points in succession, eventually recording an 11-4 victory to earn his place in the last eight – where he will face either Egypt’s Fares Dessouky or Australian No.1 Ryan Cuskelly.
“I was 8-5 down in the first two games, so those two could have gone either way, and this match could have gone to him in five too. It was so tough and it’s so hard to play not only a good friend, but also your room mate.
“Cesar gets everything on the court, he retrieves everything, and he is everywhere. My game plan was to use the lob to try and slow it down, but I didn’t managed to do that until the 3rd, and it was working well.
“What made me retrieve all of his shots is determination. I have been losing in first round and second round matches that I should have won. I have been training very hard, I am now ready for long matches, long rallies. It doesn’t matter if a match goes to five, I am ready. So I can play those intense rallies because I trust my fitness, and I know I can recover.
“It’s my first time ever in the quarters. I will be playing or Fares, or Ryan. I have played both of them, and although I know it will be hard, I know also I have a chance.
“Last year, I lost in the qualifying, so I didn’t like El Gouna that much. But now, I’m getting my best result ever here, so I am liking it a lot!”
Meanwhile, German World No.10 Simon Rösner joined Elias in the last eight after the tall 29-year-old got the better of Karim Ali Fathi.
Rösner has been playing some fine squash in recent months and he was in the ascendancy against Fathi from the first point, taking it 11-4, 11-6, 11-8.
Rösner will face either World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad or Spain’s former World No.5 Borja Golan for a place in the semi-finals.
“I made sure I was not playing too early to the front, because he is very good there, and also in the middle of the court, any length in the middle and the rally is over,” Rösner said.
“I played fast and took the time away from him, but waited for the right opportunity before taking him to the front. ”He has had some good results, he beat [Omar Abdel] Meguid, Cameron [Pilley] and Saurav [Ghosal] in recent months, so he must be doing something good. I came prepared, and it worked out in the end.”
Result
Diego Elias (PER) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-9, 13-11, 11-4 (51m)
[8] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [Q] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-8 (38m)
Sharpshooting El Welily Breezes Into Quarters
 bt Olivia Blatchford (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-1 (24m)</p>
<p><strong>Dessouky Defeats Cuskelly to Set Up Elias Clash</strong>“></p>
<p>20170410200324_Dessouky-ElGouna_RD2.JPG?x=-1&y=-38&w=612&o=608</p>
<p>Egyptian World No.9 Fares Dessouky moved into the last eight stage courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Australian No.1 Ryan Cuskelly.</p>
<p>Dessouky, who reached the semi-finals of the World Series tournament last year, caused one of the biggest shocks of the tournament in round one with a superb scalp over three-time World Champion Nick Matthew and he picked up where left off against ‘The Wolf’ to come through in straight games against Cuskelly.</p>
<p>The 22-year-old from Alexandria hit a number of errors towards the early and latter stages of a scrappy first game, but ultimately prevailed after dominating the middle of the court to come back from 9-7 down.</p>
<p>Dessouky also got the better of the man from Australia in the second courtesy of some accurate squash, before a six-minute third-game blitz from World No.14 Cuskelly saw him halve the deficit for the loss of just a single point.</p>
<p>A fine start from Dessouky in the fourth saw him soar to an 8-3 lead, only to have Cuskelly fire back at him to come to within two points of the Egyptian. But Dessouky held his nerve to see the win out, ensuring he will take on two-time World Junior Champion Diego Elias in the next round.</p>
<p>“I lost concentration in the match a couple of times,” Dessouky admitted. </p>
<p>“I didn’t start well today then from 9-7 at the end, I started playing well and I won the first game 11-9. In the second, I played really well, I was focused, then I lost concentration again in the third.</p>
<p>“I went off court and said to myself that I had to give it everything, I had to win the game. He wasn’t going to give me any cheap points to grab the win.</p>
<p>“It will be a good match [against Elias], we’re always playing tough matches and everyone will be waiting for this battle, so I hope to enjoy it as well.”</p>
<p><strong>Result</strong><br />
Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 3-1: 11-9, 11-7, 1-11, 11-8 (60m)</p>
<p><strong>Serme Makes it Four World Champs Quarter-Finals on the Bounce</strong></p>
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World No.3 Camille Serme progressed to the last eight of the PSA Women’s World Championship for the fourth successive year after she overcame England’s Emily Whitlock in their round two clash.
World No.13 Whitlock reached a first ever World Series quarter-final at last month’s Allam British Open – claiming a memorable win over former World No.3 Alison Waters – but the 23-year-old from Colwyn Bay was unable to live with Serme’s unrelenting volleying in El Gouna.
The Frenchwoman, seeded second for the tournament, began in a confident manner, taking the ball early to crash in a series of punishing backhand volleys and punishing any loose shots from Whitlock in clinical fashion.
After taking a comfortable two-game lead, Serme built up six match balls and converted at the second attempt to move through to the quarter-finals – where she will face Indian No.1 Joshna Chinappa.
“I knew she beat Alison at the British Open, so I was focused from the start and didn’t want to give her any hope. I came into the match with a clear tactical plan.
“Joshna is a very powerful girl, she hits the ball really hard and I think on that court with the wind it might be tricky to try lobs and shots like that because the ball can go out easily.
“I’ll enjoy my rest tonight and tomorrow and then I will really focus on Wednesday. In the meantime, I will have a look at the last match she played on SQUASHTV and then come up with a plan.”
Result
[2] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [13] Emily Whitlock (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (30m)
Gawad Avenges Windy City Open Defeat to Golan
World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad overcame Spain’s former World No.5 Borja Golan to keep his El Gouna International title challenge on track.
Golan claimed a memorable victory over Gawad in the last eight of February’s Windy City Open, which put a big dent in Gawad’s assault on the World No.1 spot.
Gawad, who will become the new World No.1 if he reaches the final or if Gaultier doesn’t, was off the pace at the beginning of the match as Golan took the opener, but the ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ woke up in the second, dropping just one point to level.
A quick fire start from Golan saw him go 4-0 up in the third, but Gawad improved once more, taking the third 11-8 before dropping just five points in the fourth game to earn his place in the last eight, where German No.1 Simon Rösner awaits.
Fist pump from @Karimsamy91 after he comes out on top in a thrilling rally with @golansquash pic.twitter.com/nyzl6785ys
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) April 10, 2017
“I didn’t play my best in the last couple of tournaments, so mentally I really needed to focus in this tournament,” Gawad said.
“I needed to have a good start in the beginning, especially against Borja. I just played him [in the Windy City Open] and lost to him in Chicago and, for me, he’s one of the toughest players to play.
“I suffer playing my attacking game against him because he has very good counter-drops at the front of the court.
“Mentally, I just wanted to have a good start today, I wanted to win today and I wanted to keep the performance that I’ve had since August.
“I’m really glad to get through to the quarters here, especially in Egypt.”
Since claiming the World Championship crown back in November, Gawad stepped up his superb form to add the Qatar Classic – his first World Series title – and the prestigious Tournament of Champions titles to his growing collection.
His defeat to Golan has started a slight blip in form of late though and the 25-year-old admits that his status as the man to beat has left him feeling the pressure.
“Even when I was playing in the World Championship final, I was chilling out with my friends before my match, laughing and joking,” said the World No.2.
“Now, you go on court and you are under a lot of pressure. The guy playing you, of course he wants to win, but he also just wants to play the best he can.
“In the last couple of tournaments I was under a lot of pressure and couldn’t play my best.
I’m still learning and I will learn until the last day of my career. The World No.1 spot is a dream for me, but I’ve started not to think about it.
“I just want to play my best in each match, in each tournament. I’m just focused to win and focused on playing the best squash I can. If it doesn’t come now, then hopefully it will come one day.”
Result
[2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 3-1: 9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-5 (61m)
