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Gordon Defeats Harrity In Tournament of Champions Wildcard Playoff

8 January 2020

Queens native Christopher Gordon upset U.S. teammate and World No.55 Todd Harrity in the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions men’s wild card playoff final to secure his first appearance on the glass court in Grand Central since 2009.

Last month, Gordon and Harrity represented Team USA together at the WSF Men’s World Team Championship in Washington, DC. The two Americans had never faced each other on the PSA World Tour before entering the wild card playoff, and Harrity had won their last three match ups in the U.S. Men’s Championship since 2014.

Gordon, the World No.91, took an early 7-4 lead in the first game, but Harrity rebounded to win seven of the next eight points and take the first 11-8. The twenty-nine-year-old Princeton graduate appeared to have full momentum in the second, speeding to a 6-1 lead.

It was the thirty-three-year-old veteran who then put together a streak and come back to take the second 11-9. After Gordon earned a 2-1 advantage, Harrity was on the verge of forcing a fifth game with four game balls up 10-6 in the fourth. Gordon then pulled off another remarkable comeback, fighting off four game balls and clinching the wild card spot 13-11 in the fourth after fifty-four minutes.

Gordon, who grew up in Manhattan and reached a career high ranking of World No.44 in May 2013, last appeared on the glass court in Vanderbilt Hall against Ramy Ashour in 2009.

“I’m so happy to get through. One of the main reasons I’m a professional squash player is because of this event. Growing up and watching it was such a huge motivation for me,” Gordon said.

“It was always my dream to play on the court in Grand Central, and I honestly thought I might not get another chance in my career. So to manage to win against a player who I don’t have a very good record against is really nice.”

The American will close out the evening session of the first day against Australia’s World No.24 Ryan Cuskelly at 20:30 local time (GMT-5). Gordon and Cuskelly have faced each other seven times on the PSA World Tour and the Australian leads the head-to-head 5-2.

J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions Men’s Wildcard Playoff Final
Chris Gordon (USA) bt Todd Harrity (USA) 3-1: 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 13-11 (54m)

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