Pittsburgh Open: Mosaad, Ghosal, Marche & Dessouky Through To Semi-Finals

The quartet of Fares Dessouky, Gregoire Marche, Omar Mosaad and Saurav Ghosal all booked their places in the semi-finals of the Pittsburgh Open last night.

It was Mosaad, the former World No.3, that survived the toughest test, as he came up against compatriot Mohamed ElSherbini, the World No.47 who had already knocked out the No.3 seed Zahed Salem earlier in this tournament.

Mosaad may have won 3-0, but it took the World No.16 77 minutes to do so, needing two lengthy tie-breaks to take the lead in the match, with the first going through to 15-13, as he went 1-0 up in the match.

The second was even longer, though. Both men had several game balls as it went all the way through to a 19-17 scoreline, and with Mosaad able to eventually get over the line, he carried that momentum into the third game, securing the victory to book his place in the last four of the PSA World Tour Bronze event.

The Egyptian will now face the tournament’s No.2 seed, Saurav Ghosal, in the semi-finals, after the Indian came through his clash with Mexican Cesar Salazar, also in straight games.

Unlike Mosaad, though, the World No.13 needed no tie-breaks to get the job done, winning out 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 in just 40 minutes, to make his way through to the semi finals.

The tournament’s No.1 seed, Fares Dessouky, also made his way through to the semi-finals, dispatching New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson after a well-fought four game battle in the opening match of the evening’s action.

He took the first 11-6, but saw the Kiwi No.2 battle back to the level the match after winning the second game. However, Dessouky kicked into another gear, and won both the third and fourth games 11-7 to advance through to the semis.

He will now face defending champion Gregoire Marche in the last four, with the Frenchman getting the better of No.8 seed Raphael Kandra, the pair meeting for the third time on the PSA World Tour.

Marche took a two-game lead in the match, dropping just 11 points across the opening two stanza , but the German No.2 fought his way back into the clash, but taking the third game on a tie-break 12-10.

However, Marche’s title defence continued, as he secured the victory in four games, taking the fourth after dropping just three points in it, advancing through to the semis where he will take on Dessouky.

Results – Quarter-Finals: Pittsburgh Open
[1] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt [7] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-1: 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7 (62m)
[4] Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt [8] Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-1: 11-3, 11-8, 10-12, 11-3 (56m)
[5] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-0: 15-13, 19-17, 11-8 (77m)
[2] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [6] Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (40m)

Draw – Semi-Finals: Pittsburgh Open
[1] Fares Dessouky (EGY) v [4] Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[5] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [2] Saurav Ghosal (IND)