RESULTS: JP Morgan Tournament of Champions, New York, USA
Qualifying finals:
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 9-11, 11-4, 11-4, 12-10 (53m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Mohammed Abbas (EGY) w/o
Yasser El Halaby (EGY) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 11-8, 11-9, 11-2 (33m)
Bernardo Samper (COL) bt Stephane Galifi (ITA) 11-13, 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 (57m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Scott Arnold (AUS) 12-10, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 (68m)
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Chris Walker (ENG) 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 (50m)
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Yasir Butt (PAK) 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 (46m)
Shaun le Roux (ENG) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 11-3, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9 (74m)
Princeton University graduate Yasser El Halaby and Trinity college alum Bernardo Samper both earned tickets to ride into the main draw of the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions with victories in the qualifying finals of the $97,500 PSA World Tour squash event in New York, the opening event of the 2010 PSA Super Series.
Egyptian El Halaby, who now resides in New York City, was precise and prescient, reading his opponent’s shots with consistent accuracy, in his straight games victory over Frenchman Gregoire Marche. For Samper, a native of Colombia who resides in New York, it was tough and steadfast retrieving that resulted in a four-game victory over Italian Stephane Galifi.
It was a trio of firsts for Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller, Scotland’s Alan Clyne and England’s Adrian Waller, all on their first trip to New York City, qualifying for the first time for the Tournament of Champions and a PSA Super Series event. Adrian Waller battled for 68 minutes before succumbing to Australia’s Scott Arnold.
"It was a lively court, so I had to wait a little while before I started attacking," said Waller after the match. "Scott hits the ball quite cleanly and I had to get him out of his rhythm." Clyne beat Pakistan's Yasir Butt in three-game victory over.
Mueller dropped the first game to hometown favourite Christopher Gordon. After staying neck and neck to nine-all, Gordon took the game 11-9. "I stepped up the pace considerably in the second and third games," said Mueller, winning them 11-4, 11-4. "In the fourth we had several ridiculously long rallies, and when I was down 9-10, I played the best shot of my life," he continued, recounting the path to the 12-10 final game win that propelled the Swiss player into a main draw first round match against five-time US national champion Julian Illingworth.
Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly quelled the competitive fire of the draw’s oldest competitor, defeating Englishman Chris Walker in three lively games. England’s Shaun Le Roux logged the most court time in his 74-minute defeat of New Zealand’s higher-ranked Campbell Grayson while Mathieu Castagnet logged no court time when his opponent Mohammed Abbas withdrew due to injury.
Also in his first foray in the Tournament of Champions, the Frenchman will meet world No1 Ramy Ashour in the first round. Cuskelly, who reached the second round of the ToC two years ago, will face England's world No2 Nick Matthew in his opening ToC match.
Updated 1st round draw:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Gilly Lane (USA)
[12] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) v [Q] Yasser El Halaby (EGY)
[7] David Palmer (AUS) v Aaron Frankcomb (AUS)
[11] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v [Q] Adrian Waller (ENG)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY)
[9] Alister Walker (ENG) v Amr Swelim (ITA)
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) v [Q] Shaun le Roux (ENG)
[13] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY)
[16] Renan Lavigne (FRA) v Simon Rosner (GER)
[8] Wael El Hindi (EGY) v Mark Krajcsak (HUN)
[10] Stewart Boswell (AUS) v Rafael F Alarcon (BRA)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
[15] Julian Illingworth (USA) v [Q] Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
[5] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [Q] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[14] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) v [Q] Bernardo Samper (COL)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [Q] Alan Clyne (SCO)