Doha: Qualifier Ryan Cuskelly and world no.1 Mohamed El Shorbagy took contrasting routes to make it to the semi-finals of the Qatar Classic Squash Tournament.
Yesterday at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex Cuskelly wrote his name into the squash history books by becoming the first male player in fifteen years to come through qualification and progress all the way to the semi-finals of a PSA World Series tournament.
The 28-year-old continued his recent red-hot form at the 2015 Qatar Classic as he came from two-games down to record an unlikely victory over World No.5 Miguel Angel Rodriguez which sees him through to the last four where he will now face El Shorbagy for a place in the title-decider.
El Shorbagy produced a dominant performance against Hong Kong’s Max Lee, winning through in straight-games in just 36 minutes.
On his favoured court, where he won his first ever World Series title in 2013 and where reached the finals of both the 2012 and 2014 World Championships, the powerful Egyptian played with a ferocious pace throughout as he utilised his on-court aggression to move into the semi-finals relatively unopposed and boost his hopes of winning a ford World Series title since lifting the Allam British Open in May.
A second Egyptian, Mazen Hesham also made it to the last four stage
For Hesham, it will be a debut appearance in the last four of a PSA World Series tournament today when he takes to court in Doha. The 21-year-old Egyptian sharp-shooter came through in straight-games against best friend and compatriot Ali Farag in a thoroughly entertaining encounter that was played in the best of spirits with dynamic rallies, outrageous winners and sportsmanship personified throughout the 42-minute battle.
The unorthodox World No.21 though proved to have too much this time around for his 23-year-old compatriot as he capitalised on every opportunity presented to him by the recent Harvard graduate to move through 11-8, 12-10, 11-8.
Hesham will take on Gregory Gautlier in the semis today.
In the last quarter-final, experienced campaigner Gaultier halted the Egyptian Juggernaut.
The Frenchman rallied from behind to down Karim Abdel Gawad to qualify for the last four stage. Gaultier looked off colour as he struggled to find any momentum early on in the encounter as he put in an under-par performance which Gawad capitalised on, prodding some of his best squash to surge ahead and take the opening two games.
But the Frenchman’s body language changed when he came on court for the third and he started to find his range, displaying the athleticism which had been lacking in the previous exchanges. It spelt bad news for Gawad as the World No.3’s second wind saw him level the match at two games apiece and in the fifth it was all French traffic as the effects of an 81-minute encounter with Greg Marche began to tell on the legs of Gawad and Gaultier steamed home 7-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-6.
In the women’s section, Malaysian World No.2 Nicol David put in one of the most dominant performances of the tournament to dismiss Hong Kong’s Annie Au, the World No.10, in just 23 minutes to move into the semi-finals.
David will take on Nour El Sherbini in the semis.
The Egyptian booked a berth in the semi-finals with an impressive 3-1 win over Camille Serme of France. In the second semi-final, Omneya Abdel Kawy of Egypt will square to Laura Massaro of England.
The Peninsula
