Rooney sinks No.2 seed Marwan ElShorbagy as Hutton halts Nadine Shahin
By ALAN THATCHER and ELLIE MAWSON
England’s Patrick Rooney achieved the most important win of his profession to achieve the quarter-finals of the Manchester Open by beating No.2 seed Marwan ElShorbagy. And Jasmine Hutton reached the final eight of the ladies’s competitors by toppling No.5 seed Nadine Shain.
World No.26 Rooney battled his means again from 2-1 down in opposition to World No.7 ElShorbagy and was roared on by the house crowd to say an exhilarating five-game victory in 59 minutes on the Nationwide Squash Centre.
It’s not usually {that a} Merseysider will get cheered in Manchester however a delighted Rooney, 24, admitted: “That’s my greatest scalp so far. Getting in right now, I didn’t suppose I used to be out of depth, I assumed I may win. I attempted my finest to play good squash and had a great first sport.
“I misplaced my size a bit within the second and third and you may’t do this in opposition to a participant that good and he put me away for it. However I managed to regain my composure and get again in it.
“[The tempo] felt fairly comfy during that. We’re each actually good at controlling the ball and controlling the center, so each time both of us play a free shot it felt beneath stress instantly. It was backwards and forwards the entire means via. I’m simply pleased to maintain it collectively in direction of the tip.”
Up subsequent for Rooney might be Germany’s Raphael Kandra after he obtained the higher of France’s Lucas Serme on glass courtroom two on the Nationwide Squash Centre to advance to the final eight.
The shocks to the seedings continued to come back within the males’s draw with veteran Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet, who has mentioned he’ll retire on the finish of the season, besting India’s World No.17 Saurav Ghosal in straight-games.
Castagnet, recognized for his attritional type, set to work on narrowing down the angles of Ghosal and retaining the Indian buried within the again corners to take the primary sport 11-9 in quarter-hour.
The World No.40 continued to frustrate Ghosal as he stored his focus all through to absorb any of his opponent’s assaults to e book 1 / 4 last place.
“I’m so pleased to be via,” mentioned Castagnet afterwards. “Saurav is such a great participant. He’s nonetheless struggling a bit with an harm, so he wasn’t fully at his finest. I simply tried to maintain my focus and never let him transfer me round. So total pleased to be via.”
Castagnet will come up in opposition to former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad for a spot within the semi-finals after the Egyptian defeated USA’s Shahjahan Khan earlier within the day.
High seed Mohamed ElShorbagy navigated his means via a difficult second spherical encounter with France’s Victor Crouin.
The pair had solely met as soon as on Tour earlier than, with Crouin but to take a sport from the Egyptian, however he did so to begin this match, as he hit nice line and size and stayed in entrance of the previous World No.1.
ElShorbagy bounced again shortly, to win the second 11-3, however he then needed to battle his means via the third sport, saving sport balls en path to a tie-break victory, which he took 14-12. The ‘Beast of Alexandria’ was then in a position to clinch the spoils, profitable the fourth 11-6 to e book his spot within the quarter finals, the place he’ll face good pal and coaching accomplice Eain Yow Ng.
“It positively has not been the most effective season in my profession,” the World No.3 mentioned afterwards. “I got here right here and I needed to change my mentality, to benefit from the sport once more, and to recollect why I play the sport. As a result of I’ve gained a lot in my profession, after I began dropping, I forgot why I play the game, so as soon as I obtained too excited at the start of the match, you neglect the way you need to play.”
Within the girls’s draw, England’s Jasmine Hutton led the upsets to the seedings on an entertaining day of motion as she axed No.5 seed Nadine Shahin to arrange an all-English quarter last with Sarah-Jane Perry.
Hutton was barely sluggish off the mark as Shahin thundered drives and kills previous the Englishwoman to take the primary sport 11-8. Hutton responded in type, nevertheless, as she began to twist and switch the Egyptian leaving her struggling to give you a response as she went on to say one of many greatest wins of her profession.
“I’m actually pleased with my efficiency. That’s most likely my greatest win on the tour to this point,” mentioned Hutton.
“I began very frantically within the first sport and simply obtained fully dragged into enjoying her type. I attempted to combine it up and sluggish it down as a result of she likes to hit actually arduous and quick and he or she was simply throughout me at occasions.
“As soon as I obtained myself in entrance, I began to really feel so much higher and assured and I’m simply actually pleased to be via to 1 / 4 last. I did effectively on the British Open, however this looks like extra of a breakthrough as a result of it’s the quarter finals.”
Her opponent within the final eight might be prime seed Perry after she battled her well beyond Egypt’s Yathreb Adel to come back from a sport all the way down to advance in her first match on the Nationwide Squash Centre after receiving a bye in spherical one.
“I used to be so patchy right now. Typically, whenever you’re enjoying somebody as skilful as Yathreb, if you will get on prime of them and hold that stress on, you can begin to run away with it,” Perry mentioned.
“Sadly, I used to be too patchy and he or she is just too good to let that occur. You noticed anytime I didn’t put that ball within the nook, she was simply slotting it away. Greater than something, I’m simply pleased to get via that.”
Malaysia’s World No.29 Aifa Azman added to the shock victories on day two as she took out England’s World No.20 Lucy Turmel in an entertaining five-game battle to advance.
Azman secured her place within the final 16 after receiving a walkover resulting from Scotland’s Georgia Adderley being pressured to withdraw earlier than the PSA Silver occasion obtained began. And the Malaysian made essentially the most of her additional day of preparation as she fought her means again from 2-0 all the way down to arrange 1 / 4 last match with No.2 seed Joelle King.
“I began actually slowly in that match,” mentioned Azman afterwards. “As a result of I used to be anticipating to play yesterday after which didn’t find yourself enjoying it form of threw me barely. However I’m total pleased that I managed to get again to sport plan and recover from the road.”
In her match, King managed to carry off a comeback from Egyptian teenager Sana Ibrahim to safe a protected passage via to the quarter finals as she seems to be so as to add her to 2019 title on the occasion.
“Typically, you simply need to discover a technique to win, you realize. As we have now seen this week, loads of gamers who’ve come straight from the World Doubles have both obtained some form of harm, or are simply mentally exhausted,” King mentioned.
“We watch all these kids arising the ladder. She [Aifa Azman] gained a Bronze occasion not so way back and beat quite a lot of prime ten gamers. I performed her earlier this yr in Washington and I obtained the win there however tomorrow is one other day. They’re all hungry, nipping at our heels and I’m positive she might be a tricky opponent.”
Manchester Open 2022, Nationwide Squash Centre, Manchester, England.
Males’s Spherical Two:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Victor Crouin (FRA) 3-1: 6-11, 11-3, 14-12, 11-6 (49m)
7] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Moustafa El Sirty (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 (35m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [6] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-0:11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (48m)
[4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Shahjahan Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 12-10 (32m)
[5] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-1 (36m)
[3] Joel Makin (WAL) bt George Parker (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-8 (40m)
[8] Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 (35m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt [2] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) 3-2: 13-11, 4-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9 (59m)
Girls’s Spherical Two:
[2] Joelle King (NZL) bt Sana Ibrahim (EGY) 3-1: 11-4, 11-9, 2-11, 11-9 (45m)
Aifa Azman (MAS) bt [8] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 3-2: 6-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (50m)
[7] Emily Whitlock (WAL) bt Emilia Soini (FIN) 3-1: 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 (45m)
[4] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Hana Ramadan (EGY) 3-0: 12-14, 7-11, 7-11 (41m)
[3] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt Tze Lok Ho (HKG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-3, 11-9 (30m)
[6] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt Marie Stephan (FRA) 3-0: 4-11, 0-11, 5-11 (19m)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt [5] Nadine Shahin (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 8-11, September 11, 6-11 (39m)
[1] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Yathreb Adel (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 10-12, 8-11 (46m)
Males’s Quarter Finals (High Half, April 15):
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [7] Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Males’s Quarter Finals (Backside Half, April 16):
[5] Youssef Soliman (EGY) v [3] Joel Makin (WAL)
[8] Raphael Kandra (GER) v Patrick Rooney (ENG)
Girls’s Quarter Finals (High Half, April 15):
[2] Joelle King (NZL) v Aifa Azman (MAS)
[7] Emily Whitlock (WAL) v [4] Nele Gilis (BEL)
Girls’s Quarter Finals (Backside Half, April 16):
[3] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) v [6] Tesni Evans (WAL)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v [1] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
Photos courtesy of PSA World Tour
