"Stephen is a top quality player and we've had some very tough battles in the past so I'm just really pleased to get through and win", Rosner said after the match (pic: Steve Line) All top 8 seeds have moved passed their opponents in the 1st round of the Tournament of Champions at New York’s Grand Central Station. German No.8 seed Simon Rösner (ri) faced the biggest problems as he needed 4 very intense games to shake of South African fellow Stephen Coppinger (le). Two of the most physically imposing players on the PSA World Tour, the duo tested each other to the brink in an mammoth 87-minute battle that saw them trading points in a continuous series of brutal, energy-sapping rallies.
There were also victories for Omar Mosaad, Mathieu Castagnet, Peter Barker and Miguel Angel Rodriguez while English qualifier Tom Richards pulled off the biggest upset of the day to knock out Alister Walker, the former world No.12 from Botswana, in straight games.
2nd round:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
[6] Borja Golan (ESP) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[4] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Cameron Pilley (AUS)
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[8] Simon Rösner (GER) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[5] Peter Barker (ENG) v Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [Q] Tom Richards (ENG)
1st round:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [WC] Todd Harrity (USA) 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 (37m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt [Q] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 9-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-9 (59m)
Chris Simpson (ENG) bt [Q] Cesar Salazar (MEX) 11-5, 8-11, 10-12, 13-11, 11-6 (99m)
[6] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [Q] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 12-14, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (76m)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 11-5, 11-7, 14-12 (42m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [Q] Alan Clyne (SCO) 11-7, 11-5, 12-10 (49m)
Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 12-10, 11-13, 11-8, 12-10 (79m)
[4] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 (31m)
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 12-10, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6 (70m)
Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [Q] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 11-3, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4 (66m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [Q] Diego Elias (PER) 11-3, 11-7, 3-11, 11-5 (68m)
[8] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 10-12, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10 (87m)
[5] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 (47m)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [Q] Joe Lee (ENG) 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 (51m)
[Q] Tom Richards (ENG) bt Alister Walker (BOT) 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (37m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Max Lee (HKG) 11-1, 11-7, 11-2 (44m)
