"The first games were crazily intense and we both played great squash. Saurav played unbelievable shots throughout the match so I'm really happy to win”, said Simon Rosner after the match. Germany’s World No13 Simon Rosner (front) survived an epic 100-minute encounter against Indian World No 15 Saurav Ghosal (back) during the 2nd day 1st round of action at the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions at Grand Central Terminal in New York.
In a contest which saw both players give their all, Rosner came from 1/2 behind to eventually triumph 14-12, 14-16, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5. “I knew it would be a really tough match,” said Rosner. “Saurav is a great player with lots of skill. Whenever we’ve played before the matches have always been very close.
Now Rosner meets No5 seed Karim Darwish in the 2nd round after the Egyptian former world No1 survived an almost similarly dramatic encounter (6-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9) against countryman Omar Mosaad. “It was a very tough match, especially for a first round of an event,” said Darwish. “He’s in the top ten but that is just a sign of how tough squash is right now.
Elsewhere England’s Chris Simpson recorded his first ever victory on the glass court at Grand Central, surviving an early scare against Egyptian qualifier Ali Farag to prevail 3/1 after losing the opening game.
No.1 seed Gregory Gaultier and No.3 seed Mohamed Elshorbagy began their title campaigns with comfortable 3/0 victories over Tom Richards and Todd Harrity, respectively, while Tarek Momen, Daryl Selby and Alister Walker also booked their places in round two.
2nd round:
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Stephen Coppinger (RSA)
[7] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Laurens Jan Anjema (NED)
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) v Cameron Pilley (AUS)
[3] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Tarek Momen (EGY)
[8] Daryl Selby (ENG) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
[5] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Simon Rosner (GER)
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Alister Walker (BOT)
1st round:
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (40m)
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) bt Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5 (64m)
Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [Q] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 (47m)
[7] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 (36m)
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 5-11, 11-6, 4-11, 11-7, 11-3 (73m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [Q] Gregoire Marche (FRA) 8-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 (92m)
Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [Q] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 11-2, 11-6, 11-2 (32m)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 7-11, 11-1, 12-10, 11-5 (50m)
[3] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [WC] Todd Harrity (USA) 11-3, 12-10, 11-2 (28m)
Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 (32m)
Chris Simpson (ENG) bt [Q] Ali Farag (EGY) 9-11, 11-0, 12-10, 11-5 (69m)
[8] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [Q] Adrian Waller (ENG) 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (43m)
[5] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 6-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 (82m)
Simon Rosner (GER) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 14-12, 14-16, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5 (101m)
Alister Walker (BOT) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 13-11, 11-7, 18-16 (67m)
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 11-4, 11-8, 11-6 (41m)
