"I prepared very hard for the match and I'm delighted to win. I think I played very well - it was not an easy match because he is a very tough player", Rodriguez said (pic: Steve Line). 29-year-old Colombian World No.8 Miguel Angel Rodriguez became the 1st ever South American player to reach the quarter-finals of a PSA World Series event after wearing down England’s Peter Barker in a 120-minute titanic battle at the J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions.
Two of the fittest and most fluid movers on tour, the duo served up a titanic battle of attrition that was packed with lung-bursting rallies as they tried to break each other down but it was Rodriguez, the highest ranked South American player of all time, who managed to edge it, taking the match 11-6, 8-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7 and record his first ever win over the World No.6.
“This is one of the best wins of my career so far because it is the 1st time I have beaten him on the PSA Tour and also the 1st time I’ve made it to the quarter-finals at one of the major events,” said Rodriguez.
In the other action, only French World No.2 Greg Gaultier came up with a straight games win in round 2, while all other seeds needed 4 games in between 55 and 94 minutes.
Quarter-finals:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [6] Borja Golan (ESP)
[4] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [7] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [8] Simon Rösner (GER)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
2nd round:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 11-3, 5-11, 15-13, 11-6 (62m)
[6] Borja Golan (ESP) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) w/o (injury)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-4, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10 (55m)
[4] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-8, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9 (60m)
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 7-11, 15-13, 11-6, 13-11 (94m)
[8] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 11-13, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (75m)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [5] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-6, 8-11, 11-13, 11-9, 11-7 (120m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Tom Richards (ENG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 (43m)
