In the men’s 2 remaining quarter-finals (bottom half) World Champion Greg Gaultier withstood the attacks of Simon Rösner to overcome the Germany in tough 4 games 11-8, 9-11, 14-12, 12-10.
In the last match of the ToC night, World No.3 Nick Matthew had to call on all 18 years of his vast experience to recover from a 0-2 deficit and defeat Egypt’s Marwan Elshorbagy – keeping alive his hopes of adding to the title he last won in 2012.
An irresistible display from Elshorbagy in the first half of the match looked poised to hand the 22-year-old his first victory over the Englishman but ‘The Wolf’ roared back with a performance that embodied the mental resilience that has personified his career, taking the match 10-12, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 to move on to the semi-final where he will meet long-term adversary Greg Gaultier. “Credit to Marwan, I felt really good in the first game and felt like I was playing well,” said Matthew.
Results – J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions – Men’s Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [6] Simon Rösner (GER) 11-8, 9-11, 14-12, 12-10 (78m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [8] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) 10-12, 7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (81m)
Draw: J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions – Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)