Clyne bags top seed Elshorbagy and Moverley meets David
By ALAN THATCHER
After some brutal all-British battles in qualifying, Alan Clyne won through to draw men’s world number one Mohamed Elshorbagy in the first round of the 2016 Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim Partners and Equitrust Life Insurance Company.
Clyne had to face fellow Scot Greg Lobban at the University Club and emerged triumphant, winning 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 after 77 minutes of ferocious combat on court.
A relieved Clyne said: “It’s very tough, mentally, to play somebody like Greg, because not only he is a very dangerous player, but also he is a great friend. It’s very hard to talk with him in the morning about the match, and then, going on court to try and win.
“We hadn’t played since the Nationals last year, so it was about time we played again. He is so dangerous, and I needed to keep my level up consistently, which I managed to do today.
“I have been much more positive with my game, but it’s good when you play somebody you train a lot with, to be reminded. And that’s what Olivia [Blatchord] was doing between game, just reinforcing that need to attack more. Because my natural game is to get into a more to the back rhythm. Talking of which, my length was good today. At the end, I could see the signs that he was tired.’
In an all-England battle, Adrian Waller beat Declan James 11-6 in the fifth after 71 minutes and now faces number five seed Simon Rosner of Germany.
Another German, Raphael Kandra, joins Rosner in the main draw after ending the hopes of England’s Oliver Pett, who had dedicated his victory the previous day to his late mother.
The longest match of the day featured two players from Hong Kong, with Leo Au beating Tsz Fung Yip 11-7 in the fifth after 78 minutes. Au meets Marwan Elshorbagy in the min draw.
The main draw throws up some mouthwatering clashes, with former world number one James Willstrop meeting number three seed Omar Mosaad. Willstrop said: “When you are in that 9-16 seeding bracket the PSA seeding system can throw up some interesting draws, and I have certainly had a few tough ones.
“There are no easy first round matches any more. You have to turn up for a tournament physically and mentally prepared to get stuck in from the get-go. There is such a great depth of talent in the rankings now that you have to be fully prepared.
“It’s good to see Omar doing so well after an immense personal tragedy last year.”
Number two seed Nick Matthew and fellow England team-mate Daryl Selby are also in the bottom half of the draw. Matthew meets American wild card Chris Hanson while Selby tackles the hard-hitting Australian Cam Pilley.
In the women’s event, England’s Fiona Moverley meets eight-times world champion Nicol David after beating Canada’s Nikki Todd. Deon Saffery of Wales faces England’s Sarah-Jane Perry.
Top seed Laura Massaro is drawn against Denmark’s Line Hansen (Mrs Pilley), while second seed Raneem Elwelily (Egypt) meets French qualifier Coline Aumard.
Guggenheim Partners & EquiTrust Windy City Open 2016, University Club of Chicago, Chicago, USA ($150,000 prize money for both men and women).
Men’s First round:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [Q] Alan Clyne (SCO)
Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v [Q] Cesar Salazar (MEX)
Max Lee (HKG) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[5] Simon Rösner (GER) v [Q] Adrian Waller (ENG)
[7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [Q] Paul Coll (NZL)
Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) v [Q] Leo Au (HKG)
Tom Richards (ENG) v [Q] Raphael Kandra (GER)
[4] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v James Willstrop (ENG)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v [Q] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)
Cameron Pilley (AUS) v Daryl Selby (ENG)
[8] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v Ali Farag (EGY)
[6] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Nicolas Müller (SUI)
Fares Dessouki (EGY) v [Q] Diego Elias (PER)
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) v Borja Golan (ESP)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [WC] Chris Hanson (USA)
Qualifying finals:
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Oliver Pett (ENG) 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 14-12 (68m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Declan James (ENG) 11-5, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 (71m)
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Greg Lobban (SCO) 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 (77m)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 3-11, 11-8, 11-8, 4-11, 11-6 (66m)
Leo Au (HKG) bt Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 11-9, 4-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7 (78m)
Diego Elias (PER) bt Joe Lee (ENG) 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 (66m)
Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 11-2, 11-9, 6-11, 11-4 (56m)
Paul Coll (NZL) bt Zahed Mohamed (EGY) 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5 (64m)
Women’s First round:
[1] Laura Massaro (ENG) v Line Hansen (DEN)
[16] Victoria Lust (ENG) v Heba El Torky (EGY)
[15] Emily Whitlock (ENG) v [Q] Christine Nunn (AUS)
[6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) v [WC] Olivia Blatchford (USA)
[5] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [Q] Samantha Teran (MEX)
[14] Delia Arnold (MAS) v Tesni Evans (WAL)
[11] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [Q] Deon Saffery (WAL)
[3] Nicol David (MAS) v [Q] Fiona Moverley (ENG)
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) v [Q] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)
[12] Low Wee Wern (MAS) v Joey Chan (HKG)
[10] Joelle King (NZL) v Donna Urquhart (AUS)
[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v Salma Hany Ibrahim (EGY)
[8] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [Q] Mariam Metwally (EGY)
[13] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v Nicolette Fernandes (GUY)
[9] Annie Au (HKG) v [Q] Nele Gilis (BEL)
[2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [Q] Coline Aumard (FRA)
Qualifying finals:
Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 15-13, 11-8, 11-3 (50m)
Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Milou van der Heijden (NED) 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 (48m)
Christine Nunn (AUS) bt Vanessa Raj (MAS) 12-10, 11-8, 11-8 (34m)
Fiona Moverley (ENG) bt Nikki Todd (CAN) 11-8, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5 (33m)
Coline Aumard (FRA) bt Teh Min Jie (MAS) 11-2, 11-5, 11-3 (27m)
Deon Saffery (WAL) bt Chloe Mesic (FRA) 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-9 (30m)
Mariam Metwally (EGY) bt Hollie Naughton (CAN) 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (26m)
Samantha Teran (MEX) bt Rachel Arnold (MAS) 11-6, 11-6, 11-2 (22m)