Gawad, Momen, Dessouky and Abouelghar power through to semi-finals
By NATHAN CLARKE
There was Egyptian domination during the quarter-finals of the Life Time Fitness Hutkay.fit Houston Open as number one seed Karim Abdel Gawad led a clean sweep alongside compatriots Fares Dessouky, Tarek Momen and Mohamed Abouelghar into the semi-finals of the PSA M70 tournament.
Gawad, who will next month overtake Gregory Gaultier atop the PSA World Rankings, battled through against tough Australian left-hander Ryan Cuskelly to triumph 3-1.
This victory set up a last four showdown with Dessouky, the 22-year-old who impressed as he battled back from losing the opening game to defeat New Zealand’s Paul Coll 3-1.
The bottom half of the draw saw Mohamed Abouelghar, who this month broke into the top 20 for the first time in his career, end the run of tournament Wildcard Mazen Hesham courtesy of a 3-0 victory – just 24 hours after Hesham had stunned former World No.1 James Willstrop, also in straight games.
This time Abouelghar was the dominant player, controlling play for long phases to win 11-4, 11-6, 12-10.
Momen meanwhile came through a speedy and unorthodox affair with Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez, winning 3-1, to secure his place alongside Abouelghar in the semi-finals.
2017 Life Time Fitness Hutkay.fit Houston Open
Quarter-finals:
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [5] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 3-1: 11-4, 4-11, 11-9, 11-9 (60m)
[4] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt [7] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-1: 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 (62m)
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [6] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 3-1: 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9 (55m)
[8] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt [WC] Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 12-10 (34m)
Semi-Finals:
[1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [4] Fares Dessouky (EGY)
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [8] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)