Greg Marche joins Gaultier and Castagnet in third round of World Championship
By NATHAN CLARKE and ALAN THATCHER
For the first time in 12 years there will be three Frenchmen competing in the third round of the Men’s World Squash Championship after World No.36 Gregoire Marche came through his second round encounter in Bellevue, Washington to join compatriots Gregory Gaultier and Mathieu Castagnet in the last 16.
The 25-year-old Marche recorded one of the biggest wins of his career as he overcame World No.15 Stephen Coppinger after a gruelling 88-minute battle at the Meydenbauer Centre to secure his place in the third round for the first time in his career and repeat France’s achievement of 2003, when Renan Lavigne joined Gaultier and Thierry Lincou in the third round of the world’s premier tournament.
“I have been waiting a long time for this kind of significant victory and what a time to do it, here at the biggest tournament,” said Marche.
“I arrived here in a poor shape and feeling a bit sick and struggling with jetlag. But today I was feeling really good on the court thanks to the work the French team here have down with me this tournament.
“I started really poorly today but I’m quite proud of the way I dealt with it and managed to come back. I just focused on the job to be done and did it so I’m pleased.”
Marche (pictured right celebrating victory) will now face Tarek Momen in the third round after the Egyptian ended the surge of Peruvian World Junior Champion Diego Elias.
It was a match with some extraordinary scorelines. Momen breezed through the second game 11-1 but Elias fight back in the third before Momen squeezed home 17-15.
The 2014 World Champion, Ramy Ashour, continued the defence of his crown with a polished victory over Mohamed Abouelghar.
Ashour took just 37-minutes to overcome the 22-year-old in straight-games on a day that also saw World No.2 Nick Matthew move comfortably into the next round with victory over Karim El Hammamy, while Egyptian trio Omar Mosaad, Marwan Elshorbagy and Karim Abdel Gawad also triumphed.
“I’m pleased with the way I played today and hopefully I can just keep it going now,” said Ashour.
“Mohamed is not an easy guy to play – he just goes for his shots and tries to do something different with every shot, which reminds me of someone I know!
“He’s a very good player and a guy who will be top ten soon and he made me earn my points but it’s good to have those kind of matches.”
The last 16 line-up makes fascinating reading, with eight Egyptians, three Frenchmen, two from England and one each from Colombia, Germany and Spain.
2015 Men’s World Championship, Bellevue, Washington, USA.
Results – Second Round:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-2 (31m)
James Willstrop (ENG) bt [16] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (41m)
[9] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [Q] Todd Harrity (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (38m)
[5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-1: 16-18, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 (75m)
[6] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (53m)
Ali Farag (EGY) bt [13] Max Lee (HKG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (41m)
Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) bt Fares Dessouki (EGY) 3-2: 7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4 (83m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 (35m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 (37m)
[12] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 14-12 (37m)
[14] Borja Golan (ESP) bt Paul Coll (NZL) 3-0: 11-9, 13-11, 11-5 (55m)
[7] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 3-2: 11-7, 10-12, 4-11, 11-8, 11-1 (75m)
[8] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Diego Elias (PER) 3-0: 11-6, 11-1, 17-15 (43m)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt [15] Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 3-2: 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 3-11, 11-7 (88m)
[10] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 13-11 (61m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [Q] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-4 (38m)
Draw – 2015 Men’s World Championship, Third Round:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v James Willstrop (ENG)
[9] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[6] Simon Rösner (GER) v Ali Farag (EGY)
Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) v [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [12] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
[14] Borja Golan (ESP) v [7] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[8] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[10] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) v [2] Nick Matthew (ENG)
Pictures by STEVE LINE (www.squashpics.com)