Meguid survives huge scare to edge Ga Sabry in Oregon quarter-final epic
Top seed Omar Abdel Meguid scraped into the semi-finals of the Oregon Open after fighting back from the brink of defeat to oust fellow Egyptian Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry in an epic five setter in Portland, USA.
Meguid, who had failed to advance past the first round of his last three PSA Tour events, saved and squandered several game balls before losing a marathon opening game tie-break and was then forced to overturn a 2-1 deficit before prevailing 18-20, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-1 in 96 minutes.
A one-sided fifth game did little to overshadow the difficulty Meguid (pictured right) faced in overcoming the world number 36 from Cairo, as Ga Sabry threatened to advance into his first semi-finals since winning the Maharashtra State Open in September.
However, the 19-year-old fifth seed was unable to quell a spirited fightback from the Giza-born Meguid in a tight fourth game and seemed devoid of energy in the decider as the world number 30 endorsed his seeding to setup a last four meeting with Scottish number one Alan Clyne.
Egyptian Mohd Ali Anwar Reda caused a huge shock by knocking out eighth seed and fellow compatriot Karim Ali Fathi in the first round but succumbed to Clyne in just 44 minutes as the world number 36 advanced 11-7, 11-6, 11-8.
In the second semi-final, English fourth seed Joe Lee will face qualifier Alfredo Avila of Mexico after the duo overcame sixth seed Campbell Grayson and Shawn Delierre of Canada in straight games respectively.
World number 34 Lee edged a first game tie-break before progressing past Grayson 12-10, 11-3, 11-9 in 42 minutes, while Avila capitalised on Delierre’s weariness following his first round marathon victory over second seed Ryan Cuskelly to triumph 11-6, 11-3, 11-6.
Semi-Finals Draw:
[1] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) v [3] Alan Clyne (SCO)
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) v [Q] Alfredo Avila (MEX)
Quarter-Finals Results:
[1] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 3-2 [5] Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) 18-20, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-1 (96m)
[3] Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-0 Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 (44m)
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) 3-0 [6] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 12-10, 11-3, 11-9 (42m)
[Q] Alfredo Avila (MEX) 3-0 Shawn Delierre (CAN) 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 (37m)
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First round report: Shawn survives epic to shock Cuskelly in Oregon
Unseeded Canadian Shawn Delierre caused a huge upset at the Oregon Open first round after knocking out second seed Ryan Cuskelly amid high drama spanning 94 minutes.
In an encounter which featured three tie-breaks, Delierre fought back from 2-1 down before triumphing 14-12, 6-11, 10-12, 13-11, 11-8 to book a last eight showdown with fellow seed slayer Alfredo Avila.
World number 59 Avila cruised past seventh seed Julian Illingworth in straight games to remain on course for back-to-back PSA titles following his success at the Florida Open in December.
Elsewhere, world number 46 Karim Ali Fathi became the third seeded casualty after falling to fellow Egyptian Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (pictured right) in four games.
Reda, 24, traded the opening two games with the eighth seed before regaining the initiative to record an 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 victory in 70 minutes.
The unseeded Reda meets Scottish number one Alan Clyne next, after the 27-year-old battled past qualifier and local favourite Todd Harrity in four games.
Fellow Brit and fourth seed Joe Lee joined Clyne in the quarter-finals after brushing aside the challenge of wildcard entrant Adam Perkiomaki in straight games.
Lee will face sixth seed Campbell Grayson of New Zealand for a place in the last four, after the world number 41 scraped past Christopher Gordon in a gruelling third game tie-break to seal an 11-3, 11-5, 17-15 win in just under an hour.
The final last eight match will feature an all Egyptian clash after top seed Omar Abdel Meguid and fifth seed Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry recorded almost identical scorelines to defeat qualifiers Shahjahan Khan of Pakistan and Canadian Andrew Schnell respectively in straight games.
Quarter-finals Draw:
[1] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) v [5] Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY)
[3] Alan Clyne (SCO) v Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY)
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) v [6] Campbell Grayson (NZL)
Shawn Delierre (CAN) v [Q] Alfredo Avila (MEX)
First Round Results:
[1] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 3-0 [Q] Shahjahan Khan (PAK) 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (38m)
[5] Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) 3-0 [Q] Andrew Schnell (CAN) 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 (37m)
Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 3-1 [8] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9 (70m)
[3] Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-1 [Q] Todd Harrity (USA) 11-6, 5-11, 11-5, 11-5 (55m)
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) 3-0 [WC] Adam Perkiomaki (USA) 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 (26m)
[6] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-0 Christopher Gordon (USA) 11-3, 11-5, 17-15 (57m)
[Q] Alfredo Avila (MEX) 3-0 [7] Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (44m)
Shawn Delierre (CAN) 3-2 [2] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 14-12, 6-11, 10-12, 13-11, 11-8 (94m)
Qualifying Finals Results:
Shahjahan Khan (PAK) 3-0 Joe Chapman (IVB) 12-10, 11-8, 11-5 (36m)
Andrew Schnell (CAN) 3-1 Reuben Phillips (ENG) 11-9, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6 (48m)
Todd Harrity (USA) 3-1 Zac Alexander (AUS) 7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-3 (44m)
Alfredo Avila (MEX) 3-0 Karamatullah Khan (PAK) 11-6, 11-1, 11-5 (30m)
First Qualifying Round Results:
Joe Chapman (IVB) 3-0 Sean Ryan (USA) 11-4, 11-5, 11-1 (20m)
Shahjahan Khan (PAK) 3-0 Fred Reid (CAN) 11-9, 11-9, 13-11 (40m)
Reuben Phillips (ENG) 3-0 Charlie Wagner (USA) 11-4, 11-6, 11-3 (33m)
Andrew Schnell (CAN) 3-0 Anders Giltvedt (NOR) 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 (28m)
Zac Alexander (AUS) 3-0 Ahmad Alzabidi (JOR) 11-4, 11-7, 11-8 (40m)
Todd Harrity (USA) 3-0 Adrian Leanza (USA) 11-3, 11-4, 11-7 (38m)
Karamatullah Khan (PAK) 3-0 Atticus Jones (USA) 11-3, 11-1, 11-9 (25m)
Alfredo Avila (MEX) 3-0 Bradbury Thompson (USA) 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 (31m)
Pictures by Michael Catling