Tom Richards tackles Daryl Selby and Ben Coleman meets Simon Rosner in British Open
By NATHAN CLARKE in HullÂ
English pairing Tom Richards and Ben Coleman led the charge through qualification in the 2015 Allam British Open, securing impressive 3-0 wins in their respective qualifying finals to move into the main draw, which gets under way at the Airco Arena, Hull, on Monday (May 11).
Richards, the former World No.12, produced a commanding performance to see off talented French youngster Lucas Serme in a potentially tricky encounter to set up an all-English first round match-up with World No.14 Daryl Selby while Coleman dispatched James Earles to book his place to take on German World No.7 Simon Rösner. Earle’s had recorded an outstanding result the previous day when he beat Scottish No.1 Alan Clyne 3-2.
In a jam-packed day of qualifying action at the University of Hull, Egyptian trio Zahed Mohamed, Mohamed Abouelghar and Omar Abdel Meguid also triumphed to ensure a ten-strong Egyptian presence in the main event while there were also victories for Leo Au, Laurens Jan Anjema and Nafiizwan Adnan.
Anjema meets three-time world and British Open champion Nick Matthew, the No.3 seed who will be looking forward to playing on home soil in his native Yorkshire. Adnan faces No.2 seed Gregory Gaultier of France.
2015 Allam British Open, Hull, England.
Results – Qualification Finals:
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-2: 11-8, 7-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-4 (61m)
[11] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt Richie Fallows (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 (53m)
[5] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt [15] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) 3-1: 12-10, 2-11, 11-9, 11-5 (39m)
[4] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt [16] Rex Hedrick (AUS) 3-1: 11-6, 11-9, 1-11, 11-6 (74m)
Ben Coleman (ENG) bt James Earles (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 (43m)
[6] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt [9] Shaun Le Roux (RSA) 3-0: 11-8, 12-10, 11-6 (42m)
[8] Leo Au (HKG) bt [12] Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 3-1: 8-11, 11-0, 11-9, 11-8 (54m)
[2] Tom Richards (ENG) bt [14] Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-0: 14-12, 11-3, 11-0 (40m)
Draw – First Round: 2015 Allam British Open
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v James Willstrop (ENG)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v Borja Golan (ESP)
Fares Dessouki (EGY) v [Q] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)
[Q] Ben Coleman (ENG) v [7] Simon Rösner (GER)
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) v Alister Walker (BOT)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) v [Q] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
[Q] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v [3] Nick Matthew (ENG)
[4] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
Cameron Pilley (AUS) v Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) v [Q] Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
[WC] Adrian Waller (ENG) v [5] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[8] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v Max Lee (HKG)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [Q] Leo Au (HKG)
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [Q] Tom Richards (ENG)
[Q] Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) v [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)