Record prize money in Zurich
By SEAN REUTHE
A world-class draw, featuring eight of the world’s top 10 players, will line up at Zurich’s Halle 622 between March 26-31 as the battle for the prestigious Grasshopper Cup, PSA World Tour Gold title commences.
Current World No.1 and World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy – who finished as runner-up to fellow Egyptian Ramy Ashour last year – tops the draw ahead of 2017 runner-up Ali Farag, World No.3 Tarek Momen and World No.4 Simon Rösner.
The 2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad, British Open champion Miguel Rodriguez, 2016 Grasshopper Cup winner Marwan ElShorbagy and World No.9 Mohamed Abouelghar all feature, while former World No.1 James Willstrop and 2012 winner Daryl Selby will also be involved.
The top eight seeds receive a bye into round two, where ElShorbagy and Willstrop are seeded to meet for the 23rd time on the PSA Tour.
Home favourite Nicolas Mueller will get his tournament under way in round one against Hong Kong’s Tsz Fung Yip. Zurich-based Mueller, 29, has taken ElShorbagy, Ashour and Rösner all the way to five games in recent years and he will play Abouelghar in the last 16 if he can overcome Yip.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming a world-class draw to Zurich for what promises to be the best ever edition of the Grasshopper Cup,” said Tournament Promoter Steve Buchli.
“The Grasshopper Cup has long held a reputation as one of the most prestigious tournaments in Europe, and spectators at Halle 622 can look forward to six days of high-octane action.”
A record prize purse of $109,000 will be up for grabs, while the first round of the event will be held at the Squash Arena Uster.
Fixtures from the second round onwards will take place on the all-glass court at Halle 622 and will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world) and Eurosport Player (right). First round action will be streamed live through the PSA SQUASHTV YouTube channel.
For more information on the Grasshopper Cup, follow the tournament on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or visit their website, where tickets are still available for purchase.
2019 Grasshopper Cup, Zurich, Switzerland (March 26-31).
Main Draw – First Round:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) (bye)
Borja Golan (ESP) v [9/16] James Willstrop (ENG)
[9/16] Zahed Salem (EGY) v George Parker (ENG)
[6] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) (bye)
[5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) (bye)
[WC] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) v [9/16] Max Lee (HKG)
[9/16] Daryl Selby (ENG) v Cameron Pilley (AUS)
[4] Simon Rösner (GER) (bye)
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) (bye)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [9/16] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[9/16] Declan James (ENG) v Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
[7] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) (bye)
[8] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) (bye)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v [9/16] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
[9/16] Joel Makin (WAL) v Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[2] Ali Farag (EGY) (bye)
Tickets: Visit the tournament website
Picture courtesy of PSA