After Simon Rösner, Karim Gawad is up next
By NATHAN CLARKE in Cairo
Sheffield’s Nick Matthew moved into to the last eight of the 2016 PSA Men’s World Championship courtesy of a commanding 3-1 victory over Germany’s Simon Rösner at the Wadi Degla Stadium earlier today.
The 36-year-old, who won the sport’s most sought-after title in 2010, 2011 and 2013, reached the final at last month’s U.S. Open, defeating Rösner en route. He again proved to be a class above the World No.13 as he made the most of difficult, humid conditions to recover from dropping the first game to secure the win after just over an hour of play.
“I was gearing up for a worst cast scenario and going 2-0 down when he took that second game lead,” said Matthew.
“I obviously didn’t want to go 2-0 down and that second game was crucial and maybe a turning point. I certainly felt more in control after that game – it settled me down a bit.
“I felt a little bit flat for some reason when I first came on tonight and I have to work out why that is – and the conditions were much harder tonight as well.
“It was windy and there was a little bit of humidity. But at the World Championships you have to dig those results out and I think I will benefit a lot from this match tonight in terms of getting me back match-fit for the next round.”
Matthew will now face Egyptian World No.3 Karim Abdel Gawad – the man who knocked the Englishman down to No.5 in the latest World Rankings – on November 1 for a place in the semi-finals.
2016 PSA Men’s World Championship, Cairo, Egypt.
Third Round (Top Half)
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-9 (36m)
[10] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [8] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 3-1: 11-4, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7 (56m)
[6] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [16] Max Lee (HKG) 3-1: 7-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-6 (49m)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [12] Simon Rösner (GER) 3-1: 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 (65m)
Draw – Third Round (Bottom Half) To Be Played October 31:
Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) v [15] Fares Dessouky (EGY)
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [5] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
[7] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [11] Tarek Momen (EGY)
Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) v [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Pictures by STEVE LINE (www.squashpics.com) courtesy of PSA