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Britain's Heather Watson and Harriet Dart have been knocked out of the Tianjin Open women's doubles.

The pair were beaten 6-4 4-6 2-10 by China's Zhu Lin and Han Xinyun.

The British pair took the first set but were forced into a tie break after losing the second and struggled to find momentum, handing the Chinese duo victory.

Watson, 27, is in singles action on Thursday 10 October as she plays second seed Wang Qiang in the second round.

Dart, 23, was knocked out by qualifier Kurumi Nara on Tuesday.

Motivation to reach the main draw? You bet!
Flore-Gasnier kick-start French mornings

The French pairing of Tristan Flore and Laura Gasnier displayed a power-packed performance convincing fans of their targets. Facing off against Argentinians Gaston Alto and Candela Molero, it took only three games for the Europeans to establish their victory (11-6, 11-4, 11-1).

Meanwhile, Japan’s favorite pair of Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata were similarly at ease against Romania’s Cristian Pletea and Elizabeta Samara. Taking no more than 27 minutes, the Asian duo won the match 3-0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-8).

And the qualification continues!
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On Sunday Chris Wyatt will watch his final game in Japan. His 43rd World Cup match since 2011.

Forty three games in three men's tournaments. His favourite one to date?

"The one that I really enjoyed the absolute most was between Georgia and Namibia in Exeter [in 2015]," says Wyatt.

"Namibia nearly got their first World Cup victory, it was 17-16 to Georgia.

"That one kind of stands out for me, it was a great crowd and a great day."

For Wyatt, a Baltimore native who last month concluded 36 and a half years of active duty with the United States Army, the joy of the World Cup is found primarily in experiencing what every team, and their fans, bring to the party.

By the time he leaves Japan he will have seen 18 of the 20 teams at this tournament.

"I only do the pool stage because to me that's much more fascinating," he says.

"You see the minnows, and you never get to see them otherwise. I mean when do I get to see Georgia play?"

Eighteen games in 29 days

Wyatt cuts a restless figure when we meet on platform four of Shin-Yokohama station on the fourth day of the tournament.

Having undertaken the mission of watching 18 games in 29 days, there is little margin for error when it comes to travelling around a country the size of Japan.

It's early afternoon but Wyatt needs everything to run like clockwork if he is to make kick-off between Wales and Georgia some 300km away in Toyota city.

Luckily for him, this is Japan. The train says it's arriving at 14:19, so it does.

Even with the help of a ruthlessly efficient rail network, Wyatt's trip needs to be planned with military precision.

No problem for a man who has spent the best part of four decades planning things to that end.

In a career that saw him travel the globe several times over, Wyatt spent much of his time in Africa as a Foreign Area Officer and served as the Director of African Studies for the US Army War College.

Although his love affair with rugby union began as a college freshman in 1982, it was not until a conversation with an Australian colleague in Liberia 25 years later that the idea of travelling to a World Cup began to take shape.

When watching South Africa defeat England in the 2007 showpiece, a plan to meet at the tournament in New Zealand in four years' time was agreed.

Maximising the World Cup experience

And so to 2011, where fortuitous circumstances allowed Wyatt to take the short notice leave required to turn his World Cup pipe dream into a reality.

Upon arrival and with no tickets, Wyatt used the situation as a blank canvas to formulate the process that he still uses when working out his World Cup roadmap.

"I drove into Auckland and looked at where I could go," he explained.

"There was one in Hamilton, Wales against Samoa, so I drove down there and wound up buying a ticket from a guy. Six rows up, centre of the pitch.

"That night I got a hotel room. I didn't have any other matches booked so I went online and I made a plan."

The plan was based not on the best rugby, but on the best experience.

"What's feasible, what can I do to see the country and learn something about it?" Wyatt said.

"Springboks games are a priority, then USA games and then any other team I can see."

The fans make the tournament

Since 2011 there have been five World Cups, three men's and two women's, Wyatt has been to every one with each trip becoming more ambitious than the last.

His 18-game trip to Japan is his most ambitious yet and by the close of Sunday's group stage he will have travelled to nine of the 12 venues and watched every team barring the hosts and Argentina.

Missing out on seeing Japan in front of their own fans is a shame. The Brave Blossoms have so far lit up the tournament with their exhilarating brand of rugby matching the atmosphere created by the home fans.

Thankfully though, the presence of local fans has been a fixture of every game so far, something that Wyatt argues is the key to a successful World Cup.

"The most important thing to a World Cup is the fans," he says.

"Japanese fans are top drawer. You can't have empty stadiums, and you can't have people that are just there to be drunk or people who are clueless."

True to form, the stand-out moments for Wyatt have so far arrived not on the biggest stages in Yokohama or Tokyo, but in some of Japan's lesser known areas that have risen to the challenge of opening their doors to the world's rugby fans.

"When I got to Kumagaya, from the moment I got off the train there were volunteers everywhere.

"You walk down the street and there are people offering you high-fives and pointing you towards the stadium.

"There were school groups all over the stadium and it really added a nice touch.

"When it comes to a World Cup it comes down to the organisers and the quality of the volunteers."

Wyatt's tournament ends on Sunday with the USA v Tonga.

Perhaps not the encounter that most onlookers are focusing on as the pool stage reaches its crescendo.

But, for Chris Wyatt, game number 43 is exactly the type of fixture that will see him travelling the globe to attend more World Cups for many years to come.

England are preparing for their World Cup match with France to be moved or cancelled as Typhoon Hagibis continues its destructive path towards Japan.

The category five super typhoon, the most powerful in the region this year, is on course to hit the main island of Honshu on Saturday.

England meet France in Yokohama at 09:15 BST before Scotland's critical group decider against hosts Japan in the same stadium at 11:45 on Sunday.

Torrential rain and violent winds are forecast in Tokyo and Yokohama, with tournament regulations stating that games can be moved or cancelled if weather conditions deteriorate.

England defence coach John Mitchell said: "Whatever happens, we will make the best of the situation.

"We're looking forward to playing France. Clearly if there is any change in those final preparations, we've got to be smart, so we'll definitely pre-plan.

"At the end of the day you just control what you can control, so, should something happen in terms of where we play, that's not a problem because all along we've focused on adapting and being flexible, being ready for any particular situation that's thrown at us."

Moving both games would be a huge logistical challenge for World Cup organisers, with tens of thousands of travelling fans expected in Tokyo and the 70,000 capacity of the Yokohama stadium not matched by any other ground in the tournament.

England have qualified for the quarter-finals but Scotland's progression may depend on getting their game played and winning in style.

Games that are cancelled are registered as scoreless draws, which means that if Ireland beat Samoa in Fukuoka on Saturday then a weather-enforced two-point haul would put Gregor Townsend's team out.

England's arrival in Japan at the start of last month coincided with the end of Typhoon Faxai, which was then the strongest storm to hit the country in more than half a century.

That typhoon left Eddie Jones's squad stranded at Narita international airport for five hours, an experience that Mitchell believes could serve them well this weekend.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It goes back to the typhoon that was here when we arrived - we found a number of hours to create good humour and fun and enjoyment waiting for a bus then.

"If that's an example of what we've experienced before, making adjustments to travel to play the game somewhere else certainly won't affect us.

"We expect to play, and World Rugby I'm sure would like the game to be played.

"But if that should be taken out of our hands, we will then back our very strong training methodology to prepare us in another way."

Injured Vunipola 'progressing'

Mitchell was one of many England staff awoken early on Wednesday morning by a small earthquake in the Tokyo region, registering 4.5 on the Richter scale but with its epicentre 75km away.

If that interrupted the sleep of those on the 34th floor of the team's hotel in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo, there was more reassuring news about the fitness of key number eight Billy Vunipola.

Vunipola injured his left ankle in Saturday's win over Argentina and has been wearing a surgical boot while sitting out training in the early part of this week.

Mitchell, who confirmed that centre Jack Nowell has a slight hamstring injury that could rule him out of the France game, said: "You can do an ankle on the outside and you can do an ankle on the inside - Billy got tackled low, and so there's a little bit of inflammation on the inside.

"He's progressing. We might be fortunate on the weekend; we might not be. Definitely we won't risk him if it's a risk. All in all, he's going well.

"If he's not healthy on the weekend then definitely we feel he'll be available and considered for selection for the quarters.

"Jack hasn't had much luck. He's progressing really well, but we probably won't risk him if we feel there's any doubt of further injuring him."

A win over France or a cancellation would see England top their group and move into a probable quarter-final match with Australia, who knocked them out at the group stages of the last World Cup en route to the final.

Alisson targets Man Utd clash with extra training

Published in Soccer
Wednesday, 09 October 2019 02:53

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is undertaking extra training sessions at Melwood as he pushes for a return to action against Manchester United on Oct. 20.

Players not on international duty have been given the week off by manager Jurgen Klopp, but the 27-year-old, who sustained a calf injury during the Premier League opener against Norwich City, has remained at the training complex to improve his sharpness.

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Goalkeeping coach John Achterberg has been working chiefly on Alisson's speed, reactions, distribution and power having spent the September break getting Brazil's No. 1 out on the pitches again to do catching, footwork and small passing drills.

The Premier League's Golden Glove winner for 2018-19 has progressed well through his recovery stages and has upped his strength with rehabilitation fitness coach Dave Rydings in the gym.

Liverpool had earmarked Alisson to be available after the October interval, but there is no longer such a strong need for him to return against struggling United if he is not yet at 100% given the performances of his understudy, Adrian.

The 32-year-old has been an excellent stand-in as Liverpool have recorded a perfect start to the league season, with eight wins from eight.

Adrian's form has allowed Liverpool to ease Alisson through the different phases of his rehab with no time constraints or pressure to be in line for contention.

Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, meanwhile, have voluntarily ceded time off to do additional training at Melwood.

Both midfielders have been informed they will have bigger roles to play as the games continue to come thick and fast for Liverpool.

Dest: I always imagined playing for Netherlands

Published in Soccer
Tuesday, 08 October 2019 06:11

Ajax right-back Sergino Dest has said that, as a child, he always pictured himself playing for the Dutch national side.

Dest, 18, could still pledge his allegiance to either the United States or Netherlands, despite having made two friendly appearances for the USMNT.

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He recently said he made himself unavailable for selection for both national sides in this international break in order to take more time to decide his future.

"When I thought of football when I was younger, it was always Ajax or the Dutch team," Dest said in an interview with U.S. club teammate Alex Mendez, published on the Ajax website.

"Never the U.S. But I haven't been approached by the Dutch team."

Asked whether not being contacted by the Netherlands had been a factor in his decision, he added: "Maybe."

Dest grew up in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother and American father. However, Dutch has always been his first language and Dest said it was only when he visited the U.S. that he began to embrace his American heritage.

"My father is from Brooklyn, but we spoke Dutch at home," Dest said. "Actually, until a few years ago, my English was very poor.

"I wasn't thinking of my American roots at all until I went to play in an American youth team. From that moment, my English improved, and I started to feel more American.

"I realised that: 'Hey, this is my nationality, too.' Now I think it's great to be an American as well. It's an asset and as well. The U.S. passport is one of the best in the world."

In case you're not familiar with expected goals (xG) yet, the statistic is built around the idea that the majority of teams and players convert the same chances at the same frequency. For the most part, the best teams and players aren't the best because of their ability to finish a high percentage of attempts; they're the best because of their ability to generate a high volume of high-quality shots.

In other words, it puts a number on the idea that you hear managers talk about every weekend: Who created the better chances?

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Now, that isn't to say that there aren't especially skilled finishers adept at catching a ball on the half-volley or nonchalantly lobbing an onrushing keeper. But the importance of that skill pales in comparison to the importance of getting the chances in the first place.

To wit: Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are two of the best scorers of this generation. Since the 2014 World Cup, Lewandowski has more goals in domestic play than anyone not named Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, and Aubameyang is just three spots and 15 goals behind him.

But guess what? They've each scored slightly fewer goals than expected in that stretch.

Which names pop up at the other end? Who's adding extra goals to their totals by consistently picking out the corners of the net?


Expected goals awards a value based on a number of factors, including the location of the shot, but all of those factors occur before the shot is taken. That's where Expected Goals on Target comes in. Here's how Opta describes it:

The Expected Goals on Target model is built on historical on-target shots and includes the original xG of the shot as well as the goalmouth location where the shot ended up. It gives more credit to shots that end up in the corners compared to shots that go straight down the middle of the goal. This model is for on-target shots, given that if you don't get your shot on target, there's a 0% chance that it will result in a goal.

To determine the best shooters, we can compare xG to xGOT to see which players have added the most value to their attempts. Using TruMedia data for all domestic seasons going back to the start of the 2014-15 season, we'll identify the best at a number of shots and end by identifying the best shooter of them all.

Headers

First up: There aren't many good header-ers out there! Among the top 15 players in xG from headers since 2014, a whopping zero have added any value to their attempts. If you think about it, that makes total sense.

For starters, it's a lot harder to control a ball out of the air with your head than it is to direct a ball on the ground with your foot. Headers are also pure opportunity. You don't get in better positions to head the ball; you meet the ball where it is. On top of that, think of how many headed attempts come from a player just shoving his noggin into a crowd of defenders and hoping to make contact with a cross. There's nothing wrong with that from a strategic perspective, but it's not the recipe for an efficient conversion profile.

Given all that, perhaps it's not a surprise that the award for "Best Header-er" goes to 5-foot-4 Argentinian winger Pablo de Blasis, who currently plays for Eibar in La Liga. (Here's a taste of his skills.)

Because he's so tiny, De Blasis is typically getting his head on the ball only when he's in a lot of space, but he's a master of accelerating at the last second, cutting in front of a defender and using the full force of his movement to direct the ball into the corner. He has added 2.79 expected goals to his headed attempts since 2014, and another South American winger, Juan Cuadrado, is the only other player to break two.

De Blasis has scored four goals on headers since 2014, and among players his height or shorter, the entirety of the player pool in Europe's Big Five leagues has scored five. De Blasis has attempted 35 headed shots, and no one else in the 5-foot-4-or-shorter cohort has more than 16.

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Long range

Since 2014, the average open-play shot has been converted 9.7% of the time. Move that attempt to outside the box -- beyond 18 yards -- and the number plummets to 3.2%. Managers and players have seemingly become aware of this, as the total number of shots from outside the 18 has slowly declined over the past few seasons.

One player who hasn't stopped destroying opponents from deep: Philippe Coutinho! The Brazilian playmaker has scored the second-most open-play goals from outside the penalty area and added the second-most value to his attempts since 2014. (No. 1 in both categories is the recipient of a later award.) His conversion percentage on shots from outside the box (6.1%) is nearly double the Europe-wide average. All of these shots have low xG percentages, but the xGOT rises because of all the corners Coutinho can pick out.

Just for fun: Who's the worst long-range shooter? It's Bournemouth's Jermain Defoe, who has lost 1.65 goals worth of value with the 59 shots he has attempted. Unsurprisingly, just one of them ended up in the back of the net.

Volleys

We're talking full volleys here, shots struck sweetly with the ball in flight -- none of that bouncing stuff. Interestingly, a volley is three times more likely to be converted (9.5%) than a shot from outside the box. What's also interesting: the list of the most aggressive volleyers since 2014. First is Sampdoria's ageless Fabio Quagliarella, with 101, and no one else broke 90. Second is Luis Suarez, then Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, Raul Garcia, Lewandowski and then our winner: Napoli's Jose Callejon.

To anyone who has watched Napoli since Maurizio Sarri was manager from 2015 to '18, Callejon's presence won't be a surprise. He has scored the same back-post volley so many times that there is an entire Reddit thread devoted to it.

The 32-year-old Spaniard has added 2.13 goals' worth of value to his volleyed attempts. Only one other player in the top 20 of attempted volleys has added any value to his shots. Striking a ball cleanly out of the air and placing it in a corner of the net: It's a skill that really only Callejon has mastered over the past half-decade.

Free kicks

He has scored only six of them since 2014, but Christian Eriksen is our Master of Dead Balls. The nice thing about xGOT is that it credits shooters for everything they can control; not every well-hit and well-placed shot ends up in the goal, and a lot of mis-hit, poorly placed attempts find their way through a keeper's legs. Yet Eriksen has added 5.88 goals worth of value with his shooting from free kicks, and his xGOT total is 10.99.

Across the 99 shots Eriksen has attempted, opposing keepers have made a bunch of unlikely saves. PSG's Angel Di Maria has the same number of free-kick goals as Eriksen, but they came on 3.94 xGOT, while Juventus' Miralem Pjanic has scored 11 on 7.81 xGOT.

Most managers across Europe deserve a gold star here, as the majority of the players who have provided negative value on free kicks have not been allowed to take a lot of them! There are very few poor free-kick takers who get to keep taking them because of seniority or unearned reputation. However, if you're considering a bathroom break and you see Paul Pogba or Antonio Candreva lining up a dead ball -- both have taken at least 30 free kicks, and both have provided minus-0.78 of value or worse -- well, now you know what to do.

The best

I'm going to go ahead and guess that some of you have figured out who this will be. If not, here's a hint.

Messi makes Eriksen look like Micah Richards. The Argentine legend has scored 21 free-kick goals since 2014, and no one else has more than 11. His xGOT is even slightly higher than that, at 21.71. He has added 10.35 goals worth of value to his free kicks, which is nearly double Eriksen's next-best number.

These are all of Messi's free kicks since 2014. Look how many ended up in the corners. Goals are green, and misses are red:

Of course, Messi has scored the most goals (16) and added the most value (6.04) on open-play shots from outside the box, too.

How about zooming that out to include all goals from open play? He's also the best there. Messi has added 19.34 goals worth of value since 2014, and only two other players -- Mohamed Salah (11.23) and Alexis Sanchez (10.02) -- are in double digits. Messi has scored 120 open-play goals, and only two other players -- Suarez (108) and Lewandowski (101) -- are in triple digits. He has produced 109.29 xGOT, and no one else has broken 100.

Messi's case for being named the GOAT. also stems from a number of other factors. Since 2014, he has completed more than 300 through-balls; next best is 173. He leads all players in assists, and he's second in dribbles. He's as good -- if not better -- than every other player alive at facilitating attacking possession, breaking down a defender and creating for teammates. But even if you removed all of that and reset those totals to zero, he'd still probably be the best player in the world.

Throw every kind of goal together -- open play, set pieces, penalties -- and he has scored 177 since 2014, 19 more than Ronaldo in second place. Messi has added 32.6 goals worth of value on his 900 attempts, and Valencia's Dani Parejo earns a distant silver medal at 12.53. (In case you're wondering, Ronaldo has attempted more shots (1,005) than anyone else since 2014, but he has actually subtracted 3.07 goals with wayward finishing.)

So just how good is Messi? Nearly three times better than everyone else.

Warner 'knows what he has to do' after horror Ashes - Hohns

Published in Cricket
Wednesday, 09 October 2019 01:45

Trevor Hohns, Australia's national selector, has stopped short of guaranteeing David Warner his spot for the opening Test of the season following his woeful Ashes series.

Warner managed just 95 runs - the lowest tally for an opener to have batted 10 times in a series - as Stuart Broad removed him seven times.

Last week, Test captain Tim Paine, who does not have an official voice in selection, suggested that Warner's record gave him "enough credits in the bank" to secure his position at the top of the order for the series against Pakistan which starts on November 21 in Brisbane. Warner averages 59.64 in home Tests where he has made 15 of his 21 Test hundreds.

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However, ahead of the Sheffield Shield that begins on Thursday - which includes Warner's New South Wales side facing Queensland at the Gabba - Hohns did not put his full weight behind him.

"I'm not going to comment on that right now," Hohns said when asked if Warner's spot was cemented regardless of early-season form. "David knows what he has to do as well as anybody, same as Marcus Harris and any of the players that played in England. Make no bones about it, there is a couple of batting spots, two or three, up for grabs."

Warner was not the only opener to struggle in the Ashes with Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris making 102 runs between them. That pair, along with Joe Burns, Matt Renshaw and possibly Usman Khawaja, will be battling for the Test positions.

"There are plenty of openers around the country, it's up to them to perform," Hohns said. "The players who performed well [in the Ashes] know and those that didn't know and it's up to them to put performances on the board to have a chance to be chosen. If you want to relate it to the Ashes it was difficult for both countries, it seemed like the hardest place to bat. The slate is wiped clean [at home], in different conditions, but it's nice if we have in-form openers, there's no doubt about that."

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On Tuesday Warner was included in Australia's T20I squad to face Sri Lanka and Pakistan so he will have a maximum of three Sheffield Shield matches before the first Test next month.

He and Steven Smith are now back in all three formats following their bans and are inked in at the top of the T20I order, alongside captain Aaron Finch, as Australia begin a year-long build-up to the men's T20 World Cup next October.

Hohns acknowledged that the selectors would keep a close eye on the workload of those players who appear across all formats. After the home Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand there is a one-day series in India, a limited-overs tour of South Africa, a home one-day series with New Zealand then a T20I series across the Tasman to complete the season.

"That'll be something we'll be very mindful of as the season goes on," Hohns said. "It's difficult for players to play every format, which [Smith and Warner] in particular and probably Pat Cummins and a couple of them are likely to do. But we'll certainly be keeping an eye on their workloads and making sure they don't get tired. Obviously there is a massive focus on this T20 World Cup in 12 months' time."

Amanda Sobhy carries home hopes into US Open quarter-finals

Published in Squash
Tuesday, 08 October 2019 22:56

Amanda Sobhy gets in front of Joshna Chinappa

Rematch of Nantes final as Sobhy meets Serme again
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy booked her place in the quarter-finals of the FS Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships after beating India’s Joshna Chinappa in straight games earlier today at the PSA Platinum event taking place at Philadelphia’s Drexel University.

Sobhy is the only remaining US player in the draw and had been struggling with an adductor injury in the build-up to the event – pulling out of the Oracle NetSuite Open a fortnight ago – while the injury still looked to be troubling her during her second round fixture with fellow American Olivia Fiechter.

However, the Boston-based Harvard-graduate looked far more comfortable on court against Chinappa as she blew the World No.12 away in games two and three after sneaking a win in the opening game.

She will play No.2 seed Camille Serme in the next round, a month after losing to the Frenchwoman in the Open de France final.

“The whole point of pulling out early in San Francisco was so I could compete at this tournament,” said Sobhy afterwards.

“I might not be where I want to be injury or health-wise, but I’m pretty pleased with my performance. I know how deadly Joshna can be, but my second round match gave me some confidence and I know that I can still play and move even if both legs aren’t fully functional. I’m really happy with today.

“I think both Camille and I played really well in France and it was probably some of the hottest conditions that we’ve ever played in. Even though I lost that, it’s a battle I will remember and it gives you confidence that you can play at that level, but hopefully third time is the charm against her.”

Serme, the 2016 U.S. Open champion, was up against Hong Kong’s Annie Au a year on from beating her in straight games at the same stage of last year’s tournament and, while she dropped a game this time around, the 30-year-old dominated for large periods of their 36-minute fixture.

The Creteil-based 30-year-old raced to an 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-2 victory and will now turn her attention to overcoming Sobhy in the last eight for a second year running.

Camille Serme has her eye on the ball as she beats Annie Au

“Annie’s always tough to play, she has a type of game where she is lobbing and dropping really well,” Serme said.

“She did it really well in the third and I lost a bit of my focus as well, so I really wanted to get a good start in the fourth. She slowed down the pace and I like to play fast, so it’s a different tactical game, but it’s always good to have different types of games on the tour.”

World No.9 Tesni Evans and World No.5 Nouran Gohar were the other players to win on day four, with comfortable victories against Joey Chan and Salma Hany, respectively. Evans and Gohar will now go head-to-head for a place in the last four.

Reigning champion Mohamed ElShorbagy dominates against Campbell Grayson

In the men’s event, defending champion Mohamed ElShorbagy advanced to the quarter-finals courtesy of an 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 win over New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson

The World No.2 – still unbeaten this season after title wins at the China Open and Oracle NetSuite Open – will compete in his 10th successive U.S. Open quarter-final and will take on the man he beat in last year’s semi-finals, New Zealand’s Paul Coll.

“I’m really happy to be back here in the quarters, the U.S. Open is one of the most prestigious tournaments on the calendar,” ElShorbagy said.

“It’s a Platinum event and we all aim for these. It’s our [ElShorbagy and Grayson] first time playing against each other and we have even only practised against each other once or twice. He came to Bristol before the British Open in May and he is one of the nicest guys I have ever met in my life.

“Paul has been doing really well and he had a really good end of season, especially his couple of matches with [Ali] Farag [last season] and he obviously kept improving. He hasn’t lost a match so far this season, and I think we are the only two players to have done that so far. Unfortunately one of us will have to lose and hopefully it isn’t me.”

World No.5 Coll achieved his quarter-final berth after coming back from a game down against Egypt’s Mazen Hesham in the day’s standout fixture. The one and only time these two players have met on the PSA Tour came in a five-game thriller at the British Open in May, with Hesham twice fighting back to push the match right to the death before Coll eventually took the win in 74 minutes.

However, on this occasion it was the Egyptian who started the brighter of the two as he took the first game. Coll soon settled into his game plan though to take the second game for the loss of two points before a tight third and fourth also went in the favour of the Kiwi player.

“He makes you feel pretty average on there” says Paul Coll after beating Mazen Hesham

“He makes you feel pretty average on there,” said Coll afterwards. “It’s very hard to settle into any kind of rhythm. I was feeling really good coming into this match in my short game, but he puts you on edge with his skill and racket speed. I’m happy to get through that in four and looking forward to training tomorrow and playing on Thursday.”

Germany’s Simon Rösner also booked his place in the last eight after ousting the tenacious Egyptian Zahed Salem and he will compete against World No.3 Tarek Momen, who put in a composed performance to get the better of Rösner’s compatriot, Raphael Kandra.

The quarter-finals begin on Wednesday October 9, with play beginning at 18:00 (GMT-4). All action will be shown live from Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Center on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe & Japan).

However, the quarter-final fixture between top seed Ali Farag and Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez will no longer go ahead after the latter was forced to pull out of the match due to a calf injury. Farag receives a walkover into the semi-final. 

FS Investments US Open 2019, Daskalakis Athletic Center, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA. (PSA World Tour Platinum – Equal prize money: $185,500 for both men and women).

Men’s Third Round (Bottom Half): 
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 12-10 (36m)
[5] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Zahed Salem (EGY) 3-1: 11-4, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 (57m)
[6] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-1: 6-11, 11-2, 12-10, 11-8 (64m)
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 (42m)

Men’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half today):
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) Walkover to Farag
[7] Diego Elias (PER) v [4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Bottom Half (tomorrow):
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [5] Simon Rösner (GER)
[6] Paul Coll (NZL) v [1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)

Women’s Third Round (Bottom Half):
[3] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [13] Salma Hany (EGY) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 (31m)
[8] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt [16] Joey Chan (HKG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (22m)
[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [12] Joshna Chinappa (IND) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 (32m)
[2] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [9] Annie Au (HKG) 3-1: 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-2 (36m)

Women’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half, today):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
Rowan Elaraby (EGY) v [4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Bottom Half (tomorrow):
[3] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [8] Tesni Evans (WAL)
[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [2] Camille Serme (FRA) 

Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA

Posted on October 9, 2019

Argentina 47-17 USA: Pumas confirm 2023 Rugby World Cup spot

Published in Rugby
Tuesday, 08 October 2019 23:50

Argentina finished their World Cup with a bonus-point win over the USA as they came third in Pool C and confirmed a spot at the 2023 tournament.

The Pumas, who have failed to reach the knockout stages for the first time since 2003 after defeats by France and England, crossed for seven tries.

Joaquin Tuculet scored a first-half double after Nicolas Sanchez's opener.

The USA responded before the break when Blaine Scully touched down from fly-half AJ MacGinty's clever grubber.

But centre Juan Cruz Mallia crossed twice to reassert Argentina's dominance in the second half, with further scores from Jeronimo De La Fuente and Gonzalo Bertranou.

Paul Lasike responded with a try and Scully added a late third for the USA, who finish their campaign against winless Tonga on Sunday.

A third-place finish in the pool stages in Japan guarantees teams a place at the World Cup in France in four years' time.

Argentina: Joaquin Tuculet, Bautista Delguy, Juan Cruz Mallia, Jeronimo De La Fuente, Santiago Carreras; Nicolas Sanchez, Felipe Ezcurra; Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Julian Montoya, Santiago Medrano, Guido Petti Pagadizaval, Matias Alemanno, Pablo Matera, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Rodrigo Bruni.

Replacements: Agustin Creevy, Mayco Vivas, Enrique Pieretto Heiland, Marcos Kremer, Tomas Lezana, Gonzalo Bertranou, Benjamin Urdapilleta, Matias Moroni.

USA: Mike Te'o, Blaine Scully, Bryce Campbell, Paul Lasike, Marcel Brache; AJ MacGinty, Ruben De Haas; 1-Eric Fry, Joe Taufete'e, Titi Lamositele, Nate Brakeley, Greg Peterson, Tony Lamborn, Hanco Germishuys, Cam Dolan.

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