Miraculous Comeback By Pilley
Published: 24 May 2013 - 16:42 by raystrach
Updated: 27 May 2013 - 07:45
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The latests press release from Squash Australia
Miraculous comeback puts Pilley into the quarters
Australia’s Cameron Pilley pulled off the biggest upset of the British Open when he downed sixth seeded Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy in five games in Hull on Thursday.
Pilley staged a miraculous comeback to recover from two games and 9-3 down to stun a shattered El Shorbagy and win 13-15, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6, 13-11 on a bitterly cold day on the all-glass court set up on the playing surface at the Hull City football club.
Pilley saved match points in the fifth game, trailing 8-10 and 10-11 in the decider, before finding a way to steal the points which most mattered.
"You have to have faith in yourself - it was under control all the time," he joked. "Seriously though, I am not too sure," he replied to the question of how he had turned it around.
"There had been no real purpose to my game, and he was just killing me. But I relaxed a bit and straightened it up a bit.
"I was also very determined. He had beaten me the last four times, so I'm very happy to get away with a win there."
Shorbagy struggled to cope with Pilley’s reach, as the Australian slowly gained control of the mid-court.
Towards the end of the fifth game Shorbagy played a cross-court drive on his first match point, which allowed Pilley a chance for a cut-off volley drop winner, then was refused a let by the referee on the second, and put a backhand drop into the tin for the third.
Pilley completed his startling comeback on his first match point when Shorbagy attempted a low cross court forehand drive from a deep position, only to drill the ball into the tin.
Pilley now plays third seed James Willstrop in the quarters after the Yorkshireman accounted for German Simon Rosner 11-9, 11-1, 11-6 in a match that was moved indoors after rain made the court unplayable.
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From rippa rit - 27 May 2013 - 07:45
From rippa rit - 25 May 2013 - 17:44 - Updated: 25 May 2013 - 17:45
Squash Australia's follow-up:
Australia’s chances of winning the British Open in 2013 ended on Friday after Kasey Brown met her match in a red-hot Alison Waters and a badly cramping Cameron Pilley bowed out after a five-game 107-minute marathon against third seeded Englishman James Willstrop in the English city of Hull.
A day after completing a superb comeback to beat Mohamed El Shorbagy in the second round, Pilley was on the receiving end against Willstrop, who came from two games down to beat the Australian number one 9-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-6, 11-1.
With matches moved indoors due to wild weather that is affecting large parts of the UK, Pilley and Willstrop played each other to a standstill in a classic encounter of power and precision.
The 30-year-old Pilley, who has the record for the fastest squash ball ever hit at 280kmh, opened with incredible power and impeccable length to have the Yorkshireman in trouble at two games down.
But Willstrop, who spent much of 2012 as world number one, battled back and edged the third game in a tiebreak.
Pilley’s marathon win over El Shorbagy appeared to take its toll on the Australian as Willstrop took the fourth game then eased away with the fifth against an opponent who was by then hobbling with cramp.
Willstrop now needs to recover in time to play top seeded Egyptian Ramy Ashour in the semi-finals, with the winner to play either defending champion Nick Matthew or former winner Gregory Gaultier.
“I just don't know what to say, I can hardly speak,” Willstrop said afterwards. Cameron played so well, I couldn't hit a straight ball, I don't know, I just dug and dug and dug and dug.
“It's amazing to get through a match like this. The intensity of that squash is like brain ache.”
Earlier, Brown was never in the hunt against Waters, the last woman to have beaten world number one Nicol David.
The English fourth seed was on the mark from the word go, attacking the ball and making Brown do a lot of work trying to run those shots down, more often than not in vain.
It was only in the third that Brown really threatened, recovering from 1-5 to 4-5, but Waters was soon off again, and not long after was in the semi-finals.
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