Rösner Rout Sees Ghosal Through To Canary Wharf Classic Quarters

Indian No.1 Saurav Ghosal ended a five-match losing streak to world No.7 Simon Rösner when he beat the German at East Wintergarden in London to reach the quarter-finals of the St James's Place Canary Wharf Classic for the first time.

The world No.13 from Kolkata came out firing in the first game of his clash with the PSA World Tour Gold event's fifth seed. Ghosal held the momentum through the middle part of the first game, before he caught the German on his follow-through at 9-5. After a ten-minute blood injury delay, Rösner came back onto court and won five of the next six points, including saving four game balls.

However, it would be Ghosal that took the game, before the German Tree-Chopper fought his way back into the match, restoring parity in the contest by winning the second - despite the Indian saving a game ball in the process.

It would eventually be the 'Mongoose' that took the win, the 13-11, 7-11, 11-4 victory being only his fourth over Rösner in 12 meetings since 2004.

"I think it was a culmination of a couple of things," said Ghosal. "I was 9-5 up, the momentum was with me, and especially when you are playing Simon, it is so difficult to get that against him because he has such good power and a great touch art the front of the court.

"He stepped up and played some really good stuff but I am glad that I was able to finally win it because I think on the balance of play that I deserved to win it. Beating a player of that quality, in the form that he is in right now, is a really good win for me!"

Ghosal now faces Egypt's Mohamed Elshorbagy after the world No.1 from Egypt narrowly secured his berth in the last eight after surviving a tricky test against France's Mathieu Castagnet.

It was the Egyptian who held control through the first game, as he aimed to bounce back from his defeat to New Zealand's world No.5 Paul Coll at the Windy City Open in Chicago last month. He took the first 11-6, but as is always the case with Castagnet, the Frenchman fought his way back.

Thanks to Castagnet's mental and physical toughness, the match would be pushed into a third game as the world No.22 refused to go down without a fight. He took the second 11-8 to set up a decider and it looked like it could go either way right through the middle part of it, with neither player able to pull away.

In the end, the world No.1 took the victory to advance to his last eight meeting with Ghosal.

"He is a warrior," said Elshorbagy. "He had a really bad injury and he is making his way back. I know his ranking is still outside the top 20 but the level he can play at .... once you are a great player, you don't just become a bad player. You stay great and luckily I pulled through at the end!

"The best-of-three format changes the dynamic of the sport. It will be short, sharp rallies and you will play at a very high pace. With the best-of-five you have to think about the whole match, and think about your energy throughout the match. I am proud of my mental performance today. I got lucky today and I know I need to try and improve for the next round.

"I have always enjoyed playing this event and the crowd are always fully supportive from the first day. We play for the crowd and they make it really exciting for us to play. It is close to Bristol, my home, and I definitely enjoy playing here."

It was the end of the line for English legends James Willstrop and Daryl Selby - Peru's world No.6 Diego Elias getting the better of four-time champion Willstrop and World Champion Tarek Momen recovering from a game down to beat Selby.