Castagnet Conquers Golan In US Open Upset

Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet recorded his first ever victory over a world-top-ten-ranked player when he upset seventh-seeded Spaniard Borja Golan in the Delaware Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships to claim an unexpected place in the quarter-finals of the fifth PSA World Series event of the year at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

World No30 Castagnet went into the match with a 0-3 head-to-head record against the world No9 from Santiago de Compestela - losing out in five games over 110 minutes in their most recent meeting.

And the latest clash also took more than 100 minutes as the unseeded Frenchman bid to make his breakthrough against Golan in his first appearance in the US Open.

Castagnet took the opening game but Golan struck back to lead 2/1. From four-all in the fourth, the Frenchman opened up a lead before eventually forcing the decider.

In the fifth Castagnet again made a good start, 3-0 and 8-5 - but Golan battled back to eight-all. A Spanish drop into the tin took the underdog to 9-8, then a drive that died in the back corner to 10-8, before mishit winner gave Castagnet his career-best scalp in an 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8 scoreline after 105 minutes.

"I have no words, I'm so happy," said 26-year-old Castagnet. "I was injured for three months before the world teams and couldn't shake it off. I really considered ending my career then, but I'm so glad I worked hard to recover.

"It feels so good to be playing again, and to be winning a match like this is unbelievable.

"If I end up playing Greg (Gaultier) in the quarters, it will be great for France but a very tough match for me. But playing anyone now would be tough, I need to get some rest and recovery!"

A speedy 29-minute win by the top seed later did give Castagnet the opponent he predicted when Gregory Gaultier dismissed Englishman Adrian Waller 11-1, 11-4, 11-7.

"Today I was really focused from the first point," said Gaultier, the world number two, now a step closer to his second successive appearance in the final. "I really had to play fast and bring something. In the first round I wasn't quite there mentally, so I tried to raise my pace today.

"It's just motivation at the end of the day. I've been a month on the road and haven't seen my family and my kid. I turned up at the junior tournament downstairs, and I was also quite impressed with the level of the juniors here."

The other confirmed quarter-final line-up will also be a clash between two fellow countrymen when Egypt's fourth seed Karim Darwish takes on fifth seed Mohamed Elshorbagy.

Darwish, the 32-year-old world No5 from Cairo, stopped the French invasion when he beat Gregoire Marche, a 23-year-old from Aix-en-Provence, 11-5, 11-2, 12-10 in 44 minutes.

"It's always best to win these early rounds as quick as possible," commented Darwish, seeded to make the semi-finals for the first time since 2007. "But these days that's getting much harder. The third game today was like three games."

Elshorbagy delighted the crowd with his dazzling shot-making as he ousted top-ranked Scot Alan Clyne 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 in 37 minutes. Within the first five points, the Egyptian was hitting winners between his legs from the back court, rolling over his backhand volley for nicks.

The 22-year-old from Alexandria put on an impressive array of drop-shots that left the crowd gasping and Clyne shaking his head.

"I was too passive in my last match, so I knew I had to increase the pace today," said Elshorbagy. "I used my rest day well yesterday, and I'm really happy with my performance today.

"Yesterday I just chilled and had a massage. I know if I play Karim Darwish next I'll be looking for revenge because he beat me 3-0 in Malaysia the last time we played."

US Open image courtesy of Squashpics.com

Official website: www.usopensquash.com