Miguel Rodriguez gained revenge on Sebastian Bonmalais while Mostafa Asal kicked off his title defence in style, as the quarter-final line-ups were set on day three at the HSC 2024 Houston Men’s Squash Open.
Bonmalais stunned the Colombian with an outstanding performance at the SmartCentres Kinetic Florida Open in January, but there would be no repeat in Texas, as Rodriguez came out on top.
Knowing that game one would likely be key, Rodriguez battled back from 8-5 down to take it 11-9, with a Bonmalais backhand finding the tin to end a 60-shot rally on game ball.
The Frenchman began to find his rhythm in game two, giving Rodriguez fewer angles to work worth on his way to levelling the match, but that would be as good as things got for the World No.34.
He won only five points across the next two games, despite some long and punishing rallies, with his fate being sealed when a Rodriguez lob hit the back-wall nick on match ball.
“He’s playing his best squash this year, and I wanted to take revenge,” Rodriguez said, when asked about the defeat in Florida.
“I was out of rhythm and all credit to him because he played very well in the tournament in Florida. Then I played a couple of tournaments – TOC and Detroit, where I made the semis – and I’m in the rhythm again, I have more stamina in my legs so I felt the difference today.
“I started picking up the pace even harder, because the ball was softer and it was very spongy, so I either had to play higher or very hard to the deep corners, and then it worked.”
Victory for Rodriguez was followed by a ruthless performance from defending champion Asal, who needed just 31 minutes to sweep aside Juan Camilo Vargas.
The ‘Raging Bull’ displayed his trademark power throughout, crunching the ball deep into the corners on his way to a comfortable win.
“It’s just amazing to step on court here in Houston once again,” Asal said after his win.
“I have lots of good memories here. Last year I was World No.1 after this event so to come here again is just amazing.
“Vargas is an amazing player, and you don’t know what to expect with someone you didn’t play with before. He was amazing with his speed and his power on court, so I’m happy to go through and happy to be playing again on this court.”
Mohamed Elshorbagy and Mazen Hesham also recorded 3-0 wins to reach the quarter-finals.
The quarter-finals of the HSC 2024 Houston Men’s Squash Open take place from 17:00 (GMT-6) tomorrow, February 16th. Watch the action live on SQUASHTV.
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Results: HSC 2024 Houston Men’s Squash Open RD2 (bottom half)
[2] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-5, 14-12, 11-8 (35m)
[7] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) 3-1: 11-9, 5-11, 11-2, 11-3 (54m)
[3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 (31m)
[5] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 (28m)
Draw: HSC 2024 Houston Men’s Squash Open Quarter-Finals
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [6] Tarek Momen (EGY)
Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) v [4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
[7] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v [2] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG)
[3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) v [5] Mazen Hesham (EGY)
