James Willstrop upsets Karim Darwish to advance to Kuwait Open semi-final
The semi-finals of the PSA Super Series Kuwait Open have been set after England's James Willstrop upset Egypt's Karim Darwish in the quarter-final in 85 minutes 5-11, 11-8, 11-3, 6-11, 11-6 to advance.
Willstrop shared his thoughts with www.squashsite.co.uk after the match saying, "It was not easy, and why should it be? The man has such a trade record. It was a real battle out there, a real battle, and
I’m happy to be at the better end of that.
"Yes, I did expect to win, like I do expect to win any matches really. I feel good, and I had a good week here, much better than last week – that was a bit of a disappointment. I didn’t feel I was at my
sharpest, but then again, that may be coming from the heat."
The victory for Willstrop now sets up a semi-final meeting with world number one, Egypt's Ramy Ashour.
"Do I still want to get to number one? Yes, I’m doing everything I can to achieve it," the 27-year-old Willstrop added, "and if I get there, fantastic, but at least, I’ll know that I would have done my
best."
It won't be easy for Willstrop to get there as Ashour has been in outstanding form throughout the open and quickly disposed of Frenchman Thierry Lincou in just 33 minutes 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 in the quarter-final.
Should Willstrop manage an improbable victory over Ashour, it will set up a final between he and the winner of Egypt's Amr Shabana and France's Gregory Gaultier.
To get to the semi-final, Gaultier defeated Englishman Daryl Selby who had upset fellow countryman, number one seed Nick Matthew, in the second round. The victory was Selby's first over his English rival,
a victory which he called, "the best win of my career."
Should Shabana and Ashour win their respective semi-final matches it could set up a third consecutive meeting in the final of the Kuwait
Open between the two.
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