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India No. 1 Saurav Ghosal crashed out to third seed Gregory Gaultier 5-11, 6-11, 10-12 in the opening round of the US Open as the main draw of this prestigious $150,000 World Series event got underway at the Drexel University in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Ghosal held multiple game balls in the third game
World No. 3 and China Open champion Gaultier’s last meeting with the 16th ranked Ghosal was in the first round of the China Open in September, where he beat the Indian in straight games. This time too, it was no different.
The Frenchman came storming out of the blocks in the first game. Ghosal was unable to keep up with the precision of his shots and soon found himself 3-10 down. Even though the Kolkata International winner won the next two points, Gaultier soon wrapped up the opening game 11-5.
The fleet-footed Ghosal tried to throw off Gaultier in the second game. But the former World No. 1 proved to be too strong and determined. The Frenchman, who had the experience of having won this tournament twice, upped the intensity at the crucial points to grab the second game as well, by a score of 11-6.
It was the third game where Ghosal came alive but unfortunately fell short at the very end. The India No. 1 played some brilliant strokes to take a 7-5 lead and even held game balls at 10-7.
But he failed to stop the charge of Gaultier after that. The unfazed World No. 3 fought back to level the scores at 10-10. He won the next two points as well, crushing Ghosal’s hopes of a comeback in the 57-minute contest.
Joshna and Dipika start campaigns on Sunday
With Ghosal’s exit, only two Indians now remain at the US Open – World No. 19 Dipika Pallikal and World No. 20 Joshna Chinappa.
Both will play their first round matches on Sunday. While Chinappa takes on the ninth seed Annie Au, Pallikal will meet Carol Weymuller Open runner-up Joelle King.
