NATIONAL No 1 Ng Eain Yow was left to rue missed opportunities after crashing out in the third round of the Egyptian Open.
The World No 32 succumbed to pressure as he lost a gruelling five-set battle to 59th-ranked Baptiste Masotti of France 7-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6 in Cairo yesterday.
The 21-year-old came into the match high on confidence after his Malaysian Open win and having knocked out World No 30 Raphael Kandra of Germany in the second round.
And he looked the part in the early stages as he claimed the first game 11-7.
Masotti, however, was not lacking in confidence either, having beaten World No 9 Miguel Rodriguez of Colombia in the second round.
And the 24-year-old got on the front foot to level proceedings after a tie-break.
Eain Yow, however, stepped it up again as he overcame a 6-3 deficit in the third game, taking five straight points along the way.
But Masotti once again pegged him back to force a deciding fifth and in the rubber game, took seven straight points before clinching the win in 73 minutes.
The Frenchman will meet either compatriot Victor Crouin or Wales’ Joel Makin in the quarter-finals.
Eain Yow will be bitterly disappointed at failing to reach his first Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour World Series quarter-finals.
“We planned for Eain Yow to reach the quarter-finals and physically he was ready too,” said national coach Ajaz Azmat yesterday.
“And he did well right until the fifth game where he switched off from his game plan.
“Overall, he did play well, but he will be disappointed at himself for not making the quarter-finals especially since he worked so hard for it.
“I guess it just wasn’t his day today (yesterday) since Baptiste was also playing really well.”
Eain Yow will now look to rebound when he heads to Qatar for the Men’s World Championships on Nov 8-15. Kng Zheng Guan