Playoffs: Salazar outlasts Pilley

The packed gallery at the TLTC were treated to a high quality match between the Cameron Pilley (AUS WR, #17) & Cesar Salazar (MEX, WR #25) for the 5-8th playoff in the 2017 Cambridge Cup. 
Mark Porter reports

The two put on a show that left audience members gasping and cheering from start to finish.  Early stages of the match suggested the Aussie would cruise to s 3-0 victory over his Mexican counterpart but Salazar would not go away without a fight.
Pilley looked comfortable to start the match. He employed a variety of shots to move Salazar around the court and control the ‘T’. Pilley worked a lethal combination of lobs, drops, Philadelphia boasts, and ferocious cross court kills! Salazar’s retrieving was unbelievable – he fought off the barrage of shots from Pilley but couldn’t seem to get himself into an offensive position. Pilley took the first game 11-6. 
After a brutal exchange in the second Pilley went airborne to finish the rally with a ridiculous cross court nick that left both players and the crowd stunned! Pilley rode the momentum from that rally to take the second game 12-10 and a 2-0 match lead. Between games when asked about the miraculous winner Pilley replied “I surprised myself with that one!”.

In the third Salazar found himself down 2-8. Just when it appeared the last few points were a mere formality and Pilley would be crowned the winner, Salazar started to claw his way back into the game. After a few winners from Salazar followed by a couple of errors by Pilley the two were tied up at 9 all. 
The ensuing rally saw Salazar scrambling around the court and playing 3 consecutive back wall boasts just to stay in it – Pilley went for the finish and clipped the tin to give Salazar the 10 -9 lead. Despite doing more work in the rally it was Salazar who appeared to have more energy after the crucial point as he was able to hold on to take the game 11-9.
The fourth game was a similar story with Pilley seemingly controlling the rallies but unable to put the ball away. Salazar continued to return shot after shot and appeared content to chase down every ball. It was a back and forth game but again it was Salazar who won the big points at the end to win the 4th 11-9.

Going into the 5th it was obvious that the long rallies were starting to take their toll on the Aussie. Pilley threw everything he had left at Salazar but it was not enough to slow down the momentum of the speedy Mexican. Salazar and Pilley traded points to start the 5th game but Salazar was able to capitalize on his opponent’s fatigue in the later stages to take the game 11-8 and complete the 0-2 comeback.
Salazar and Pilley exited the court loud cheers and applause from the appreciative Lawn crowd who were treated to just under an hour of high quality, entertaining, squash! A big thank you goes out to the players for their amazing performance as well as to our sponsor BMO ETFS for bringing this high quality match to the TLTC.
Salazar def Pilley (6-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8) 54 mins.