January 2012

Selby and Willstrop ensure English finalist in New York!

Straight games victories by Daryl Selby (pic le) and James Willstrop in the 1st two quarter-finals of the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions have ensured English representation in Thursday’s final at Grand Central Terminal in New York.

“Extremely happy to reach my 1st ever major semi final,” tweeted Selby after his emphatic 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 victory over qualifier Marwan El Shorbagy (pic ri), the reigning world junior champion from Egypt to whom he lost a World Open clash last November.

Selby, the only unseeded player to make the last eight, will now face England team-mate James Willstrop, who eased through the quarters after dispatching compatriot Peter Barker 11-4, 11-3, 11-6.

Remaining quarter-final line-up:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [5] Amr Shabana (EGY).


Quarter-finals night in New York!

Quarter-finals night in New York’s ToC action. Probably the most spectacular match will be Greg Gaultier (pic le) vs Amr Shabana (pic ri) – remember the World Series Finals. Any predictions on the winners? Make your calls …

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) (3:1)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [5] Amr Shabana (EGY) (13:11)
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [Q] Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY) (0:1)
[2] James Willstrop (ENG) v [6] Peter Barker (ENG) (26:2)


Marwan makes historic New York quarters!

Egyptian teenager Marwan El Shorbagy (pic le) became the 1st qualifier to make the quarters of the Tournament of Champions for 10 years after defeating England’s Tom Richards (pic ri) in the 2nd round 9-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10 in New York. Next opponent will be Daryl Selby, who defeated Germany’s Simon Rosner in 4 games (11-8, 4-11, 11-6, 13-11).

Later on, it was brother Mohamed El Shorbagy who beat Australian Cameron Pilley 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5. Rounding out the trio of Egyptians is 2-time title-holder Amr Shabana, who beat Columbian Miguel Angel Rodriguez in a thrilling encounter 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 4-11, 11-8.

Further 2nd round: [1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 (65m); [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 11-4, 10-12, 11-6, 11-1 (59m); [6] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Shahier Razik (CAN) 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 (42m); [2] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 11-8, 12-10, 11-2 (41m).


Rodriguez rallies to New York upset!

Colombian qualifier Miguel Angel Rodriguez (pic) upended Hisham Ashour in a hard-fought 5-game thriller (11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-9) on the 2nd day of 1st round play in the Tournament of Champions to secure a surprise place in the last 16 in New York. Rodriguez faces another Egyptian Amr Shabana in the 2nd round. The 2-time title-holder defeated fellow countryman Mohd Ali Anwar Reda in 3 straightforward games (11-7, 11-8, 11-7).

In the day’s opening match, top seed Nick Matthew defeated Wael El Hindi in 4 games (11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7). Matthew’s next opponent is compatriot Adrian Grant, who survived a 83-minutes encounter against Scottish Alan Clyne (11-5, 16-14, 9-11, 11-5).

Further 1st round results (top half): Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-7, 11-3, 11-8 (47m); [7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5 (41m); Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt [Q] Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4 (51m); [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Borja Golan Santin (ESP) 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 (60m).


Selby stuns Darwish in Grand Central upset!

In an opening day (bottom half of the draw) of the Tournament of Champions in New York which was littered with upsets, England’s Daryl Selby claimed a big scalp with a career-first win (4-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-5 ) over Egypt’s Karim Darwish, the No4 seed.

The 29-year-old next faces Germany’s Simon Rosner who defeated highly-rated Egyptian Tarek Momen 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7. It was Marwan El Shorbagy (pic le), the 18-year-old reigning world junior champion, engineered the day’s biggest upset when he ousted former world No1 and 8th seed Thierry Lincou (pic ri) in four games 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7.

Further 1st round (lower half of draw): Tom Richards (ENG) bt [Q] Max Lee (HKG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (31m); [6] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [Q] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 8-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (84m); Shahier Razik (CAN) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (76m); [Q] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt Alister Walker (BOT) 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5 (48m); [2] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Zac Alexander (AUS) 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 (39m).


Shabana is Comfort Inn Open Champion!

Amr Shabana (pic le) continued his spectacular start to 2012 when he picked up the Comfort Inn Open title in Canada. The Egyptian maestro defeated fellow countryman Hisham Ashour (pic ri) in an entertaining 50-minute final in Vancouver. It was the Cairo pair’s 8th Tour meeting in exactly ten years – and not only Shabana’s 8th success but also Ashour’s 2nd successive defeat in the Vancouver event’s final.

Shabana’s path to victory was not easy, as the 4-times World Champion had to recover from one game down to fight back against Ashour’s shot-making style. In the end it was Shabana who held his nerve and ultimately closed out the match 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 to notch up the 29th PSA Tour title of his career.


adidas becomes official sportswear partner of the PSA World Tour!

Global sports brand adidas has become the Official Sportswear Partner to the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour. The two-year agreement, which starts in January 2012, will see adidas provide clothing to all PSA staff and officials at each of the PSA World Series events – the top tier events of the PSA World Tour.

The deal comes as the PSA starts to implement its World Tour Partner Programme that looks to exploit the rapid expansion in the global broadcast coverage of squash in the past 18 months.

The deal comes as the PSA starts to implement its World Tour Partner Programme that looks to exploit the rapid expansion in the global broadcast coverage of squash in the past 18 months.

Alex Gough, Chief Executive of the PSA, commented: “I am delighted that we have entered into a partnership with adidas. Both the PSA and adidas have the very highest ambitions for the sport of squash and clear visions for the future of our sport.

“Squash is in an exciting phase of commercial development and we are looking to attract Tour partners across a range of categories – having adidas come on board is a real boost for the Tour.”


New York hosts Year’s first World Series challenge!

Englishmen James Willstrop, the new World No1, and Nick Matthew, who was at the top of the world rankings throughout 2011 head a world-class field at next week’s JP Morgan Tournament of Champions (18th to 22nd of Jan), the 1st PSA World Series event of the new year at Grand Central Terminal in New York.

The 32-player draw features 24 of the world’s top 30 players, with the remaining eight spots to be determined by a 32-player qualifying draw. The 2012 draw features 6 players who have topped the world rankings, and 3 returning titleholders – England’s 2010 champion James Willstrop; Frenchman Greg Gaultier, the 2009 winner; and Egypt’s Amr Shabana, the champion in 2006 and 2007.

It was on the eve of the event that Ramy Ashour, the defending champion and 2008 winner from Egypt, announced his withdrawal due to on-going hamstring problems.

After finishing as runner-up on 3 occasions, top seed Nick Matthew will be hoping for 4th time lucky! The 31-year-old will be making his Tour comeback after sustaining an adductor injury in Kuwait in November.

New World No1 James Willstrop will also be a serious title contender. Winner of the last three World Series events of 2011, the 28-year-old is seeded to meet Matthew in the final. Rounding off the top 6 seeds are former world No1 and 3-time semi-finalist Karim Darwish of Egypt, and England’s Peter Barker, one of the most consistent performers over the 2011 World Series.

Julian Illingworth, the highest-ever ranked US player on the PSA Tour, will take on Canada’s Shahier Razik in the first round. The only player among the top 24 making his JP Morgan Tournament of Champions debut is Aamir Atlas Khan of Pakistan – whose uncle Jansher Khan won the Tournament of Champions the first year it was contested in Grand Central Terminal.

Other activities during tournament week include the ToC Junior Invitational Tournament with the finals of all draws on the ToC glass court on January 22. NY Squash will host the Grand Open amateur tournament, a qualifying event for the US National Skill Level Championships. Participants from New York City urban youth enrichment charities StreetSquash, CitySquash and PowerPlay NYC, will participate in clinics with the tournament competitors.

1st round draw:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Omar Mosaad (EGY)
Adrian Grant (ENG) v Qualifier
Cameron Pilley (AUS) v Olli Tuominen (FIN)
[7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) v Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK)
[5] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY)
Hisham Mohamed Ashour (EGY) v Qualifier
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v Qualifier
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Borja Golan Santin (ESP)
[4] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Daryl Selby (ENG)
Tarek Momen (EGY) v Simon Rosner (GER)
Tom Richards (ENG) v Qualifier
[8] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v Qualifier
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) v Qualifier
Julian Illingworth (USA) v Shahier Razik (CAN)
Alister Walker (BOT) v Qualifier
[2] James Willstrop (ENG) v Qualifier