Category: "all posts"

Matthew and Ashour prevail in dramatic 5-game US quarters!

October 12, 2012 • Tags: Amr Shabana, Nick Matthew, Peter Barker, Philadelphia, PSA, Ramy Ashour, US Open • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

England’s Nick Matthew and Egyptian Ramy Ashour prevailed as predicted to reach the semi-finals of the US Open in Philadelphia, but both players were taken the full distance.

In a sensational second night of quarter-final action, 2nd seed Matthew overturned last year’s final outcome after coming back from 1/2 down to beat Egypt’s twice champion Amr Shabana 11-6, 4-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9 in 92 minutes, while Ramy Ashour (le), the No4 seed, survived a tie-break decider to overcome Englishman Peter Barker (ri) 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 13-11 in 75 minutes.

Semi-final line-up:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) v [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [4] Ramy Ashour (EGY)

Quarter-finals (lower half of draw):
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [6] Peter Barker (ENG) 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 13-11 (75m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [7] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-6, 4-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-9 (92m)

King books maiden World Series semi appearance!

October 11, 2012 • Tags: Joelle King, Laura Massaro, Nicol David, Philadelphia, Raneem El Weleily, US Open, WSA • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

Joelle King (ri) recorded the biggest win of her career so far after scalping No.3 seed Jenny Duncalf (le) in five games 8-11, 11-4, 11-3, 8-11, 11-5 secure the maiden semi-final spot at the World Series event. King will now face Nicol David who took 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 revenge on Alison Water as the Englishwomen defeated David in the Carol Weymuller Open in New York t2 weeks ago.

Last year’s US Open Champion Laura Massaro confirmed her place in the semi-final with a confident win over Irishwoman Madeline Perry 11-6, 11-9, 11-7. Massaro will meet Egyptian Raneem El Weleily who closed out Kasey Brown, last year’s runner-up, 11-8, 11-13, 12-10, 11-9.

Semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v [Q] Joelle King (NZL)
[2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) v [4] Laura Massaro (ENG)

Willstrop survives El Shorbagy US Open marathon!

October 10, 2012 • Tags: Greg Gaultier, James Willstrop, Philadelphia, PSA, US Open • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

England’s World No1 James Willstrop (le) survived his 3rd consecutive match lasting more than 80 minutes when he beat 8th-seeded Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy (ri) 11-6, 7-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5 in the quarter-finals of the US Open in Philadelphia.

Willstrop will face career-long French rival Greg Gaultier for a place in the final. The 3rd seed beat 5th-seeded Egyptian Karim Darwish 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 in 61 minutes.

Quarter-finals (top half of draw):
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [8] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) 11-6, 7-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5 (90m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [5] Karim Darwish (EGY) 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 (61m)
Related Results

All seeds into US Open quarter-finals!

October 9, 2012 • Tags: Amr Shabana, Mohamed El Shorbagy, Nick Matthew, Philadelphia, PSA, US Open • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

Egypt’s defending champion Amr Shabana moved closer to his 4th appearance in the final of the US Open coming back from 1 game down to beat Dutch Laurens Jan Anjema
9-11, 11-7, 11-1, 11-5.

Shabana will now meet No2 seed Nick Matthew in a repeat of last year’s final. The 32-year-old won the all-English clash against Adrian Grant 11-2, 11-5, 15-13.

Eighth seed Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) survived a 92-minute marathon to beat Cameron Pilley (AUS) 10-12, 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-4.

“It’s always tough between me and Cameron, so I’m really happy to have won this time,” said El Shorbagy after his 10-12, 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-4 victory.

2nd round results:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 9-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-5 (81m)
[8] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 10-12, 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 11-4 (92m)
[5] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 11-4, 11-3, 11-8 (38m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 (54m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Tarek Momen (EGY) 13-11, 11-7, 11-8 (35m)
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (51m)
[7] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 9-11, 11-7, 11-1, 11-5 (64m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-2, 11-5, 15-13 (68m)

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) v [8] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [5] Karim Darwish (EGY)
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [6] Peter Barker (ENG)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [7] Amr Shabana (EGY)

Massaro claimed Carol Weymuller crown!

October 2, 2012 • Tags: Carol Weymuller Open, Laura Massaro, New York, Raneem El Weleily, USA, WSA • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

Laura Massaro (le) claimed her milestone 10th WSA World Tour title as the Englishwoman completed her Carol Weymuller Open 2012 campaign with a 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 win over Raneem El Weleily (ri) from Egypt.

Massaro almost failed to make it past the 1st round after going 2 games down against Low Wee Wern of Malaysia. She managed to turn the match around to win in 5 and lost the 1st game against Annie Au (HKG) in the quarters before winning 3:1.

In the semi’s, Massaro beat Alison Waters 11-7, 11-7, 11-4, who shocked the squash world with her 11-9, 5-11, 11-3, 11-7 victory over world No.1 Nicol David (MAS).

Massaro’s win put her one place up to No2 of the October WSA World Rankings.

Final:
[4] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (34m)

Semi-finals:
[4] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [Q] Alison Waters (ENG) 11-7, 11-7, 11-4
[2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [7] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9

Quarter-finals:
[Q] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [1] Nicol David (MAS) 11-9, 5-11, 11-3, 11-7
[4] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [6] Annie Au (HKG) 9-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-6
[7] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [3] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 11-6, 11-9, 11-6
[2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt Joelle King (NZL) 3-11, 10-12, 11-3, 11-9, 13-11

1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Kasey Brown (AUS) 11-9, 11-5, 11-6
[Q] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [5] Madeline Perry (IRL) 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-2
[4] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt Low Wee Wern (MAS) 7-11, 4-11, 11-2, 11-3, 11-8
[6] Annie Au (HKG) bt [Q] Donna Urquhart (AUS) 3-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-3, 11-3
[7] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt Camille Serme (FRA) 4-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-4, 14-12
[3] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [Q] Dipika Pallikal (IND) 11-9, 11-6, 11-6
Joelle King (NZL) bt [8] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7
[2] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [Q] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 11-9, 11-9, 11-3

20,020 Players Back World Squash Day!

September 29, 2012 • Tags: Alan Thatcher, Andrew Shelley, James Willstrop, Nick Matthew, Olympics, Ramy Ashour, World Squash Day, WSF • Categories: all posts, associations, supporters, tournaments

World Squash Day has attracted more than 20,020 players to back the sport’s 2020 Olympic bid. The players and their clubs have signed up to take part in the biggest squash match in history on 20 October to support the World Squash Federation’s Olympic ambitions.

“This is a phenomenal milestone to reach, with almost a month to go before World Squash Day actually happens, and we can confidently expect that figure to rise significantly as more clubs join in this fantastic project”, WSF Chief Executive Andrew Shelley said.

The list of clubs who signed up this week includes groups from Japan, Singapore, Finland, Liechtenstein, Brazil, Estonia, Russia, Malta, Belgium, Qatar, Uganda and the Cook Islands, plus St Vincent and The Grenadines, as well as all the bigger squash nations.

WSD founder Alan Thatcher added: “We quickly moved forward from 10,000 players to 15,000 and in a matter of days we could see we were getting close to 20,000. I wanted to witness that historic moment and stayed up half the night to see it happen!

“The 2020 Bid is supported by so many star players, including women’s world champion Nicol David from Malaysia, Egypt’s Ramy Ashour (ri) and England’s great rivals James Willstrop (mi) and Nick Matthew (le), ranked one and two in the world.

Clubs can register to take part by visiting the website: www.worldsquashday.com

Nick Matthew takes British Grand Prix title!

September 24, 2012 • Tags: British Grand Prix, England, James Willstrop, Manchester, Nick Matthew, PSA • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

In the all-English final 2-times World Champion Nick Matthew (le) beat World No1 compatriot James Willstrop (ri) 4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 after 78 minutes of play to win the British Grand Prix 2012.

Unbeaten in his previous 14 PSA encounters with Willstrop, Matthew went into the match as favourite – particularly as Willstrop, the World No1, had come through a gruelling two-hour semi-final against third-seeded Frenchman Greg Gaultier while Matthew spent well under half the time in his win over England team-mate Peter Barker.

“Everybody talks about James’s racket skills – but he’s also the toughest and fiercest competitor I’ve ever played. It doesn’t matter what he’s done before,” said Matthew in response to MC Sue Wright’s suggestion that Willstrop’s previous match might have taken its toll.

Final:
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [1] James Willstrop (ENG) 4-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (78m)

Semi-finals:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 14-16, 15-13 (118m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [4] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (48m)

Quarter-finals:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 8-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 (66m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Simon Rosner (GER) 12-10, 10-12, 11-5, 11-7 (68m)
[4] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-8, 11-1, 11-3 (43m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Alister Walker (BOT) 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-3 (58m)

1st round:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 (59m)
Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Jens Schoor (GER) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 (36m)
Simon Rosner (GER) bt [Q] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (49m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Adrian Waller (ENG) 11-6, 11-7, 11-4 (36m)
[4] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-2 (85m)
Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [Q] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 7-11, 7-11, 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 (87m)
Alister Walker (BOT) bt [Q] Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-7, 14-12, 11-3 (57m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 14-12, 12-10, 11-0 (48m)

Matthew eased into the British Grand Prix final!

September 24, 2012 • Tags: British Grand Prix, England, Manchester, Nick Matthew, Peter Barker, PSA • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

In the all-English semi-final between World No2 Nick Matthew (le) and his compatriot Peter Barker (ri), Matthew took the chance of a clinical 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 victory to reach his 2nd British Grand Prix after just 48 minutes of play.

Final:
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [1] James Willstrop (ENG)

Semi-finals:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 14-16, 15-13 (118m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [4] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (48m)