Whilst Englishman Nick Matthew extends his reign at No.1 in the PSA Men's World Rankings, it is France's Thierry Lincou (pic ri) who grabs the headlines at 8th place in the August by celebrating his 10th full year in the world top ten! In September 2001 the 11-time French national champion leapt 12 places to No8, and has maintained this top ten status to date. "I am very proud of this longevity in the elite group of the PSA," said the 35-year-old. "We all know how tough it is to break into the top 10 and it is even harder to stay,” added the world champion 2004 and former world number one. "I always had a good base of physical abilities," said the winner of 22 PSA World Tour titles from 41 final appearances. Lincou joins Australian David Palmer (pic le) as the only player on the current Tour to have maintained a top ten presence for ten whole years.
Category: "players"
Lincou celebrates ten years in top ten!
August 3, 2011 • Tags: David Palmer, PSA, Thierry Lincou, World Ranking • Categories: all posts, players
Raphael Kandra crowned NWS Open Champion!
August 2, 2011 • Tags: Australia, New South Wales Open, PSA, Raphael Kandra, Sydney • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments
Germany's Raphael Kandra (pic) celebrated title success in the New South Wales Open after beating Aqeel Rehman in a shock all-European final in Sydney. It was after beating England's 3rd seed Lewis Walters in the quarter-finals that Kandra, the No8 seed, produced a major upset by ousting 2nd-seeded Australian Rex Hedrick in a 5-game semi-final marathon. And in the other semi, Austrian Rehman denied the hosts the predicted all-Australian final when he despatched Sydney-born favourite Scott Arnold. But Kandra, celebrating his 2nd unexpected Tour final appearance in Australia in a row, was now on a roll. After dropping the first game, the 20-year-old battled for 62 minutes to overcome 5th seed Rehman - winning 6-11, 13-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 to claim the first PSA World Tour title of his career.
Perry beat Massaro to rake Singapore crown!
July 31, 2011 • Tags: Laura Massaro, Madeline Perry, Singapore Masters, Singpore, WISPA • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments
Laura Massaro produced the performance of the year so far to stun world No1 Nicol David (11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9) in a 85 minutes encounter at the semi final of the Singapore Masters, as 3rd seed Madeline Perry (IRE, pic) ended the run of France's Camille Serme 11-7, 11-7, 11-3. It was Massaro’s 2nd win over David this year. In the final Perry was in control of the match most of the 61 minutes of play, as Massaro was not able to reproduce the same performance as one day before against David. The 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9 victory marks Perry’s 1st win this year and the 9th in her career.
Reda stops Shorbagy’s run to take Sportsmax title!
July 30, 2011 • Tags: Cairo, Egypt, Marwan El Shorbagy, Mohd Ali Anwar Reda, PSA, Sportsmax Open • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments
Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (pic) celebrated home success in the inaugural Sportsmax Open when he lifted the PSA World Tour International 25 event trophy in Cairo. But the 2nd seed was stretched for 96 minutes before overcoming the event's giant-killer Marwan El Shorbagy - the 17-year-old qualifier from his own country who ousted two seeds on the way to his unexpected appearance in the final. El Shorbagy arrived in Cairo fresh from winning the world junior title in Belgium - then immediately went through 2 rounds of qualifying and 2 rounds of the main draw before beating top seed Omar Mosaad in the semis. In the final 22-year-old Reda stopped his promising fellow countryman’s run 6-11, 12-10, 12-10, 6-11, 16-14 to secure the 11th PSA title of his career.
Magic Marwan outs Mosaad in Cairo upset!
July 29, 2011 • Tags: Cairo, Egypt, Marwan El Shorbagy, Omar Mosaad, PSA, Sportsmax Open • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments
Clearly inspired by his new status as world junior champion, Egyptian teenager Marwan El Shorbagy (pic) pulled off his 3rd successive giant-killing victory in the Sportsmax Open when he defeated top-seeded compatriot Omar Mosaad to reach the final in Cairo. After 2 rounds of qualifying, the 17-year-old began his main draw run by beating India's experienced Siddharth Suchde, before despatching 3rd-seeded Pakistani Aamir Atlas Khan in the quarters. Only 4 months after losing in straight games to world No14 Mosaad, El Shorbagy recovered from a game down to beat his opponent 4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-8 in 54 minutes. El Shorbagy will now face 2nd seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda in the final, who was tested for 81 minutes before getting the better of unseeded compatriot Omar Abdel Aziz 11-13, 11-5, 11-9, 11-2.
Marwan marches on in Cairo!
July 28, 2011 • Tags: Cairo, Egypt, Marwan El Shorbagy, Omar Mosaad, PSA, Sportsmax Open • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments
Egyptian qualifier Marwan El Shorbagy (pic) produced his 2nd upset in 2 days in the inaugural Sportsmax Open in Egypt when he beat 3rd-seeded Pakistani Aamir Atlas Khan in the quarter-finals in Cairo. Only days after being crowned world junior champion in Belgium, the 17-year-old followed his 1st round triumph over India's Siddharth Suchde to topple Khan, the world No28 11-6, 5-11, 11-7, 11-5. El Shorbagy will now face fellow countryman Omar Mosaad for a place in the final. The top seed beat Italian Stephane Galifi 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 14-12. It took 88 minutes for 2nd seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda to clinch his place in the last 4, stemming a fight back by Kristian Frost Olesen to beat the unseeded Dane 13-11, 11-1, 6-11, 12-14, 11-7. Reda will face Omar Abdel Aziz, the 11-6, 11-9, 11-4 victor over Egyptian qualifier Omar Abdel Meguid.
El Tayeb takes the World Junior crown!
July 26, 2011 • Tags: Boston, Nour El Sherbini, Nour El Tayeb, USA, Women’s World Junior Squash Championship, WSF • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments
After she has failed in the 2009 and 2010 finals, it was the 3rd time lucky for Egypt’s Nour El Tayeb (pic) to take the Women’s World Junior Individual Title, when she overcame fellow Egyptian former champion (2009) Nour El Sherbini in 4 games in Boston, USA. "I've been dreaming about this for a long time," admitted El Tayeb after her 11-5, 3-11, 11-7, 11-8 triumph in 42 minutes. "But I haven't been thinking about winning or expecting to win when I've been on court, I've just been thinking about the match, the next point. El Tayeb's success means that Egypt now boasts all 4 world junior squash titles - the Men's & Women's World Individual and World Team Championships.
Egyptian Women’s World Junior Champion guaranteed!
July 25, 2011 • Tags: Boston, Nour El Sherbini, Nour El Tayeb, USA, Women’s World Junior Squash Championship, WSF • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments
Egypt's former champion Nour El Sherbini (pic ri) upset title-holder Amanda Sobhy (pic le) in the semi-finals (11-5, 12-10, 11-9, in 30 minutes) of the Women's World Junior Championship to deny hosts USA home success in Boston. El Sherbini, the 15-year-old 2009 champion, will face Nour El Tayeb, the 18-year-old who reached the final for the 3rd year in a row after despatching England's Emily Whitlock in straight games (11-8, 11-3, 11-5, in 25 minutes). The climax will mark the 2nd all-Egyptian world junior squash final in 8 days, after Marwan El Shorbagy took on Mohamed Abouelghar in the men's individual final in Belgium.
