"Tonight's match was tough - such a mental battle," added Matthew, who had never before lost to Gaultier after leading by two games. England’s Nick Matthew survived a dramatic AJ Bell PSA World Squash Championship final at Manchester Central in Manchester, beating French rival Gregory Gaultier to claim the trophy for the 3rd time.
The 111-minute triumph, fittingly the longest match of the championship, means that the 33-year-old World No4 joins a select and distinguished group of players – Australian Geoff Hunt; Pakistanis Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan; and Egyptian Amr Shabana – who have 3 titles to their name.
Gaultier, the World No2 also becomes a member of a notable trio of fellow former World No ones – including Pakistan’s Qamar Zaman and Australian Chris Dittmar – who have been finalists 4 times but have never won the title!
Matthew went into the match 2/1 ahead of his opponent in previous meetings in the World Championship, but 10/15 down in career-long Tour clashes. It was their seventh Tour encounter of the year – the most recent being the US Open final just two weeks ago when Gaultier crushed the Englishman in straight games.
Matthew was clearly after revenge and a capacity and partisan crowd around the new ASB show glass court at Manchester Central saw the Englishman opening up a 2-0 lead. The third game saw a revival of fortunes for the in-form Frenchman. Gaultier was was on fire in the 3rd and 4th game to level the match.
The decider saw a noticeably focussed Matthew come into the court alongside a weary-looking Frenchman. As the game developed, it became increasingly clear that Gaultier had little more to give – and Matthew, urged on by the excited crowd, scored winner after winner before a tinned response from the Frenchman on championship point gave the Englishman the title 11-9, 11-9, 11-13, 7-11, 11-2 after 111 minutes.
Final:
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11-9, 11-9, 11-13, 7-11, 11-2 (111m)
Semi-finals:
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) 6-11, 11-2, 2-0 ret. (24m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [6] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) 6-11, 11-3, 11-8, 12-10 (78m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 (48m)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [8] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 (43m)
[6] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [3] James Willstrop (ENG) 12-10, 11-6, 2-11, 11-9 (78m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [13] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-7, 11-4, 12-10 (60m)
3rd round:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [14] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 12-10 (62m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 5-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-2 (66m)
[8] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [16] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 (37m)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [11] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 11-4, 11-7, 11-13, 11-4 (71m)
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [9] Borja Golan (ESP) 11-4, 11-8, 11-6 (48m)
[6] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [12] Simon Rosner (GER) 11-1, 11-9, 11-7 (41m)
[13] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [5] Karim Darwish (EGY) 4-11, 11-9, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8 (85m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [10] Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (45m)
2nd round:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [Q] Fares Mohamed Dessouki (EGY) 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 (23m)
[14] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 11-9, 11-3, 9-11, 11-6 (80m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt [15] Alister Walker (BOT) 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7 (55m)
Henrik Mustonen (FIN) bt [7] Peter Barker (ENG) 4-11, 2-11, 11-6 ret. (36m)
[8] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 11-8, 11-7, 12-14, 11-6 (55m)
[16] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt Leo Au (HKG) 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 (38m)
[11] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-5, 11-4, 13-11 (44m)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Max Lee (HKG) 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (41m)
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (39m)
[9] Borja Golan (ESP) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 11-4, 11-6, 11-3 (30m)
[12] Simon Rosner (GER) bt Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) 15-13, 11-7, 11-5 (59m)
[6] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 11-4, 11-5, 11-6 (29m)
[5] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-7, 11-5, 11-3 (33m)
[13] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 11-9, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3 (75m)
[10] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 5-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 (43m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Matthew Karwalski (AUS) 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 (32m)
1st round:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 10-12, 13-11, 11-3, 11-4 (65m)
[Q] Fares Mohamed Dessouki (EGY) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 9-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 (82m)
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) 11-8, 12-10, 4-11, 8-11, 13-11 (79m)
[14] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 (48m)
[15] Alister Walker (BOT) bt [Q] Shaun le Roux (RSA) 11-8, 11-5, 13-11 (49m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Joe Lee (ENG) 11-5, 12-10, 11-3 (48m)
Henrik Mustonen (FIN) bt [Q] Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) 7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8 (84m)
[7] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5 (72m)
[8] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (38m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 11-3, 10-12, 11-4, 7-11, 11-4 (78m)
Leo Au (HKG) bt [Q] Shahier Razik (CAN) 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9 (90m)
[16] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 11-6, 11-7, 4-11, 11-9 (75m)
[11] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (34m)
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 11-9, 11-9, 2-11, 10-12, 11-8 (70m)
Max Lee (HKG) bt Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-7, 13-11, 12-10 (39m)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [Q] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (39m)
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Joel Hinds (ENG) 11-4, 11-4, 13-11 (35m)
Tom Richards (ENG) bt [WC] Ben Coleman (ENG) 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 (53m)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt [Q] Steven Finitsis (AUS) 11-8, 4-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9 (75m)
[9] Borja Golan (ESP) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-9, 6-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5 (110m)
[12] Simon Rosner (GER) bt [Q] Raphael Kandra (GER) 11-5, 11-5, 11-9 (57m)
Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) bt [Q] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 (44m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (45m)
[6] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 11-6, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7 (74m)
[5] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [Q] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (28m)
Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt [Q] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 11-5, 4-11, 8-11, 11-8, 14-12 (74m)
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) bt [Q] Ammar Altamimi (KUW) 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 (30m)
[13] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [Q] Charles Sharpes (ENG) 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (35m)
[10] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [Q] Eddie Charlton (ENG) 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 (39m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) 7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 12-10 (52m)
[Q] Matthew Karwalski (AUS) bt Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 11-2, 11-5, 11-5 (32m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (47m)
