February 2015

Elshorbagy survives Dessouki’s challenge in Chicago!

February 27, 2015 • Tags: Chicago, Fares Dessouki, Mohamed El Shorbagy, PSA, USA, Windy City Open • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

24-year-old World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy (ri) survived just, as he overcame the attacks of 4-year-younger Egyptian compatriot Fares Dessouki (le) to take the victory in the 1st round at the 2015 Windy City Open in Chicago.

But after failing to capitalize on a match-point opportunity, Dessouki allowed 24-time-finalist Elshorbagy back in and he made no mistakes, eventually sealing an 11-9, 3-11, 10-12, 11-7, 13-11 victory after 101 punishing minutes.

“I’ve known Fares for a long time, since we came through the same club, and he’s already competing with the top players and he’s only 20. It was experience that made the difference at the end but it’s only a matter of time until he’s competing in the finals of major events,” said Elshorbagy.

Earlier in the day four-time World Champion Amr Shabana, the 35-year-old Egyptian who paved the way for the current plethora of top class Egyptian stars, moved into the 2nd round with an assured 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 victory over Chris Simpson.

There was further joy for Egyptian squash with victories for World No.7 Tarek Momen and World No.20 Karim Abdel Gawad while Indian Saurav Ghosal, Swiss star Nicolas Mueller and Colombian live-wire Miguel Angel Rodriguez rounded out the top half of action with victories.

1st round – top half:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Fares Dessouki (EGY) 11-9, 3-11, 10-12, 11-7, 13-11 (101m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Max Lee (HKG) 11-4, 5-11, 11-8, 11-13, 13-11 (76m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) 9-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-9 (37m)
[6] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [Q] Alan Clyne (SCO) 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9 (51m)
[7] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [Q] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4 (61m)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [Q] Gregoire Marche (FRA) 11-5, 11-1, 8-11, 11-5 (46m)
Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-5 (54m)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (42m)

Gaultier takes Toronto Cambridge Cup!

February 21, 2015 • Tags: Cambridge Cup, Canada, Greg Gaultier, Mohamed Elshorbagy, Toronto • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

8 of the top players in the World, playing the annual Cambridge Cup in 4 club in Toronto and Frenchman Greg Gaultier ended up to be the winner. In the final the World No2 stayed in control of the match to beat World No1 and Cambridge Cup title holder Mohamed Elshorbagy in straight games.

Final:
Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) 11-7, 13-11, 11-9

3rd place play-off:
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt Amr Shabana (EGY) 12-14, 11-2, 11-8, 11-4

Semi-Finals:
Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 9-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7
Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Amr Shabana (EGY) 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8

Quarter-Finals:
Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Shahier Razik (CAN) 11-9, 16-14, 11-8
Miguel Angel Rodriguez bt Peter Barker (ENG) 6-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-6
Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-8
Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-8, 11-8, 16-18, 11-7

Matthew record-breaking No7 – Perry for the first time!

February 19, 2015 • Tags: British Nationals, England, Manchester, Nick Matthew, Sarah-Jane Perry • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

Records tumbled at the British National Squash Championships when World No3 Nick Matthew beat England team-mate Daryl Selby in the men’s final in Manchester.

The straight games victory (11-5, 11-3, 11-2) saw the 34-year-old defending champion from Sheffield clinch his 7th title – more than any other man or woman in the 42-year history of the championship and surpassing the 6-title record set by Cassie Jackman in 2004. “It was a massive goal of mine to break the (title) record,” said Matthew.

The women’s final showed the surprising victory of World No 16 Sarah-Jane Perry, as she was able World No5 Alison Waters and the World No3 Laura Massaro (12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 10-12, 11-7), the reigning and the previous champion in consecutive matches, to deserve to be the new and 1st time British Champion. “To beat two of the top five players in the world back to back, neither of whom I’d ever beaten before is pretty special, and I’m quite proud of myself,” Perry concluded.

Win a TOG Summer Squash Camp!

February 14, 2015 • Tags: Nadeem Osman, Shaun Moxham, TOG Squash, USA • Categories: all posts, players

Do you love squash and do you want to train like David Palmer for two weeks? Join World Champion Coach Shaun Moxham for the experience of a lifetime at a TOG Summer Camp in the US. Win a unique summer squash camp with iLoveSquash and TOG Squash at Deerfield Academy!

Win a unique summer squash camp with I Love Squash and TOG Squash at Deerfield Academy, one of America’s most prestigious high schools. Enjoy 2 weeks of unique squash training with world class expert Shaun Moxham, coach of two times world champion David Palmer. Accommodation and meals are included, total value $3,550!

Complete the form to win a ticket to this great camp!

Find out more on the TOG Squash Site

Magnificent Matthew takes Swedish Open title!

February 8, 2015 • Tags: Greg Gaultier, Linkoping, Nick Matthew, PSA, Sweden, Swedish Open • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

England’s 34-year-old Nick Matthew (ri), the current World No.3, beating the 32-year-old Greg Gaultier (le), the World No.2 from France, in the final of the 2015 CASE Swedish Open to retain his 2014 title.

It was the 46th meeting between the pair – Matthew was holding an 23:22 advantage – and it was the 3 times World Champion Matthew, who dominated the contest to take the victory (11-9, 11-8, 11-7) after 63-minutes on the ASB show glass court.

“I felt like I played well today and I always seem to play really well here in Sweden. I’ve won here five times now and I’ve been in the final seven times. Greg played so well in the early rounds but he maybe needed a closer match earlier in the tournament because i could tell he wasn’t at his best physical condition today whereas I had a few close 12-10s so that maybe helped me,” Matthew said.

Final:
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 (63m)

Semi-finals:
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [8] Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 11-4, 11-3, 11-6 (33m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [4] Simon Rösner (GER) 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 13-11 (62m)

Quarter-finals:
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Tom Richards (ENG) 11-7, 11-7, 11-4 (41m)
[8] Stephen Coppinger (RSA) bt [3] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7 (63m)
[4] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [5] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 (39m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [7] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 (60m)

1st round:
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Fares Dessouki (EGY) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (44m)
[Q] Tom Richards (ENG) bt [6] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-5 (53m)
[8] Stephen Coppinger (RSA) bt [WC] Rasmus Hult (SWE) 12-10, 11-7, 11-8 (37m)
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-9, 7-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8 (72m)
[4] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 12-14, 11-6, 14-12, 14-12 (69m)
[5] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [Q] Shaun le Roux (RSA) 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7 (57m)
[7] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [Q] Joe Lee (ENG) 11-5, 11-9, 11-3 (40m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [Q] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (30m)

Coppinger halts Willstrop comeback!

February 7, 2015 • Tags: Greg Gaultier, Linkoping, Nick Matthew, PSA, Simon Rosner, Stephen Coppinger, Sweden, Swedish Open • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

South African Stephen Coppinger (ri), the 30-year-old World No.16, ended the return to action of England’s James Willstrop (le) during the quarter-finals of the 2015 CASE Swedish Open, taking out the former World No.1 (11-7, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7) to book his place in the semis.

It was the first time that Cape Town’s Coppinger had recorded a victory over Willstrop on the PSA World Tour, having failed on all three previous attempts, but he outshone the Yorkshire-based man from the start, continuing to show the kind of composure and discipline that has seen him rise eight places in the world rankings in the last three months whilst finishing as runner-up at the recent Motor City Open.

“He has just come back from an injury and will certainly be back even stronger next game buy I’m very pleased to get the win today,” said Coppinger

Coppinger will now face World No.2 and tournament top seed Gregory Gaultier in the semi-finals after the Frenchman easily disposed of qualifier Tom Richards while defacing champion and number two seed Nick Matthew faces German Simon Rösner for a place in the final after a closely fought 3-0 victory over Australian Cameron Pilley.

Semi-finals:
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [8] Stephen Coppinger (RSA)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [4] Simon Rösner (GER)

Richards downed Mueller in Swedish Open opener!

February 6, 2015 • Tags: Linkoping, Nicolas Mueller, PSA, Sweden, Swedish Open, Tom Richards • Categories: all posts, players, tournaments

England’s Tom Richards (back), the 28-year-old World No.34 downed Switzerland’s World No.18 Nicolas Mueller (front) during the opening round at the CASE Swedish Open in Linkoping.

Richards, who has plummeted from a high ranking of No.12 in 2013 after a series of injuries, had to come from behind against the talented Swiss star but showed impressive signs of composure and consistency to overcome Mueller 9-11, 11-1, 11-8, 11-5 in 54-minutes.

Elsewhere on the opening day there were routine wins for top seeds Gregory Gaultier and Nick Matthew, as they got the better of Fares Dessouki and Olli Tuominen, respectively, while England’s James Willstrop made a winning return to the PSA World Tour following a five-month injury lay-off, beating compatriot Chris Simpson in a closely fought 3-2 encounter that tested him over 72-minutes.