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PACE Canadian Squash
Classic, Toronto, Canada
Final:
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-2, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8 (38m)
Ramy
Romps To Shabana Win In Toronto
In
the pair's first meeting since both have recovered from injuries,
Ramy Ashour beat fellow Egyptian Amr Shabana in four
games in the final of the PACE Canadian Classic to
successfully defend the 5-star PSA Tour title at the Metro
Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto.
"When the top two players meet, there is no strategy – the player
who plays best wins,” said Shabana, the world champion and world No1
after his defeat to the 20-year-old world No2.
It
could have been a nightmare for the top seed, losing the first two
games in just 12 minutes to his younger compatriot.
The
first game was a surprise as Ashour cruised effortlessly to an 11-2
victory in just over four minutes. He summed it up later: “It
seemed that Shabana was not really there tonight.”
But
Shabana pulled his act together in the second game and made Ashour
work for every point. The quality of squash rose sharply and the
full house was treated to the full gamut of Egyptian squash –
constant attack and sublime winners. Shabana led to 6-6 and then
went ahead with two superb winners. It seem as though he now had
the measure of the young pretender. And then a dreadful string of
three errors followed and Ashour had the second game with the
possibility of a three game whitewash.
Shabana finally brought his total persona onto the court in the
third game and took charge from the first point, moving Ashour
around, hitting his signature winners with lots of cross court
action. The pace was hectic and the accuracy from both players was
formidable. Shabana was now in full swing and took the third game,
hinting at a full five game final.
But
the let-down came in the fourth, with Shabana hitting four errors in
the first six rallies. Ashour kept up his impeccable and
impenetrable game to lead 10-4. The next rally ended strangely;
Shabana had given up and was ready to shake hands, but Ashour hit
the tin. Shabana managed a couple of more points, contested a
wonderfully creative rally before putting the ball into the tin to
end it all in favour of Ashour.
Following his 11-2, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8 win in just 38 minutes, Ashour
received his second Canadian Classic trophy, presented by PACE
Savings and Credit Union.
Shabana explained his “absence” from the match by saying he was
rusty, following his break due to a wrist injury after the World
Team Championships in mid December.
“That’s what happens if you have not been playing competitive
squash. If you do not play at 110 percent against Ramy, you lose.
I am just happy to be playing and to be injury free. I didn’t know
how I was going to play when I came to Toronto – lose in the first
or second round – so to make the final makes me happy,” he said.
Ashour admitted that his victory was easily earned, observing that
Shabana was “not really there. But I also felt in very high
spirits, very confident. And when I saw that Shabana was taking a
step backwards, I stepped up the court. I stopped doing that in the
third and he won it,” he said, adding that he felt he had played the
best squash of the entire tournament.
Semi-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY)
bt [5] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7 (60m)
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
bt [4] Karim Darwish (EGY) 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5 (52m)
Toronto Beckons Classic Final
The
world's top two squash players Amr Shabana and Ramy Ashour,
both from Egypt, will contest a dream final of the PACE Canadian
Classic after felling fellow Egyptians in four games in the
semi-finals of the 5-star PSA Tour event at the Metro
Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto.
After beating fourth seed Karim Darwish 11-4, 11-7, 8-11,
11-5 in the first semi-final, world number two Ramy Ashour admitted
that he had guilt problems, which caused him to throw away the last
two points of the third game.
“I
knew my ball was good, but Darwish was so sure it was down, I began
to feel guilty about taking the point and then hit the next ball
into the ground,” explained the No2 seed and defending champion.
All
Freudian confessions aside, Ashour was in top form from the very
first rally and took the first game in just six minutes. Darwish
admitted later that he started flat and defensive – “which you can’t
do against Ashour who attacks from the start and is so accurate.”
Darwish picked up his pace in the second game, but Ashour worked his
incredible speed and accuracy to take the game.
The
score was eight-all in the third when a controversial call occurred,
followed by an animated discussion between the two players. Ashour,
obviously upset, gave away the final game points.
Turning anger into overdrive, 20-year-old Ashour returned after a
two-minute break, delivering a barrage of shots for which Darwish
had no answers. Ashour won the game handily in less than eight
minutes, earning his final berth - his 13th PSA Tour
final since November 2004.
Favourite Shabana was sharp and relaxed in his
semi-final against Wael El Hindi, the fifth seed. But,
instead of being the killer shot, his forehand drop was letting him
down - hitting the tin and giving El Hindi a number of lifelines.
This allowed the UK-based 27-year-old to keep in touch with Shabana
to nine-all, but a lucky nick at the back put Shabana at game ball
and he was gifted the final point with an error from El Hindi.
After building up a two-game lead, Shabana went walkabout in the
third game, allowing El Hindi to take it fairly comfortably. But
the 2006 champion went up a notch in the fourth game, and Shabana
clinched the match 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7 in 60 minutes to claim the
27th Tour final appearance of his career, and the fifth
in a row.
El
Hindi said later that he should have won that first game.
“It
would have been different if I had not been so loose. I relaxed too
much and you can’t relax against guys like Shabana. Against Shabana
and Ashour, you have to play every point like it’s match point. I
haven’t yet learned to get that level of concentration. With me it
comes in waves,” he said, adding that he felt he had a good
tournament.
14-Feb-08, Quarter-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY)
bt [7] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 11-10 (5-3), 11-5, 9-11, 5-0 ret.
(48m)
[5] Wael El Hindi (EGY)
bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5 (75m)
[4] Karim Darwish (EGY)
bt [6] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-6, 11-7, 11-0 (37m)
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
bt [8] Shahier Razik (CAN) 11-1, 11-8, 11-7 (35m)
Egypt
Rules In Toronto
Despite a lapse in the third game, Wael El Hindi of Egypt
took charge of his quarter-final match against Australian Cameron
Pilley to book the final place in the last four of the PACE
Canadian Classic to complete an all-Egyptian semi-final line-up
in the 5-star PSA Tour squash event at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre in Toronto.
Fifth seed El Hindi cruised through the opening exchanges,
controlling the first game and putting unseeded Pilley, the world
No23 who earlier upset third-seeded compatriot David Palmer,
under constant pressure. Pilley fared a little better in the second
game, but was still making mistakes at crucial points.
When
the 27-year-old from Giza won that game, it appeared it was all over
- but the third game saw Pilley take control. The 25-year-old from
New South Wales won the long game, looking as though he could turn
the match around.
But
El Hindi upped the pace in the fourth, taking control and winning it
easily to record an 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5 victory in 75 minutes.
“I
don’t know why I changed the pace in the third game,” El Hindi
chided himself later. “I suppose I relaxed and let the pace slow
down. We were in each others way with a lot of lets. In the fourth
game I picked the pace up and did what I should have done all
along."
He
will now meet world No1 Amr Shabana in the semi-finals.
Shabana had a shortened evening when his opponent, compatriot
Mohammed Abbas, had to retire in the fourth game due a foot
problem that occurred two days ago.
“I
was in pain the whole time and finally could not continue with my
foot in the shoe,” said a despondent Abbas after his 11-10 (5-3),
11-5, 9-11, 5-0 (ret.) defeat.
Meanwhile Shabana joked that it will be like playing in the Egyptian
Nationals – all the semi-final players are Egyptian. “Next year we
should hold the PACE Canadian Squash Classic in Cairo," quipped the
world champion.
Canada’s top player Shahier Razik experienced the full force
of Egypt’s boy wonder Ramy Ashour as he bowed in straight
games in an earlier quarter final.
After the match, Razik was asked if he will do anything different
next time he meets the mighty Ashour.
“Yeah - I’ll take a cup of coffee before the match so I don’t fall
asleep in the first game,” he replied, referring to his 11-1
drubbing in the four-minute opener.
Razik, who moved from Cairo to Canada at the age of 12, got up to
speed in the second game and needed all his considerable experience
to stay in touch with the 20-year-old world No2. Although Razik
played well, Ashour’s accuracy and speed was too much for the
Canadian who ultimately went down 11-1, 11-8, 11-7 in 35 minutes.
Ashour will now meet fellow countryman Karim Darwish after
the fourth seed cruised to an 11-6, 11-7, 11-0 over sixth-seeded
Australian Stewart Boswell.
“Yesterday and today, my opponents were not as competitive as
Shabana or Darwish, so I don’t know if I am back to top form,”
explained Ashour, who returned to match play recently after two
months off with a heel injury.
“I
had pain yesterday, but not today. Shahier let me get the first
game, but then he played really well – much more than I expected.
Fortunately there was no pain in my foot.”
1st
round:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY)
bt Matthew Giuffre (CAN) 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (26m)
[7] Mohammed Abbas (EGY)
bt [Q] Yasser El Halaby (EGY) 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 (33m)
Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt
[3] David Palmer (AUS) 11-4, 11-5, 10-11 (4-6),
11-4 (72m)
[5] Wael El Hindi (EGY)
bt [Q] Shawn Delierre (CAN) 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 (46m)
[6] Stewart Boswell
(AUS) bt Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 (35m)
[4] Karim Darwish (EGY)
bt [Q] Eric Galvez (MEX) 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 (36m)
[8] Shahier Razik (CAN)
bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 (47m)
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
bt [Q] Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 (30m)
Pilley Punishes Palmer In Pace Upset
Australia's world No4 David Palmer suffered his first opening
round defeat on the PSA Tour for two and a half years when he
was beaten by compatriot Cameron Pilley in the first round of
the PACE Canadian Squash Classic at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre in Toronto.
In
the pair's second clash this year, 25-year-old Pilley, from New
South Wales, beat the former world champion, also from New South
Wales, 11-4, 11-5, 10-11 (4-6), 11-4 in 72 minutes.
Palmer revealed later that he had injured his back in training three
days ago.
“I
spent four hours today with the physio in an attempt to loosen the
back up, but on the third point of the first game, it locked up,”
explained the 31-year-old. When asked whether it had been wise to
carry on, Palmer replied: “I guess not, but I just hate to lose.”
Pilley goes on to face Wael El Hindi, the fifth seed from
Egypt who beat Canadian qualifier Shawn Delierre 11-7, 11-8,
11-4.
Top-ranked Canadian Shahier Razik, ranked 22 in the world,
earned his way to the quarter-finals with a 3/0 victory over the
29th ranked Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Colombia. Fellow
Canadian Matthew Giuffre, of Edmonton, lost in straight games
to the reigning world champion and world No1 Amr Shabana of
Egypt.
Shabana, playing his first tournament this year, showed no rusty
signs in his first round match. The 28-year-old from Giza took just
26 minutes to finish Giuffre with a dazzling array of winners and
inch-perfect length that left the Canadian without any answers.
“I
couldn’t handle his length and accuracy,” Giuffre commented after
the match. “It’s awesome playing the best in the world. I wasn’t
shell-shocked because I used to play Jonathon Power a lot. But I
simply don’t get that level of opposition back in Edmonton.”
When
asked to compare the great Canadian, (now retired from professional
squash) and Shabana, Giuffre said that Power was the more aggressive
player. “He hit the ball harder than Shabana, but Shabana is so
incredibly accurate.”
Troubled with a wrist problem, Shabana has not played a tournament
for almost two months.
“I
took four weeks off after the World Team Championships in December
and only started practising a month ago. Right now, I’m relaxed
because I am happy to be playing. When you have an injury you never
know if you will play again,” said the Egyptian who won the PACE
Canadian Classic two years ago. |
