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Qatar Squash Classic, Doha, Qatar, 28-Oct
to 03-Nov 2007
03-Nov, Finals:
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [5] Natalie Grainger (Usa)
9/6, 9/4, 10/9 (43m)
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [4] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
11/4, 8/11, 11/6, 11/5 (52m)
Favourites Shabana & David Claim Qatar Crowns
Amr Shabana
and Nicol David confirmed their status as the world's
number one squash players by winning the Qatar Classic
titles in style in Doha - Shabana claiming the
men's crown for the first time after beating fourth seed
Gregory Gaultier in the final of the $120,000
Super Series Platinum event and David retaining the
$77,000 women's WISPA Gold event trophy by defeating
fifth seed Natalie Grainger in straight games.
It was only six
days after winning the richest title in the sport, at the
Saudi International, that 28-year-old Shabana, the top
seed from Egypt, battled for 52 minutes to topple Frenchman
Gaultier 11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-5 to win the 18th PSA
Tour title of his career - and the fourth of the year.
"For two months I
have been focusing on winning titles," Shabana told
www.squashsite.co.uk
afterwards. "I don't really pay any attention to the points,
the ranking and all that. It's the worst thing you can do.
"Tonight we are
off to Hong Kong. We start all over again: another fight,
another battle!"
Nicol David's win
was a massive confidence-booster for the Malaysian who crashed
out of the second round of last month's World Open in
Madrid, thereby failing to reach the quarter-finals of a
WISPA World Tour event for the first time in more than
three and a half years.
The 24-year-old
from Penang was in sparkling form as she despatched Grainger,
the Pan American Games gold medallist from the USA,
9-6, 9-4, 10-9 in 43 minutes.
"It's good to
start winning again," said David after picking up the 23rd
Tour title of her career.
Men's semi-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY)
bt [3] David Palmer (AUS) 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 (47m)
[4] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt [9] Karim Darwish (EGY) 7-11, 11-10 (2-0),
11-8, 8-11, 11-5 (68m)
Women's semi-finals:
[1] Nicol David
(MAS) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 9-7, 0-9, 2-9,
9-5, 9-1 (56m)
[5] Natalie
Grainger (USA) bt [4] Tania Bailey (ENG) 1-9, 0-9,
9-6, 9-4, 9-1 (60m)
Shabana Shakes Off Palmer In Doha
 Amr
Shabana beat Australia's four
times runner-up David Palmer in the semi-finals of the
Qatar Classic to reach the final of the $120,000
Super Series Platinum squash event in the Qatar capital
Doha for the first time. The world number one from Egypt will
face Gregory Gaultier, the fourth-seeded
Frenchman who denied an all-Egyptian final when he beat ninth
seed Karim Darwish in five games.
After crashing
out of last week's Madrid World Open in the second
round, Malaysia's top seed Nicol David rediscovered her
best form in the semi-finals of the $77,000 women's WISPA
Gold event. The defending champion beat new world
champion Rachael Grinham in five games, and will face
Natalie Grainger in the final after the US champion
beat England's Tania Bailey, also in five.
The toil of two
hour-long matches against Englishmen Adrian Grant and
James Willstrop in the previous two rounds clearly had
its effect on third seed David Palmer, the world champion, in
his battle against Shabana - who marked up his third straight
games win in the event with his 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 victory in 47
minutes.
"I felt OK
physically, but I was just lost on the court, I couldn’t find
my rhythm at all," Palmer told
www.squashsite.co.uk
afterwards. "I was not moving that well, that’s true, but I
never felt like I had any control tonight. It was not my
day. Outplayed!"
The 28-year-old
from Cairo, winner of last week's Saudi International
and now in the 25th PSA Tour final of his
career, was delighted with his progress: "It’s so hard to
play tournaments back to back. But it is a great feeling to
have reached the final after 12 years of participation!"
Karim Darwish,
who claimed notable upsets over second seed Ramy Ashour
and fifth seed Thierry Lincou to reach the last four,
took the opening game against Gaultier. But the world number
three from Aix-en-Provence survived a tie-break second game
before going on to win 7-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-8, 8-11, 11-5 in
68 minutes.
The win takes the
24-year-old British Open champion Frenchman into his 23rd
career Tour final, and the third of the year.
The women's
semi-final again Rachael Grinham was a major test for Nicol
David: Not only had the Australian taken over the Malaysian's
World Open title less than a week ago in Spain, but had
also beaten David in September's British Open final to
end more than two years of losses to her rival.
But, despite
losing the second and third game for just two points, David
re-established her authority over the third-seeded
Queenslander to beat Grinham 9-7, 0-9, 2-9, 9-5, 9-1 in 56
minutes - and reach her 37th WISPA Tour final.
"I’m glad to be
in the final, especially after beating Rachael," said a
delighted David later. "I’ll just see what happens from
there. I’m just looking forward to giving it the last push in
the final."
Meanwhile,
Grinham conceded: "I guess that I just lost my head in the
end. And I’m disappointed, of course, but I’m happy with the
fact that I don’t feel she is too good for me anymore. I used
to think that I wasn’t fit enough to beat her, and at the end
of our matches, I just couldn’t move, whereas now, I feel I
can match her game, and that I could have kept on playing
another game or two.
"Still, I’m glad
with my performance over these two weeks, I had a long
succession of matches, I’m in good form, and today, I had my
chances. It would be nice to have a few days off, though!"
A disappointed
semi-finalist in Madrid, fifth seed Natalie Grainger called
upon all her experience in Doha to fight back from two games
down to upset fourth seed Tania Bailey 1-9, 0-9, 9-6, 9-4, 9-1
in exactly one hour.
"I proved tonight
that I can win a match from the back of the court," explained
Grainger, now in her 33rd Tour final, and the seventh of the year.
"Tania played so
well, she was quick onto to the ball, good at the short stuff
too, and my game fell apart completely. She hit me off the
court, and there are not too many people that can do that.
She basically took my short game away from me.
"So I decided to
take pace off the ball, and to run like hell, retrieving
everything I could and, at 7-4 in the fourth, I felt her going
breathing-wise, and I thought no way I’m going to play any
short rally for the rest of the match. And I kept on
battling, not giving her an inch."
Men's quarter-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana
(EGY) bt Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7
(37m)
[3] David Palmer
(AUS) bt [6] James Willstrop (ENG) 4-11, 11-7, 11-7,
3-11, 11-8 (74m)
[4] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt [7] Nick Matthew (ENG) 11-10 (2-0),
9-11, 11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 11-9 (83m)
[9] Karim Darwish
(EGY) bt [5] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-5, 11-7, 8-11,
9-11, 11-9 (85m)
Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David
(MAS) bt [12] Alison Waters (ENG) 9-7, 9-1, 9-2
(36m)
[3] Rachael
Grinham (AUS) bt [6] Vicky Botwright (ENG) 1-9, 9-5, 9-3,
9-5 (41m)
[4] Tania Bailey
(ENG) bt [8] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 7-9, 10-9, 9-1, 9-2
(52m)
[5] Natalie
Grainger (USA) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (AUS) 9-7, 9-5, 9-4 (35m)
Grainger Ousts Grinham In Qatar Breakthrough
US
champion Natalie Grainger celebrated her long-awaited
'world top three scalp' when she defeated Australia's world
No2 Natalie Grinham in straight games in the
quarter-finals of the Qatar Classic, the $77,000
women's WISPA Gold squash event in
Doha, Qatar.
Egypt's Karim
Darwish pulled off his second successive upset in the
men's championship when he removed fifth-seeded Frenchman
Thierry Lincou to reach the semi-finals of the $120,000
Super Series Platinum event.
It is more than a
year - and 14 events - since Natalie Grinham last failed to
reach a WISPA World Tour semi-final. But last week's
Madrid World Open runner-up, unbeaten by Grainger for two
and a half years, went down 9-7, 9-5, 9-4 in 35 minutes to the
Pan American Games gold medallist in just 35 minutes.
The former world
number one from Washington DC now faces England's Tania
Bailey for her first appearance in a WISPA Gold final
since April 2005. Bailey, the fourth seed from Lincolnshire,
maintained the brave form she showed in Madrid to beat Vanessa Atkinson, the No8 seed from the Netherlands, 7-9,
10-9, 9-1, 9-2.
World number one
Nicol David will face world champion Rachael Grinham
in the other women's semi-final. David, the top seed from
Malaysia, despatched England's 12th seed Alison
Waters 9-7, 9-1, 9-2 while Australian Grinham claimed her
16th WISPA Tour match win in a row when she
recovered from a game down to beat England's No6 seed Vicky
Botwright 1-9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-5.
After upsetting
second seed Ramy Ashour in the previous round, Karim
Darwish took full advantage of his surprise appearance in the
last eight by surviving an 85-minute marathon against Thierry
Lincou to beat his French rival 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9.
"It's always hard
to play against Thierry, he is so strong mentally and
physically," Darwish told
www.squashsite.co.uk
afterwards. "In the first two games I was confident, relaxed,
and it was a bit comfortable. Then at 8-4 in the third, I
starting thinking that I was winning, and that, I shouldn't be
against somebody like Thierry!
"But then, after
losing the third and the fourth, I reminded myself of the
match against Shabana in Saudi, where I was up 2/0 and I lost. And I knew that I couldn't lose another match like that, it would
have killed me.
 "We
both couldn't move at the end. It could have gone either way,
but I'm so glad to be in the semis."
The 26-year-old
from Cairo will take on Lincou's compatriot Gregory
Gaultier, the British Open champion who survived
another marathon against US Open champion Nick
Matthew to beat the Englishman 11-10 (2-0), 9-11, 11-10
(2-0), 6-11, 11-9.
The other men's
semi-final will feature Egypt's top seed Amr Shabana
and third-seeded Australian David Palmer. In the only
straight games win of the day in the men's event, world number
one Shabana eased to an 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 win over unseeded
Malaysian Ong Beng Hee while world champion Palmer
toiled for 74 minutes to overcome Englishman James
Willstrop 4-11, 11-7, 11-7, 3-11, 11-8.
"When you play
James, you know you just have to play the ball and concentrate
on your squash, and I think that for big fellows, and the way
we move around the court, and the way we play, so early on the
ball, we are moving around each other quite well!" explained
Palmer later.
"It's for that kind of match that I keep on playing squash. There
was no discussion, no blocking, no getting in the way of each
other, no arguments with the referees, a good, fair and square
match. And if I was James right now, I would be very, very
unhappy."
Willstrop
concurred: "I was so up for this match, I so wanted to win. I
am really really, really, unhappy. I'm very disappointed, but
all credit to both of us, it was a fair game of squash, no
messing about.
"In an hour or
two, I'll look at it in a positive vein, and take the positive
out of it - I played well in patches. There is some good; I
only lost 11-8 in the fifth. But it's a quarter final. I
don't want to keep losing in quarter finals, I've got to
learn, and learn, and learn how to win those matches!"
Men's 2nd round:
[1] Amr Shabana
(EGY) bt [12] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 7-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5,
11-7 (38m)
Ong Beng Hee
(MAS) bt [8] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11-8, 7-11, 11-10(2-0),
9-11, 11-10(4-2) (112m)
[3] David Palmer
(AUS) bt [15] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-3, 11-8, 9-11,
11-8 (65m)
[6] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [16] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-8, 11-8,
11-8 (37m)
[7] Nick Matthew
(ENG) bt [13] Peter Barker (ENG) 10-11 (2-4), 11-7,
11-6, 11-4 (77m)
[4] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 10-11(0-2), 11-1,
11-6, 11-5 (53m)
[5] Thierry
Lincou (FRA) bt Joey Barrington (ENG)
11-4, 11-5, 11-7 (31m)
[9] Karim Darwish
(EGY) bt [2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) 11-10 (5-3), 11-2, 5-4
ret. (41m)
Women's 2nd round:
[1] Nicol David
(MAS) bt [16] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA)
9-0, 9-7, 9-4 (40m)
[12] Alison
Waters (ENG) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL)
9-0, 9-5, 9-2 (25m)
[3] Rachael
Grinham (AUS) bt [10] Shelley Kitchen (NZL)
9-4, 9-6, 9-2 (37m)
[6] Vicky
Botwright (ENG) bt [14] Kasey Brown (AUS)
8-10, 9-3, 9-6, 9-6 (61m)
[8] Vanessa
Atkinson (NED) bt [Q] Tenille Swartz (RSA)
9-4, 9-3, 9-7 (24m)
[4] Tania Bailey
(ENG) bt [13] Engy Kheirallah (EGY)
9-5, 9-2, 9-2 (37m)
[5] Natalie
Grainger (USA) bt [11] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) 9-5,
8-10, 9-4, 9-7 (62m)
[2] Natalie
Grinham (AUS) bt [9] Jenny Duncalf (ENG)
9-1, 9-1, 9-1 (30m)
Darwish Dashes Ashour's Qatar Hopes
Ramy Ashour,
the 20-year-old Egyptian who had reached at least the
semi-finals in all nine PSA Tour events in which he had
competed so far this year, crashed out of the Qatar Classic
after retiring injured in the second round of the $120,000
Super Series Platinum squash event in Doha,
Qatar.
The second seed
was stretched to a lengthy tie-break in the first game, then
only managed two points in the second against compatriot
Karim Darwish, the No9 seed.
Already carrying
a minor wrist injury, Ashour crashed to the floor midway
through the third game clutching his left ankle - immediately
taking off his shoe and clearly in considerable pain.
"The match is
over!" screamed the world number two, who was later taken to
hospital for an X-ray, reports
www.squashsite.co.uk
Darwish's 11-10
(5-3), 11-2, 5-4 (ret.) victory takes the 26-year-old from
Cairo into a quarter-final against fifth seed Thierry
Lincou after the Frenchman beat England's Joey
Barrington 11-4, 11-5, 11-7.
Ong Beng Hee
maintained his giant-killing Doha run by beating Egypt's No8
seed Wael El Hindi 11-8, 7-11, 11-10 (2-0), 9-11, 11-10
(4-2) in a 112-minute marathon. The unseeded Malaysian had
earlier upset 10th seed Stewart Boswell to
reach the last sixteen.
"This was my
lucky day today, I was match ball down, and I win," Beng Hee
told
www.squashsite.co.uk.
"A bit stop-and-start all the way, but I'm happy with my win,
very happy!"
Beng Hee now
takes on top seed Amr Shabana, the world number one
from Egypt who defeated compatriot Mohammed Abbas 7-11,
11-10 (2-0), 11-5, 11-7.
In the women's
$77,000 WISPA Gold championship, Alison Waters
brought the giant-killing run of unseeded Jaclyn Hawkes
to an end - beating the New Zealander 9-0, 9-5, 9-2.
In only her
second WISPA Gold quarter-final this year, the No12 seed from
England now faces top seed Nicol David. In a repeat of
their first round match in last week's Madrid World Open,
the Malaysian world number one beat France's Isabelle
Stoehr 9-0, 9-7, 9-4.
"I started well,
I found it good watching Beng Hee playing before as when I
found out he won I had an extra bit of motivation from the
start," said David. "I'm pleased with my match today."
Seeds Dismissed On Opening Day In Doha
There were
surprises in both the men's and women's events in the Qatar
Squash Classic on the opening day of main draw action in
Doha, Qatar.
Australia's
Stewart Boswell was the highest-ranked player to fall in
the men's $120,000 Super Series Platinum event. The
tenth seed from Canberra took the opening against Ong Beng
Hee, but the unseeded Malaysian fought back to clinch a
notable 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 7-11, 11-4 victory in 72 minutes.
Beng Hee's win
was countered by the unexpected defeat of compatriot Mohd
Azlan Iskandar. The No14 seed was forced to retire
injured at the start of the third game against unseeded
Joey Barrington, with the Englishman claiming an 11-5,
11-4, 1-0 ret. win after just 29 minutes.
Barrington will
now face fifth seed
Thierry Lincou
after the Frenchman survived a scare
against English qualifier Bradley Ball before winning
7-11, 11-4, 10-11 (1-3), 11-8, 11-8 in 87 minutes.
"I'm lucky to get
away with a victory today," said former world number one
Lincou to
www.squashsite.co.uk
. "It's a great warning for the rest of the tournament."
Dutchman
Laurens Jan Anjema also secured an unexpected place in the
last sixteen. The 24-year-old from The Hague stemmed a
comeback by 11th seed Lee Beachill before
upsetting the Englishman 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 7-11, 11-9 in 84
minutes.
Jaclyn Hawkes
was the heroine in the $77,000
WISPA Gold
championship. The 24-year-old New Zealander celebrated her
return to the world's top 20 by defeating seventh seed
Omneya Abdel Kawy 2-9, 9-0, 4-9, 9-4, 9-4 in 61 minutes.
Hawkes will now
face England's 12th seed Alison Waters, a
9-3, 9-2, 9-3 victor over Pakistan qualifier Carla Khan.
Malaysia's top
seed Nicol David began her Qatar campaign in confident
style. Putting the disappointment of last week's second round
World Open exit behind her, David despatched Mexico's
Samantha Teran 9-3, 9-3, 9-3 and will now meet France's
Isabelle Stoehr in a repeat of last week's first round
clash in Madrid.
Men's 1st round:
[1] Amr Shabana
(EGY) bt Borja Golan (ESP) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 (29m)
[12] Mohammed
Abbas (EGY) bt [Q] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) 11-3, 11-9, 11-1
(29m)
[8] Wael El Hindi
(EGY) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 4-11, 11-10 (3-1), 8-11, 11-10
(2-0), 11-5 (101m)
Ong Beng Hee
(MAS) bt [10] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 7-11,
11-4 (72m)
[3] David Palmer
(AUS) bt [Q] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (41m)
[15] Adrian Grant
(ENG) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-10(3-1),6-11,9-11,11-10(2-0),
11-5 (111m)
[6] James
Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-7, 9-11, 11-6,
10-11 (0-2), 11-4 (60m)
[16] Olli
Tuominen (FIN) bt [Q] Dylan Bennett (NED) 11-5, 9-11, 11-10
(2-0), 11-4 (49m)
[13] Peter Barker
(ENG) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 11-4, 11-1, 11-2 (27m)
[7] Nick Matthew
(ENG) bt [Q] Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11-7, 11-8, 11-10 (3-1) (60m)
Laurens Jan
Anjema (NED) bt [11] Lee Beachill (ENG) 11-7, 11-9, 4-11,
7-11, 11-9 (84m)
[4] Gregory
Gaultier (FRA) bt Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-6, 11-6, 11-1 (20m)
Joey Barrington
(ENG) bt [14] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 11-5, 11-4, 1-0 ret.
(29m)
[5] Thierry
Lincou (FRA) bt [Q] Bradley Ball (ENG) 7-11, 11-4, 10-11
(1-3), 11-8, 11-8 (87m)
[9] Karim Darwish
(EGY) bt Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 (34m)
[2] Ramy Ashour
(EGY) bt [Q] Chris Ryder (ENG) 11-6, 11-4, 11-10 (2-0) (27m)
Women's 1st round:
[1] Nicol David
(MAS) bt Samantha Teran (MEX) 9-3, 9-3, 9-3 (49m)
[16] Isabelle
Stoehr (FRA) bt Louise Crome (NZL) 9-7, 10-9, 9-6 (47m)
Jaclyn Hawkes
(NZL) bt [7] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 2-9, 9-0, 4-9, 9-4, 9-4
(61m)
[12] Alison
Waters (ENG) bt [Q] Carla Khan (PAK) 9-3, 9-2, 9-3 (26m)
[3] Rachael
Grinham (AUS) bt Sarah Kippax (ENG) 9-7, 9-4, 9-0 (34m)
[10] Shelley
Kitchen (NZL) bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) 9-4, 9-3, 9-4
(36m)
[6] Vicky
Botwright (ENG) bt Aisling Blake (IRL) 9-1, 9-4, 9-0 (24m)
[14] Kasey Brown
(AUS) bt Manuela Manetta (ITA) 9-1, 9-0, 9-1 (36m)
[Q] Tenille
Swartz (RSA) bt [15] Annelize Naude (NED) 2-9, 9-3, 9-6, 8-10,
9-5 (52m)
[8] Vanessa
Atkinson (NED) bt [Q] Emma Beddoes (ENG) 9-4, 9-10, 9-2, 7-9,
9-1 (54m)
[13] Engy
Kheirallah (EGY) bt Lauren Briggs (ENG) 9-2, 9-2, 4-9, 4-9,
9-4 (70m)
[4] Tania Bailey
(ENG) bt Line Hansen (DEN) 9-2, 9-0, 9-4 (25m)
[11] Laura
Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) bt Christina Mak (HKG) 9-0, 9-1, 9-5
(28m)
[5] Natalie
Grainger (USA) bt Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 9-0, 9-1, 9-5 (23m)
[9] Jenny Duncalf
(ENG) bt [Q] Laura Mylotte (IRL) 9-5, 9-0, 9-7 (29m)
[2] Natalie
Grinham (AUS) bt Margriet Huisman (NED) 9-2, 9-3, 9-0
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