12-Aug-07:
Final:
[7] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
11-10 (2-0), 11-8, 4-11, 11-4 (62m)
Third place play-off:
[8] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY)
11-4, 8-11, 11-4 (29m)
Fifth place play-off:
[6] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [2] David Palmer (AUS)
11-10 (2-0), 11-8 (36m)
Seventh place play-off:
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [4] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
10-11 (0-2), 11-5, 11-6 (35m)
Ramy Ashour Wins Historic
Super Series Finals Title
Teenager Ramy Ashour continued his rapid run towards
absolute supremacy in world squash when he beat France's
Gregory Gaultier in the final of the ATCO
Super Series Finals – Manchester 2007 to become not only
the first Egyptian, but also the first event debutant since
1996, to win the flagship PSA Tour title.
The 19-year-old seventh seed from Cairo, the only player in
the eight-man event at the National Squash Centre in
Manchester to reach the play-offs unbeaten, had never
before beaten Gaultier - the world No4 from Aix-en-Provence
who was also making his first appearance in the Super Series
Finals.
The
battle lasted 62 minutes, but it was Ashour who emerged
triumphant, beating the Frenchman 11-10 (2-0), 11-8, 4-11,
11-4 in a dramatic climax to the 2007 event.
"I never expected to win this, I didn't really expect to be
here when I had an injury a few days ago, so to win it -
playing four matches in a row against the top guys in the
world - is just amazing," the modest youngster told the
event's official website
www.superseriesfinals.net.
"Greg and I haven't played much, but it's always been tough.
We both pushed really hard today and it was a really tight
game. I was just trying to keep the ball deep and wait for
the opportunity to attack. We were both doing that, and it
was the first one to put the ball loose who lost the point.
"I had a little problem with my ankle in the third, so I
tried to change my game, to slow the ball down. I knew that
if that didn't go well I could speed it up again in the
fourth.
"I'm really glad I did well and won today. It feels good,"
exclaimed Ashour, the world number two who now has four
PSA Super Series event titles to his name this year.
Gaultier expressed mixed emotions afterwards: "It's
pleasing to be in the final, especially for my first time in
the event - but I just wanted to win!
"I had a tough match yesterday, and the day before, and the
day before that, so I knew I had to start well and I really
had to win the first. I lost my concentration a little
after that, and towards the end I started feeling the effect
of those games.
"I enjoyed it all though, I love playing in front of this
crowd and I'm looking forward to coming back to try to win
the British Open – I won the British Junior Open, but that's
not the same!"
Karim Darwish, also making his debut in the event, beat Egyptian compatriot
Amr Shabana 11-4, 8-11, 11-4 in the best-of-three
play-off for third place.
11-Aug-07:
3rd and final pool round:
ATCO Group
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [6] Nick Matthew (ENG) 8-11,
11-2, 7-11, 11-4, 11-10 (2-0) (87m)
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [5] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-7,
11-4, 3-11, 11-4 (53m)
Manchester Group
[8] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [2] David Palmer (AUS) 10-11
(0-2), 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 (69m)
[7] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [4] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-7,
11-4, 11-5 (28m)
Ashour & Gaultier To Contest
Super Series Finals Climax
Egypt's world number two Ramy Ashour and France's
Gregory Gaultier, the world No4, will contest the final of the ATCO Super Series
Finals – Manchester 2007 after highly-contrasting
victories in the third and final pool round of the flagship
PSA Tour squash event at the National Squash
Centre in Manchester, England.
Seventh
seed Ashour extended his status as the only unbeaten player
in the eight-man event after two days' play by romping to an
11-7, 11-4, 11-5 win in just 28 minutes over France's former
champion Thierry Lincou, the No4 seed.
It was a stunning win by the 19-year-old from Cairo in his
debut in the event - and perfectly complemented the victory
hours earlier by his compatriots on the other side of the
globe in Hong Kong where Egypt clinched the Women's World
Junior Team title. It was Ashour's own record second-time
win in the Men's World Junior Championship in 2006 which
means that Egypt are now celebrating holding all four world
junior squash crowns!
Third seed Gaultier was made to battle for 87 minutes - and
twice had to come from behind - before overcoming England's
No6 seed Nick Matthew 8-11, 11-2, 7-11, 11-4, 11-10
(2-0) in the most dramatic clash of the day.
"This
tournament is so hard, I'm not used to playing four days in
a row against the top players," Gaultier told the event's
official website
www.superseriesfinals.net.
"That was a really hard match – big pain now!
"It was patchy, some games went for me, some for him, and I
felt good in patches and sometimes lost my concentration.
"It's just good to be here and play the games, get my
fitness back and test out my shots against the top guys. I
came to win of course, but the most important for me is to
get the games in and get my movement and shots back," added
the 24-year-old from Aix-en-Provence in his debut in the
event.
In the other match in the ATCO Group, Egypt's world
No1 Amr Shabana made sure of a place in the play-off
for third place with an 11-7, 11-4, 3-11, 11-4 win in 53
minutes over England's James Willstrop. It
was a strange match for Willstrop who, after beating
Gaultier in the opening round, would have earned a place in
the final had he beaten Shabana - but, instead, will contest
the seventh-place play-off!
Shabana's opponent in the 'bronze medal' clash will be
fellow countryman Karim Darwish, the 25-year-old from
Cairo who beat Australia's former champion David Palmer
10-11 (0-2), 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 in the other match in the
Manchester Group.
Final:
[7] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Third place play-off:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [8] Karim Darwish (EGY)
Fifth place play-off:
[2] David Palmer (AUS) v [6] Nick Matthew (ENG)
Seventh place play-off:
[4] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v [5] James Willstrop (ENG)
2nd pool round:
ATCO Group
[6] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [5] James Willstrop (ENG) 7-11,
11-10 (4-2), 11-8, 11-8 (79m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) 8-11,
11-4, 10-11 (0-2), 11-7, 11-5 (63m)
Manchester Group
[8] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [4] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
11-3, 11-10 (4-2), 11-8 (43m)
[7] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [2] David Palmer (AUS) 11-6,
9-11, 11-7, 11-3 (55m)
Shocks Shatter
Second Super Series
Finals Session In Manchester
In a dramatic second day's play in the ATCO Super Series
Finals – Manchester 2007, all four matches in the flagship PSA Tour event at the
National Squash Centre in Manchester went against
the seedings - with Egypt's Ramy Ashour emerging as
the only unbeaten player!
Ashour,
the teenager from Cairo who has taken the squash world by
storm with his rapid rise to No2 in the world rankings,
faced Australia's David Palmer, the reigning World
Open champion and one of only two players in the draw to
have won this prestigious title before.
But Ashour, the seventh seed, battled to an 11-6, 9-11,
11-7, 11-3 victory in 55 minutes over the second seed from
New South Wales to become the clear leader in the
Manchester Group with two wins out of two matches.
"He played well in the second, but apart from that I played
a perfect game," the confident 19-year-old told the event's
official website
www.superseriesfinals.net.
"I tried to make it a high-paced match, but you can't play
at that pace all the time on this court, but I couldn't
afford to get into the hard-hitting rallies David likes."
Palmer, a former world number one with 20 PSA Tour titles to
his credit, had no excuses: "He was just too good. It would be easy to make excuses, but I was just too flat
tonight."
There was Egyptian success in the other match in the group
when eighth seed Karim Darwish beat former champion
Thierry Lincou, the No4 seed, 11-3, 11-10 (4-2),
11-8. The win opened up chances in the group for the
25-year-old from Cairo, but ended Frenchman Lincou's hopes
of a further Super Series crown.
Frenchman
Gregory Gaultier pulled off a significant upset in
the ATCO Group by beating Egypt's world No1 Amr
Shabana 8-11, 11-4, 10-11 (0-2), 11-7, 11-5 in 63
minutes. The earlier win by sixth seed Nick Matthew
in the all-English clash with fifth seed James Willstrop
leaves the chances of success in the group completely open -
with all four players sharing the same statistic of 'played
one; won one'.
Gaultier was delighted to have made amends for his defeat by
Willstrop the night before: "I was out injured for two or
three months, so I'm happy to be back. I can't expect to
reach my peak straight away, but I'm happy with how it's
going and I'm glad to have won today.
"Amr was probably a bit tired from his five-setter last
night which is probably why I won!"
The longest clash of the night saw Sheffield's British
Open champion Nick Matthew recover from a game down to
beat Yorkshire rival James Willstrop 7-11, 11-10 (4-2),
11-8, 11-8 in 79 minutes.
"I had a few words with myself last night about not being
despondent about losing from 2/0 up, but tonight I knew that
it was important not to go 2/0 down, so I really fought hard
for that second," said Matthew.
"It's always hard when we play - we play so often, but as
much as you know James' game you can never know it enough,
he's got so many little flicks, shots that can catch you
out."
3rd pool round line-up:
ATCO Group
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [6] Nick Matthew (ENG)
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [5] James Willstrop (ENG)
Manchester Group
[2] David Palmer (AUS) v [8] Karim Darwish (EGY)
[4] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v [7] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
1st pool round:
ATCO Group
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4 (51m)
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [6] Nick Matthew (ENG)
8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (77m)
Manchester Group
[7] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [8] Karim Darwish (EGY)
11-4, 11-10 (4-2), 7-11, 11-4 (50m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt [4] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5 (57m)
England's Willstrop Wins Opener
In Super Series Finals In Manchester
James Willstrop,
the Yorkshireman who leads English interest in the
ATCO Super Series Finals – Manchester
2007, stormed to a sensational
opening victory in the flagship
PSA Tour
event at the National Squash Centre in
Manchester
when he upset third-seeded Frenchman Gregory Gaultier
in the first Pool round in the ATCO Group.
Willstrop, the 23-year-old world No7 from Leeds, and
Gaultier, the 24-year-old world No4 from Aix-en-Provence,
met countless times on the world junior circuit - with the
Frenchman coming out on top on all occasions.
But in what - remarkably - was the pair's first encounter on
the PSA Tour, it was England's former world junior champion
Willstrop that prevailed, winning 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4 in
51 minutes.
"I really enjoy coming here, it's great to play in front of
an English crowd, especially a Northern one," Willstrop told
the event's official website
www.superseriesfinals.net
Willstrop is a regular at the NSC - the England squad's
training base - and won his first British National title on
the same court earlier in the year.
"I've always been on the wrong end of things with Greg.
I've had a few thoughts about it and taken a bit of stick
over it, so it's good to get a win over someone you struggle
with.
"I've had a good summer's training, but once you start
playing tournaments again it's always a bit of an unknown.
There were patches where we both show a bit of rustiness,
but it will probably be like that for everyone over the next
few days as it's the first tournament of the season."
The match also marked Wiilstrop's first since signing a new
contract with racquet brand Prince: "Overall I felt really
good out there, and I love the new racquet. It's a good
start but I'll be taking it one game at a time," added the
jubilant victor.
In the other ATCO group clash, Willstrop's England team-mate
Nick Matthew, also a Yorkshireman, delighted the
enthusiastic crowd when he surged to a 2/0 and 5-1 lead
against the Egyptian world number one Amr Shabana.
Matthew, the 27-year-old from Sheffield who became the first
Englishman to win the British Open crown for 67 years last
September, admitted later that he had played well in the
opening two games - but "needed to get to six or seven first
in that third game".
It was the two-times world champion from Cairo, however, who
ultimately took control in the third and went on to win
8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 in 77 minutes.
Arguably, the most eagerly-anticipated match of the evening
was the all-Egyptian clash between world No12 Karim
Darwish and Ramy Ashour, the teenager who was
making his first appearance on English soil since rocketing
to No2 in the world list after picking up four Tour titles
this year.
The youngster did not disappoint - beating his senior
national team-mate 11-4, 11-10 (4-2), 7-11, 11-4 in his
maiden Super Series Finals appearance.
"It's been a great year for me - I never expected to do
this, so to get into this tournament I've heard about for so
long, the best eight players in the world," said the
exuberant 19-year-old from Cairo. "And what a big crowd, I
didn't expect that either, they were great."
The late evening finished with a battle between two of the
sport's, and the event's, biggest names - David Palmer,
the 2002 champion from Australia, and
Thierry Lincou,
the 2004 champion - and three-times a finalist - from
France.
With 16 previous major encounters between them since 1999 -
and the head-to-head tally poised at 8-8 - the pair were
certain to provide an appropriate finale for the opening
day.
The battle lasted just three minutes short of an hour - and
it was second seed Palmer who edged ahead in the career
tally, beating the fourth-seeded Frenchman 11-5, 11-9, 7-11,
11-5.
2nd pool round line-up:
ATCO Group
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) v [6] Nick Matthew (ENG)
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Manchester Group
[4] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v [8] Karim Darwish (EGY)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) v [7] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
