Squash Dude

PSA & WSA Rankings, March 2013

Mar 1st 2013

By: SquashDude

Rank	Name	Country	Total	Tourns	Average
1	Ramy Ashour	Egypt	14510	7	1451
2	Nick Matthew	England	10955	10	1095.5
3	Gregory Gaultier	France	9285	10	928.5
4	James Willstrop	England	8545	9	854.5
5	Mohamed El Shorbagy	Egypt	6825	12	637.5
6	Karim Darwish	Egypt	6080	11	608
7	Amr Shabana	Egypt	5155	11	515.5
8	Peter Barker	England	5045	11	504.5
9	Omar Mosaad	Egypt	5380	13	496.5
10	Borja Golan	Spain	5310	14	435
11	Tarek Momen	Egypt	4280	12	396.5
12	Tom Richards	England	3900	12	360
13	Laurens Jan Anjema	Netherlands	3475	12	333
14	Alister Walker	Botswana	3230	11	323
15	Daryl Selby	England	3145	10	314.5
16	Simon Rosner	Germany	3055	11	291
17	Adrian Grant	England	3095	12	290.5
18	Cameron Pilley	Australia	3430	14	275.909
19	Saurav Ghosal	India	3060	13	275
20	Stephen Coppinger	South Africa	2650	10	265

WSA PSA & WSA Rankings, March 2013

Rank	Name	Country	Total	Tourns	Average
1	Nicol David	Malaysia	27145	10	3193.529
2	Raneem El Weleily	Egypt	16172.5	9	2021.563
3	Laura Massaro	England	13672	9	1709
4	Nour El Sherbini	Egypt	9709.25	9	1213.656
5	Alison Waters	England	12700	14	1209.524
6	Low Wee Wern	Malaysia	10362.5	13	1036.25
7	Joelle King	New Zealand	9021.5	11	1002.389
8	Jenny Duncalf	England	7417.5	10	872.647
9	Camille Serme	France	8240	12	867.368
10	Annie Au	Hong Kong	8347	13	834.7
11	Madeline Perry	Ireland	8867.5	15	806.136
12	Natalie Grinham	Netherlands	6535	10	768.824
13	Kasey Brown	Australia	7540.5	14	718.143
14	Omneya Abdel Kawy	Egypt	5097.75	10	599.735
15	Dipika Pallikal	India	5411.75	12	569.658
16	Rachael Grinham	Australia	5860	15	532.727
17	Donna Urquhart	Australia	5339.25	15	485.386
18	Samantha Teran	Mexico	3875	11	430.556
19	Joey Chan	Hong Kong	4099.25	13	409.925
20	Sarah Kippax	England	3809.75	13	380.975

Squash Info

Case Swedish Open 2013 – Final

Feb 3rd 2013

By: SquashDude

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Greg Gaultier has retained his Swedish Open crown with a hard fought 3-0 victory over English rival Nick Matthew at Linkoping, Sweden.

Gaultier got off to a flying start in the first game, with Matthew not getting a chance to get his bearings at all. The Frenchman was mixing up his pace of shot and put in a few attacking boasts which caught Matthew by surprise. As Matthew had a walkover in the semi-finals, the feeling was that he would try to extend the rallies in the first game to wear down Gaultier, whose semi-final was not exactly energy sapping at only 30 mins. But Matthew failed to win most of those long rallies and he walked off the court 1 game down, 11-3 in 14 mins.

At the end of the 2 minute break between games, Nick Matthew requested a 3 minute injury time-out. It didn’t seem to affect him as the players started the second game. Gaultier opened with an error, but resumed his awesome shotmaking to level the score 2-2. A titanic rally followed with neither player able to get an advantage until Matthew was forced to boast from the back of the court, giving an easy drop winner to Gaultier. But he proabably wasn’t unhappy with how much work the Frenchman had to do to stay in it. And he got the next two points with Gaultier dropping off ever so slightly. As happens with these two, the friendly banter in the first game slowly disappears and in this game there were several disagreements about out balls and tinned shots. But the quality of the squash remained high and at 7-7, Gaultier hit a screaming wide crosscourt to get the lead. A few errors later though and it was tied up at 9-9. Matthew got a very favourable let when Gaultier looked to have hit a winning deep shot to the backhand corner and was then denied two stroke calls, one of which would have been called in any club match. Matthew had his own gripe with a pickup by Gaultier when up 10-9, but the referee deemed it good and Gaultier went on to win the game after a Matthew error and wide winner to the forehand back corner. 12-10 in 34 minutes (numerous stoppages) to the Frenchman for a 2-0 lead.

The third started exactly even with two winners, two strokes and two unforced errors, one for each player. The long rallies actually seemed to have take more out of Matthew which wouldn’t have been his plan to start with. Some more errors and suddenly it was 6-4 Matthew. Some fantastic sportsmanship from Matthew followed, firstly calling his ball out when missed by the referee and electing to play a let on a ball called good, but which Gaultier insisted was down. His reward was winning the next point and he gained an 8-6 lead. Gaultier looked to be tiring now and was behind Matthew in most of the rallies. But a nice held straight drive, a stroke off a ball that popped out from the side/front wall join and a deep winner brought him back to 9-9. Another winner gave Gaultier championship ball and he won the next point with another wide crosscourt past the outstretched racquet of Nick Matthew. 11-9 in 15 minutes for a 3-0 victory in 72 brutal minutes.

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Greg Gaultier, Nick Matthew, Squash tournament results

PSA & WSA Rankings, February 2013

Feb 1st 2013

By: SquashDude

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Rank	Name	Country	Total	Tourns	Average
1	Ramy Ashour	Egypt	15835	8	1583.5
2	Nick Matthew	England	10955	10	1095.5
3	James Willstrop	England	10560	10	1056.0
4	Gregory Gaultier	France	10090	11	960.0
5	Karim Darwish	Egypt	7375	13	686.0
6	Mohamed El Shorbagy	Egypt	6825	12	637.5
7	Amr Shabana	Egypt	5645	12	547.0
8	Peter Barker	England	5045	12	504.5
9	Omar Mosaad	Egypt	5380	13	496.5
10	Borja Golan	Spain	4870	13	434.5
11	Tarek Momen	Egypt	3790	11	366.5
12	Tom Richards	England	3900	12	360.0
13	Daryl Selby	England	3460	10	346.0
14	Alister Walker	Botswana	3520	12	337.5
15	Laurens Jan Anjema	Netherlands	3445	12	330.0
16	Simon Rosner	Germany	3545	12	321.0
17	Adrian Grant	England	3385	13	302.0
18	Saurav Ghosal	India	3820	16	280.417
19	Cameron Pilley	Australia	3420	14	275.0
20	Stephen Coppinger	South Africa	2700	11	266.0

WSA PSA & WSA Rankings, February 2013

Rank	Name	Country
1	Nicol David	Malaysia
2	Raneem El Weleily	Egypt
3	Laura Massaro	England
4	Nour El Sherbini	Egypt
5	Alison Waters	England
6	Low Wee Wern	Malaysia
7	Joelle King	New Zealand
8	Jenny Duncalf	England
9	Camille Serme	France
10	Annie Au	Hong Kong
11	Natalie Grinham	Netherlands
12	Madeline Perry	Ireland
13	Kasey Brown	Australia
14	Omneya Abdel Kawy	Egypt
15	Dipika Pallikal	India
16	Rachael Grinham	Australia
17	Donna Urquhart	Australia
18	Samantha Teran	Mexico
19	Joey Chan	Hong Kong
20	Sarah Kippax	England

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Squash Rankings

J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions – Mens Final

Jan 25th 2013

By: SquashDude

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So we came down to the mens final and what worthy participants we have. After both won their marathon semi-finals, they line up with Gregory Gaultier not having actually beaten Ramy Ashour for over 4 years. But this is a different Greg Gaultier, in peak condition and as shown in both his quarter and semi-final, willing to go the distance to win. Ramy is still wearing the leg brace he has worn all week to protect the hamstring he injured in the World Championships, but he has not shown any sign of it bothering him.

The first game started with an error from Ashour after which a long steady rally was finished by a wide boast just out of the reach of Gaultier. More errors from Ashour and it was suddenly4-1. Ashour is notorious for slow starting, so Gaultier may have expected this anyway! Two wrongfooting boasts from Gaultier this time and the score was 6-1. Ashour did not seem to be moving well and Gaultier tinned an overhead and was then caught out by a boast from Ashour for 6-3. Maybe those semis had taken it out of both players? An easy stroke call against Ashour was followed by a deft delayed drop to the front right nick by Ramy who then tinned to the same area for an 8-4 scoreline to Gaultier. The next rally showed that both player’s bodies had woken up. All four corners were used and numerous boasts were retrieved. But Ashour won it with a forehand drop that bounced twice before Greg could hit it. A unforced error by Ashour gave up game balls, but he save the first with a good length drive. But a tinned shot on the second gave the first game to Gaultier.

Two short rallies to open the second had the score at 1-1. Ashour started using his famous wrist to hold and send Gaultier the wrong way and was moving around better than in Game 1. Each player then rifled a serve return into the nick, but Gaultier dug Ashour’s out and it was 4-3 to Gaultier. An honest admission of a shot hitting the tin by Gaultier was followed by a high ball on the left wall and the score was 5-5. Gaultier looked more composed though in the rallies. An overhead kill and a nicely held crosscourt gave him a 2 point lead. Ashour’s game fell apart after a stroke off a lazy behind the body shot and an unforced error into the tin gave Gaultier 5 game balls for a 2 game lead. A stroke saved the first, but he won the second and marched off the court with the upper hand.

The third opened with the first three rallies won by good deep shots to the left hand corner. The players may have been getting tired as a few lets were starting to creep into the match. Gaultier was on top during the rally at 3-2, but put the ball in the tin with an attempt from mid court. Gaultier was a little hard done by getting only a let when he was blocked by Ashour but receiving a stroke against him when the roles were reversed. He reviewed but the decision was upheld. Ashour was coming back at 6-5 when he played a ball that he turned on and put it in the tin. One can only assume he thought that was one let too many! A few Ashour winners later and an easy unforced error had it 8-7 Ashour. Gaultier was definitely struggling with fatigue and an error and winner off successive boasts saw the score 9-8. Successive backhands into the nick from each and it was 10-9 game ball to Ashour. Gaultier levelled with a deep drive called no-let, but Ashour took the game with two brilliant rallies ending with winners 12-10.

Gaultier had thrown the kitchen sink at Ashour for no reward last game and made two errors to start the fourth. His body language said he was feeling flat and his shots did nothing to dispute that. Tension was mounting between the players as several collisions were being blamed on each other. This all led up to probably the finest reactions you will ever see on a squash court with severeal shots picked out of the air and placed into the corners. A massive rally and won by Ashour to give him a 6-2 lead. Gaultier was in trouble and basically conceded the game and regrouped for the fifth. Several errors and lethargic shots saw Ashour up 11-3.

Ramy was pumped for this last game and got off to a 3-1 lead after some unlucky bounces for Gaultier. A wide coss from the front gave him another point and a stroke had it 5-1. Gaultier was spent though, and the rallies continued in a similar pattern to 8-1. Three points later the result was sealed at 11-1. A stunning comeback by the world No 1 from Egypt!

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Greg Gaultier, Ramy Ashour, Squash tournament results
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions – Semi Finals Pt 2

Jan 24th 2013

By: SquashDude

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Nick Matthew and Gregory Gaultier started their semi final with a strange video review of a stroke call by the referee. Both players seemed bemused by the call and even more so when the review upheld the decision. So much so that Matthew hit the next serve deliberately out so as to give a point back to Gaultier. Two long, long rallies followed for only 1 point as the first ended in a let. After a mountain of running, the score was only 2-2. A stroke which looked less a stroke than the earlier one and a tinned drop from Gaultier saw Matthew up 4-2. Gaultier levelled with a low backhand winner and error from Matthew. A conceded ‘not up’ from Gaultier continued the friendly nature of the match (so far) and a nice deep drive Gaultier winner followed by Matthew backhand drop tin made it 6-5. Another long rally at 8-6 to Gaultier also ended in let which probably suited Matthew more as the Frenchman did most of the running. Matthew was on top in the next few rallies, but Gaultier did enough to get to game ball. At 10-8, Matthew hit a ball which bounced to the back middle and Gaultier followed it with Matthew behind. A stroke was awarded and it was game to Gaultier, 11-8 in 25 gruelling minutes.

Two errors to begin the game from Gaultier followed by a nice drop into the forehand front nick and it was 1-2 Gaultier. A few decisions that did not please the players (one reviewed by Gaultier) got the score along to 5-4 Gaultier. Matthew hit a Ramy’esque forehand into the front left nick and let the crowd know he was happy with it. Some nice accurate kills by both players and a tremendously hard crosscourt drive which beat Matthew for pace had the score at 7-6 Gaultier. Again, the Frenchman seemed to be strugglig more in the rallies, but found ways to come out on top. A humourous collision between the two was anything but for Matthew who believed Gaultier dived and should not have been given a let for it. A rather soft stroke on the next point made it 8-7. An unforced error from each and a change of racquet for Gaultier and it was 9-8. An absolutely shocking miss at a drop shot from Gaultier tied it up next. A nice deep drive from Matthew was a no-let and he had a game ball. Gaultier saved it with a lovely drop to the front right nick. A long let-ending rally was followed by an unforced tin to give Matthew another shot at the game. Gaultier was losing it with the referee over let calls, but Matthew punched a shot home for the game and it was 1-1.

Matthew carried on the momentum in the third with some unforced errors from Gaultier and was up 4-2 early. But Gaultier got his head together and played steady rallies in the next two points and forced one error and Matthew provided an unforced one on an attempted half court drop to make it 4-4. Gaultier started complaining about the shape of the ball after hitting a shot out of court and Matthew drove a crosscourt wide of his outstretched racquet for a 6-5 lead. Another Matthew unforced error and more remonstrating with the referee after a stroke against Gaultier made it 7-6. Matthew looked to be almost home in this game after another decision went against Gaultier and a tired looking high backhand kill hit the tin giving us 9-6 to Matthew. A similar error gave Matthew 4 game balls, but Gaultier save the first two with a nice drop and a clever boast that wrongfooted Matthew who was expecting a ball down the side wall. Matthew lost the next one himself with a tinned drop and Gaultier saved the fourth with a straight drive away from Matthew. Amazing comeback! And then Matthew put another crosscourt kill into the tin to hand Gaultier game ball. Gaultier thought he had won the game with a mirror shot of his previous winner, but the no-let decicion was reversed on video review. Matthew got it back to 11-11 with a shot returned straight at Gaultier but the Frenchman gained another game ball with a dying drop. With both players looking like it was the last rally of the match, the ball was punished on every shot until finally Matthew hit the ball too high on the front wall to give Gaultier the game and a 2-1 lead.

Matthew started the fourth game with few unforced errors, down 0-3 early. But even in general play, he seemed to be just returning what Gaultier put to him, rather than dictating play himself. He must have been shocked at having blown the lead in the last game, but it didn’t look like the break between games had done him any favours. Gaultier was hiting winners from all ove the court and Matthew continued to look like he was a step slower to each ball and struggling to stay in each rally, 7-0 to Gaultier. Matthew finally got on the board with a trickle boast. Gaultier asked for a review on what seemed to be a pretty standard let, but perhaps he was more interested in a minute of rest after backing up from a marathon match from yesterday? Matthew looked to be playing better, but a look-away straight drive and an unforced error gave him a 9-3 lead. Another error from deep by Matthew gave Gaultier match ball which he won with a sublime drop into the front right corner. 11-3 and 3-1 in a 94 minute marathon.

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Greg Gaultier, Nick Matthew, Squash tournament results
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions – Semi Finals Pt 1

Jan 24th 2013

By: SquashDude

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The first semi final between James Willstrop and Ramy Ashour started in the expected way with Ashour failing to settle in quickly and handing Willstrop a lead with some unforced errors into the tin and as well as some tight wall hugging shots from Willstrop. Ashour was talking to himself from almost the first point which he usually saves till later on. A cracking boast from Willstrop at the back of the court, found Ashour short and the lead was 7-3. Ashour was made to work furiously the next point covering front right to back left corners of the court whicle Willstrop controlled the rally from the middle for 8-3. A sidewall nick gave Ramy a point, but James got one back with a backhand drop at the front for 9-4. A stroke to Willstop gave him 10-5 and he took the game on his second game ball, 11-5 in just 10 minutes.

The second did not start well for Ashour, lifting a cross sourt lob out and falling victim to Willstrop’s accurate drop to the front backhand corner. A snatch at an attempted drop from Ashour and a nice boast from Willstrop had the score at 4-1. Not looking good for Ashour. But you can never count him out. A nice backhand that moved away from Willstop and a (just about Willstrop’s first) unforced error got Ashour back into it. James then settled back down and controlled the pace and length to reel off 3 points in a row to gain the ascendency and the score was 7-4. Some good luck for Ashour and another unforced error made it 7-7 somehow. A trademark Ashour backhand kill into the nick and a clever drive into the middle of the court giving Willstrop no swing room got Ramy up to 9-8. He completed the game 11-8 with some punishing rallies that seemed to tire Willstrop.

The start of the third was punctuated by a series of unforced errors by both players. The tension must have been high as they were all pretty standard shots. Finally at 4-3 to Ashour, Ramy unbelieveably picked up a drop by Willstrop and counter dropped it cross court for a winner. James got back and actually ahead with some tight shots, but yet another unforced error tied it up at 6-6. It was 7-6 to Ashour with a repeat error before a wrongfooting drop caught Willstrop off balance and an easy drive for Ramy made it 8-6. A few nice winners from Ashour and another Willstrop unforced error (I make it about 6 for the game) gave Ashour game ball. Two nice drops from Willstrop that didn’t hit the tin(!) save two game balls and then the rally of the tournament had Willstrop straining and reaching for balls that Ashour seemed to have on a string. After surviving the barrage, Willstrop finally was in a position to hit the ball deep and won the point for 10-10. Ashour must have wondered how this happened, but he composed himself and won the next two points for a 2-1 lead.

The quality of squash at the start of the fourth was a step up from the third, which apart from that magnificent rally, was quite ordinary with all the errors. Willstrop would have know that the third game was his but for those errors, so he was kept hungry in this game. Fantastic rallies with another one straight back to Willstrop’s chest got them to 2-2. More fabulous hitting before a forced error from Ashour saw the score at 5-3 to Willstrop. But he was starting to look tired and Ramy looked far fresher and the match was evenly poised after a few more points at 5-5. Errors from both players after long rallies got it to 7-6 Ashour. But then Willstrop started making Ramy do all the work. Because his short game was working so well, Ashour’s first movement off the T was forward to cover any short shots. But James was hitting perfect lengths forcing Ashour back on himself and the score was 8-8. A very confusing review decision which looked to be a certain stroke but called let saved Willstrop from being in a vulnerable position. Some brutal rallies went each way and it was 9-9. Yet another brilliant, searching rally finished with a tinned shot from an exhausted Willstop gave Ashour the first match ball. But Willstrop responded in grand fashion by winning the next 3 points to send the match into a fifth.

They traded blows at the start of the game and at 2-2, neither player looked too happy. A failed diving attempt was followed by another high backhand into the nick and Ashour was suddenly up 4-3. He really stepped it up in the next few rallies and Willstrop got that heavy footed look that he had earlier in the match and he just couldn’t reach the boasts that Ashour was producing. 7-3 to Ashour. The first unforced error of the game went to Ashour but at 8-4 up, he wouldn’t have been too worried about it. Another killer rally for Willstrop followed to 9-4. A loose return of serve gave a stroke to Ashour for match ball and a tired James Willstrop ended the next rally in the tin for a relieved Ramy Ashour to win 3-2. A great match by two great players.

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James Willstrop, Ramy Ashour, Squash tournament results
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions – Quarter Finals Pt 2

Jan 23rd 2013

By: SquashDude

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The opening rally of the quarter final between Karim Darwish and Nick Matthew was long and searching, with Matthew finding the tin at its conclusion, but he was spot on after that, hitting his trademark volleys regularly. Darwish was constantly in the back corners basically putting balls back for Matthew to drop volley. A few errors were made by Matthew, but it was all him in the first and he took it 11-5.

His radar was off a bit in the second and with some clever wrongfooting by Darwish, the score was 4-4 early on. The rallies were longer and deeper, not allowing Matthew the easy volley opportunities he had previously. But that soon changed and a familiar pattern emerged. Matthew finished off with a drop from midcourt to win it 11-7.

The third started with a lot more short hitting than deep and that played into Matthew’s hands. He controlled the centre T and forced Darwish to run around him. But a few sweet drops into the front backhand nick got Darwish back in the game at 6-8. But a few more errors finished the game and Matthew hit a deceptive boast on match ball to win it 11-8.

Tha last quarter final brought Greg Gaultier and Mohamed El Shorbagy together. The first rally gave notice of things to come with long, hard drives moving both players until a loose shot from Shorbagy gave Gaultier n opportunity for a lovely held drop. Throughout the game, both players had turns at this. At 5-3 to Gaultier, a rally that must have contained 100 shots brought the house down after Gaultier prevailed with a side-wall boast out of the reach of Shorbagy. Although he did most of the work in that and subsequent rallies, Shorbagy didn’t show any obvious signs of physical distress. Gaultier had 3 game balls and Shorbagy saved 2, but after Gaultier changed a broken racquet at 10-9, Shorbagy tinned a shot to hand the first to Gaultier 11-9.

The second started with less pace than the free hitting on show in game 1. There were unforced errors into the tin and a shot back to himself for a stroke from Shorbagy. He may have started to pay for the work done previously as his patience for long rallies disappeared. Clearing the ball became an issue in the middle of the game with a series of let calls, but they soon sorted this out and got back to hitting great winners. Gaultier however, had the better of the game and was suddenly at 10-7. But Shorbagy stuck to his guns and through forcing errors got back to 10-10. Unforced errors from both saw Gaultier at 12-11 and he pushed Shorbagy to all corners until he could hit no more and took the game 13-11.

In the third, Shorbagy got off to a good start getting the first few points before letting that lead slip and two errors into the tin had Gaultier up 4-3. The rallies were at a much slower pace which gave good value for short shots played well, but also enticed some unforced errors. A massive rally at 6-5 for Gaultier saw yet another unforced error that should have been a winning drop. More unforced errors saw the score get to 8-8 when a lucky nick for Shorbagy got him ahead 9-8. Yet more errors got them to 11-10 and a match ball for Gaultier. Then Shorbagy unleashed a very brave cross court kill off the serve to level it again. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, he did it again down match point 12-13! It proved to be a master stroke as he won the next two points for the game.

Gaultier came out determined in the fourth game, gaining a 4-0 lead before missing two drops and missing a short short from Shorbagy making it 4-3. Tight rallies from Gaultier forced some errors from Shorbagy who had to cover all four corners of the court for 6-3. The mountain of work done earlier by Shorbagy was showing as Galutier raced to 10-3 until a between the legs shot save 1 match ball. A series of topspin counter drops ended in a stroke to Gaultier and he was through to the semi finals 11-4.

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Greg Gaultier, Karim Darwish, Mohamed El Shorbagy, Nick Matthew, Squash tournament results
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions – Quarter Finals

Jan 22nd 2013

By: SquashDude

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Giant killer Stephen Coppinger’s dream run finally came to an end in the Quarter Finals against former World No 1, James Willstrop. The first game was a fantastic mix of depth and finesse with Coppinger cathcing out Willstrop on four occasions with perfectly placed backhand drops. With the South African up 9-8 though, Willstrop found some nice width and with a stroke, a mistake by Coppinger saw Willstrop with game ball 10-9. A deep crosscourt winner from Coppinger levelled it up, but a bad choice of shot in the next rally gave Willstrop game ball again and he had his own wide crosscourt to take the game 12-10.

The second was scrapy from Coppinger with a mix of forced and unforced errors putting Willstrop ahead comfortably midway through. Coppinger looked to be tiring after his earlier marathon games, but a marvellous rally at 8-2 saw both players, volleying and dropping the ball to both front corners of the court. It ended with Willstrop hitting the ball deep with Coppinger out of position retrieving another drop. Another error and a nice wide drive saw Willstrop up 2 games to love.

Coppinger continued fighting in the third, but Willstrop’s accuracy with short shots found the South African short of the mark on many occasions. More errors, peppered with fighting rallies saw the match close out to Willstrop 12-10, 11-2, 11-4.

Next up was Ramy Ashour and Omar Mossad. Ashour had an imposing record against his fellow Egyptian current 10-0 in their meetings. But Mossad had the better start with 3 points before Ashour got on the board. Ashour then seemed to go in his shell and Mossad produced a further flurry of points to be up 7-1. Two unforced errors gave Ramy two more points, but from there on, it was all Mossad and the game finished with a penalty stroke 11-4.

As often happens after losing a game, Ashour stayed on court and gets his head together. It worked! A different player came out and played short volley nicks completely outplaying Mossad who must have been wondering what happened in the break. With Ashour up 10-1, a long rally ensued with Ashour on top most of the way and he finished with a nice crosscourt to have it 11-3.

The third game was a bit of a mess. Unforced errors aplenty from both players. It also contained two of the most strange video reviews seen. Certain strokes in consecutive points were reviewed and in both cases upheld, one for each player. It was probably a sign of how important the game was to both, but left them without a review for the game. More errors saw the score at 9-9 when Mossad returned a tight drive on the wall with the top of his racquet for a winner to have game ball. But Ashour remained calm and Mossad hit a poor tin shot in the tie break to give the game to Ashour 12-10.

Further errors and a clash of knees with Mossad coming off second best started the fourth. The were plenty of lets too, but Ashour benefitted and found himself up 10-5 and looking like an early finish. But Mossad had other ideas and he played brilliantly while Ashour seemed to lose his ability to hit long. At 10-9 though, a wrongfooting crosscourt gave the match to Ashour, much to his relief.

Squash Info, Squash News, Squash Videos

James Willstrop, Omar Mossad, Ramy Ashour, Squash tournament results, Stephen Coppinger
J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions – Round 2

Jan 21st 2013

By: SquashDude

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Round 2 has been completed with most of the matches going to form (or at least to ranking, in the case of Shabana v Matthew). That match was worthy of at least a quarter-final, but due to Shabana falling just outside of the seeding, these two met for the third time in as many weeks. Unlike the last two though, Matthew led from the start and never let go; forcing Shabana with tight squeezes on the side wall and delicate drops. Matthew said afterward that he didn’t have a game plan and his game plan was to just go out and enjoy himself. He should try it next time! He’ll be playing Karim Darwish who wore down Indian speedster, Saurav Ghosal in straight games. Down game balls in the third, Darwish pulled out some volleys to finish off the game and get off the court.

There was one upset in Steven Coppinger’s surprising win over Adrian Grant. Coppinger continues his good form and was up 2 games to love over Grant who was recovering from a 3-2 first round win over Cameron Pilley. I say the win was surprising, because Grant has a habit of winning games that go to 5 and when he clinched game ball to make it 2-2, the odds were on him doing it again. But Coppinger received some (obviously) good advice on the phone between games and came out charging in the 5th.

He will next play James Willstrop took on another speedster in Tarek Momen and the match was evenly poised until the later stages of the second game. Momen hit some stunning winners to grab the first and stayed with the tall Englishman. But Willstrop’s experience counted for a lot and he put in some remarkable drops into the nick to finish off the Egyptian. Momen looked to slide and injure his ankle in the 4th, took a medical time-out, but on return was just as fast as before. But he needed more than speed to beat Willstrop.

Mohamed El Shorbagy had a tight 3-0 win over French qualifier Gregoire March and will next play ‘another French Greg’ in Gregory Gaultier, who arguably had the best win of the round against Tom Richards. He was in sublime form mixing attack and defensive lobs, hitting incredible angles and had Richards going completely the wrong way on a number of occasions.

Ramy Ashour had a trademark 3-0 win over Germany’s Simon Rosner, who must be gaining confidence playing against the top guys so regularly now. Rosner held his own for most of each game, but just didn’t have the speed required to match it with the world’s No 1. He will now play fellow Egyptian, Omar Mossad who also had a 3-0 win over Malaysia’s Ong beng Hee, but the game was much closer than the score suggests. Several strange refereeing decisions upset Ong who could not find his direction down the backhand line until the second game.

[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-13, 11-8, 11-2, 11-6
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) bt Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 11-1
[8] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-8, 11-8, 11-6
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Simon Rosner (GER) 11-8, 11-8, 11-5
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 11-3, 11-6, 11-4
[6] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [Q] Gregoire Marche (FRA) 11-8, 11-9, 11-7
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-3, 11-5, 12-10
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-8, 11-6, 11-8

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J.P.Morgan Tournament of Champions – Round 1

Jan 20th 2013

By: SquashDude

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Round 1 has been completed in the first major tournament of 2013, the Tournament of Champions held at its traditional home of Grand Central Station in New York City. Split over two days, there was one major upset when 5th seed, Peter Barker from England was beaten by South African Stephen Coppinger in 4 games. Coppinger has been steadily climbing the rankings over the last few years, but had lost his last 5 matches against Barker and wasn’t expected to win this one either.

There were some tough matches in this round with Australia’s Cameron Pilley going the distance with Adrian Grant in a gruelling affair. Pilley started out strongly, but was gradually worn down by Grant and looked down and out by the end of the 89 minute match.

Another upset saw France’s Gregoire Marche defeat the higher ranked Olli Tuominen from Finland. Marche came through the qualifying part of the draw and is the only qualifier to make it to the second round.

And US wildcard, Todd Harrity acquitted himself well against Englishman, Tom Richards. Despite losing 3-0, it was valuable experience for the youngster from Pennsylvania.

[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 11-3, 11-5, 11-5
Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [Q] Shawn Delierre (CAN) 11-1, 11-6, 11-8
Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 6-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-8
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) bt [5] Peter Barker (ENG) 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 11-1
[8] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 11-6, 5-11, 11-3, 11-9
Simon Rosner (GER) bt [Q] Yasir Ali Butt (PAK) 11-5, 4-11, 11-6, 11-4
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [Q] Adrian Waller (ENG) 11-5, 11-6, 12-10
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-6, 11-2, 11-1
Tom Richards (ENG) bt Todd Harrity (USA) 12-10, 11-3, 11-6
[Q] Gregoire Marche (FRA) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-1, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5
[6] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-4, 11-5, 11-9
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Shahier Razik (CAN) 13-15, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9
Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-5, 11-7, 11-9
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Joe Lee (ENG) 11-4, 8-11, 11-7, 11-4

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