| |
World Championships 2019/20
Men's Draw
Nov 08-15
Doha, Qatar,
$335k |
SECOND ROUND
9
NOV |
THIRD ROUND
10-11 NOV |
QUARTERS
12-13
NOV |
SEMIS
14
NOV |
FINAL
15 NOV |
[2] Tarek
Momen (EGY)
11-9, 12-10, 11-5 (35m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) |
Tarek Momen
11-5, 10-12, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4 (76m)
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi |
Tarek Momen
11-6, 13-11,
11-6 (36m)
Diego Elias |
Tarek Momen
9-11, 11-7,
11-6, 11-6 (58m)
Simon Rösner |
Tarek Momen
11-8, 11-3,
11-4 (39m)
Paul Coll |
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
12-10, 11-8, 11-8 (43m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) |
[13] Fares Dessouky (EGY)
11-5, 11-3, 11-5 (24m)
Edmon Lopez (ESP) |
Fares Dessouky
10-12, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 (56m)
Diego Elias |
[6] Diego Elias (PER)
6-11, 11-3, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4 (59m)
Greg Lobban (SCO)
|
[5] Simon Rösner (GER)
11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9 (70m)
Declan James (ENG)
|
Simon Rösner
11-8, 11-8, 11-5 (47m)
Joel Makin |
Simon Rösner
14-12, 11-6,
11-3 (46m)
James Willstrop |
[11] Joel Makin (WAL)
11-3, 6-11, 11-9, 14-12 (74m)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) |
James Willstrop (ENG)
11-7, 11-8, 11-4 (24m)
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) |
James Willstrop
11-8, 4-11, 11-9,
12-10 (71m)
Karim Abdel Gawad
|
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
10-12, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (44m)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) |
[4] Paul Coll (NZL)
11-7, 11-4, 11-8 (40m)
Borja Golan (ESP) |
Paul Coll
9-11, 14-12, 11-9,
6-11, 16-14 (119m)
Omar Mosaad |
Paul Coll
11-8, 11-9, 11-6 (47m)
Zahed Salem |
Paul Coll
9-11, 11-9,
8-11, 11-6,
11-7 (84m)
Marwan Elshorbagy |
[12] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
11-5, 11-2, 11-6 (25m)
[WC] Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT)
|
[14] Zahed Salem (EGY)
11-7, 6-11, 11-2, 11-7 (58m)
Mostafa Asal (EGY)
|
Zahed Salem
8-11, 11-9, 11-7,
11-9 (74m)
Miguel Rodriguez |
[8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
11-8, 11-3, 11-6 (29m)
Alan Clyne (SCO)
|
[7] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 12-10 (68m)
Leo Au (HKG)
|
Mohamed Abouelghar
11-4, 11-8, 11-4 (30m)
Marwan Elshorbagy |
Marwan Elshorbagy
11-6, 2-11,
11-6, 3-11, 11-8 (59m)
Mohamed Elshorbagy |
[9] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY)
5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (40m)
Nicolas Müller (SUI)
|
[10] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
11-8, 11-5, 11-5 (36m)
Lucas Serme (FRA) |
Saurav Ghosal
11-6, 11-8, 14-12 (50m)
Mohamed Elshorbagy
|
Adrian Waller (ENG)
13-11, 11-9, 11-9 (48m)
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) |
[2] Tarek
Momen (EGY) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-1: 12-10, 10-12, 11-7, 11-4 (52m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 3-0: 17-15, 11-8, 11-8 (42m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Shawn DeLierre (CAN) 3-0): 11-7, 11-8, 11-4
(29m)
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) bt [15] Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-1: 11-6,
11-9, 7-11, 11-9 (50m)
[13] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-1: 11-6, 9-11, 11-8,
11-5 (58m)
Edmon Lopez (ESP) bt Kristian Frost (DEN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 (42m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Max Lee (HKG) 3-1: 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8 (56m)
[6] Diego Elias (PER) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 14-12 (45m)
[5] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-1: 12-10, 4-11, 11-2, 11-2
(54m)
Declan James (ENG) bt Vikram Malhotra (IND) 3-2: 8-11, 1-11, 11-5, 11-3,
11-6 (51m)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 3-0 rtd
(12m)
[11] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Richie Fallows (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 15-13
(49m)
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt [16] Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-2: 11-5, 10-12, 11-5,
11-13, 11-9 (107m)
James Willstrop (ENG) bt George Parker (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 12-10
(44m)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 14-12, 11-6, 11-6 (38m)
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [L] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) 3-0: 11-4,
11-8, 13-11 (28m)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [WC] Hamad Al-Amri (QAT) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-3
(21m)
Borja Golan (ESP) bt Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 (31m)
[WC] Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT) bt Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) 3-1: 8-11,
12-10, 4-11, 2-0 rtd (60m)
[12] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-1: 8-11, 11-9, 11-2,
11-8 (54m)
[14] Zahed Salem (EGY) bt Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 3-1: 11-7, 3-11, 11-3, 11-6
(33m)
Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-5
(42m)
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt [L] Rysoei Kobayashi (JPN) 3-1: 12-10, 11-5, 7-11,
11-9 (52m)
[8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 9-11,
11-9, 11-8 (73m)
[7] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Tayyab Aslam (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-7
(25m)
Leo Au (HKG) bt Todd Harrity (USA) 3-0: 16-14, 11-7, 11-3 (36m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt [L] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-7
(33m)
[9] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Arturo Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3,
11-7 (22m)
[10] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7,
18-16 (56m)
Lucas Serme (FRA) bt [L] Benjamin Aubert (FRA) 3-1: 10-12, 11-8, 11-3,
11-5 (64m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 3-0: 15-133, 11-7, 11-1 (44m)
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Victor Crouin (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6,
11-7 (33m)
|
Finals
Momen Beats Coll in Doha to Be Crowned World Champion
Egypt’s
World No.3 Tarek Momen put in a sublime display as he overcame New
Zealand’s Paul Coll by a 3-0 margin earlier today in Doha, Qatar to be
crowned the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Champion - meaning Momen and wife
Raneem El Welily have become the first married couple in squash history
to become World Champions.
Momen was appearing in back-to-back World Championship finals after
falling to World No.1 Ali Farag in Chicago eight months ago and had
finished as runner-up in all three of the major finals he had appeared
in prior to today.
But
a masterclass of attacking squash saw him draw World No.5 Coll into the
front of the court time and time again to power into a two-game lead to
put him on the verge of matching El Welily, who won the women’s World
Championship in 2017.
Coll, who was the first male Kiwi since Ross Norman in 1986 to appear in
a final, returned to court in the third game with strapping on his right
quad as a brutal week - which saw him spend almost an hour more on court
than Momen throughout the tournament - looked to take its toll.
There
was no stopping Momen in the third game as he closed out the win by an
11-8, 11-3, 11-4 scoreline to lift the biggest prize in men’s squash
just two weeks to the day since El Welily fell to World No.4 Nour El
Sherbini in the final of the women’s World Championship, held in front
of Cairo’s Great Pyramid of Giza.
"If I tell you how many times I imagined making this speech my whole
life, it’s countless, and now I just don’t know what to say, it’s so
hard to digest," said Momen after winning his 7th PSA Tour title.
"I just worked so hard for this. For years, I’ve been trying and trying,
I came up this close but then it didn’t happen for me. I haven’t won a
Platinum event and the first major I ever win gets to be the World
Championship, it’s unbelievable.
"It has been a childhood dream of mine to become the World Champion at
some point. I am 31 now, and I was wondering whether I would have the
opportunity to do it, so to be able to do it at this age and to still
feel that I can give it my all for a few more years is just
unbelievable.
"I want to congratulate Paul on such an event and an amazing
achievement. He’s done so well making it this far. He had the better of
our last finals appearances, I’m just glad I managed to get this one.
"It
was such a strong match, I know he pushed himself hard during the event.
Towards the end, I could see he was struggling a bit, but he kept
pushing. I only realised this morning we were the only married couple to
become World Champions. We are privileged to have achieved something,
and I’m so happy we did it."
Coll said: "It was tough from the word go, Tarek was firing and made me
do a lot of work at all stages of the game. It was taking its toll
because of his accuracy.
"I’m
very proud of my week, a bit disappointed by tonight but all credit to
Tarek who delivered on the big stage tonight. I’m so grateful from all
the support I got from back home, people waking up at early hours in the
morning, it means a lot to me, and I want to thank them."
Momen - who takes home over $45,000 in winnings - becomes the 18th man
to get his hands on the iconic trophy, while he is the fourth Egyptian
in a row to win the men’s World Championship.
He also qualifies for the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals which will
take place in June and pits together the reigning World Champions and
PSA Platinum title winners, with the remaining spots going to the
highest-placed players on the Road to Egypt Standings, with points on
offer at all PSA World Tour events.
|
Semi Finals
Coll
and Momen to Contest Final in Doha
New
Zealand’s World No.5 Paul Coll has become the first Kiwi since 1986 to
reach the final of the PSA Men’s World Championship after he got the
better of World No.10 Marwan ElShorbagy in a thrilling five-game battle
in Doha, Qatar to set up a final clash with World No.3 Tarek Momen.
Coll will now look to follow in the footsteps of Ross Norman, who ended
legendary Pakistani player Jahangir Khan’s unprecedented 555-match
winning run 33 years ago to lift the World Championship crown.
Coll, 27, started slowly in each of the first three games as 2017
runner-up ElShorbagy, riding high after beating older brother Mohamed in
the previous round, found his range at front of the court, and the
Egyptian twice took a one-game lead despite requiring treatment on a leg
injury in the second game.
But the length of the match seemed to suit Coll, who is one of the most
athletic players on the PSA World Tour, and he fought back to force a
decider. A number of early errors from ElShorbagy set the tone for the
fifth game and Coll powered through to complete an 9-11, 11-9, 8-11,
11-6, 11-7 victory to reach his first major PSA final.
“I feel over the moon, it is a pretty surreal feeling, but like I said
yesterday, I am just going to enjoy the moment as it is, but then focus
on tomorrow because tomorrow is the biggest match possible and I want to
firing for that,” Coll said afterwards.
“Marwan is one of the best in the game at winning quick points and he
did exactly that at the start of the first three games. I was kicking
myself because my gameplan was to not let him do that. I did not feel
like I was playing terrible squash, there were just a few wrong shot
selections.
“I wasn’t even thinking at the end there, I was just trying to run my
backside off and trying to volley as much as possible and push up the
court. I had to make him work and I tried to put the pace through the
roof.”
Meanwhile,
Momen came back from a game down to overcome Germany’s World No.6 Simon
Rösner by an 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 margin, becoming the first man since
England’s Nick Matthew in 2011 to reach back-to-back World Championship
finals.
Momen lost out to World No.1 Ali Farag in the final of last season’s
World Championship final and he will now look to go one better than his
runner-up finish in Chicago, while it continues his strong form in Doha
after he reached his first major PSA final in the city two years ago.
The 31-year-old, whose wife Raneem El Welily was a losing finalist in
the PSA Women’s World Championship two weeks ago in front of the Great
Pyramid of Giza, has won three of six matches against Coll, but did lose
their most recent meeting in March’s Canary Wharf Classic final.
"I’ve been through difficult times recently, and I worked so hard in the
off season. To make it here, after the few hiccups, I can’t believe it,"
said Momen.
”It is amazing, but I am not done. I have been there already and I know
how it feels. The focus is to recover and to prepare myself for a big
battle and to finally lift the trophy that I have always dreamed of.”
The PSA Men’s World Championship final will take place at 17:30 (GMT+3)
on Friday November 15 and all the action will be shown live on SQUASHTV
(rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official
Facebook page of the PSA World Tour, as well as mainstream broadcast
channels such as BT Sport and Sky Sport New Zealand.
For
more information on the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship, visit the
official PSA World Tour website or follow the tournament on
Twitter and
Facebook.
|
Quarter Finals
Marwan ElShorbagy Stuns Older Brother Mohamed in Doha to Reach Semis
World
No.10 Marwan ElShorbagy completed one of the most significant wins of
his career earlier today in Doha, Qatar as he overcame older brother
Mohamed in a nail-biting five-game battle to reach the semi-finals of
the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship - meaning a new name will be
etched onto the iconic trophy by the end of this week.
The ElShorbagy siblings became the first brothers in history to contest
the World Championship final when they went head-to-head in the title
decider in Manchester back in December 2017. 28-year-old Mohamed
claiming the win on that occasion to finally get his hands on the most
prestigious trophy in men’s squash and he boasted 14 wins out of 17
against his sibling heading into today’s clash.
But this time around it was the younger ElShorbagy who emerged
victorious after 59 minutes of thrilling action, earning an 11-6, 2-11,
11-6, 3-11, 11-8 to claim his fourth, and biggest, win over Mohamed to
eliminate the top seed and only remaining former World Champion left in
the tournament.
Marwan has been working with one of Mohamed’s biggest rivals - the now
retired three-time World Champion Nick Matthew - since the summer and
said the 37-year-old, alongside coach Haitham Effat, has been one of the
key reasons for his superb form in this tournament.
“I have so much experience in my corner here, in Haitham and Nick and
the way they speak to me between games, it motivates me and it pushes
me," Marwan said afterwards.
“It was five games in less than an hour, but I know it was really tough
mentally for me. Mohamed is one of the most experienced players in the
draw. He has played against so many different generations, so I knew it
was going to be really tough mentally much more than physically.
"At the end it was all mental, and I gave it everything I had."
Marwan’s victory blows the draw wide open and he will take on New
Zealand’s Paul Coll for a place in the final after Coll overcame World
No.16 Zahed Salem to become the first Kiwi since the legendary Ross
Norman in 1988 to reach the semi-finals of the men’s World Championship.
Coll
came through a brutal 119-minute epic against 2015 runner-up Omar Mosaad
in the previous round but showed very few signs of physical discomfort
as he completed an 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 victory in 47 minutes.
“I’m very happy to be in the semi-finals of a World Champs, it was
something that was a minimum goal going into the tournament,” Coll said.
“I’ve got to put that behind me now, even though I’m very happy to be in
the semi-finals, I don’t want to stop there. I’ve just got to regroup
after this and enjoy the moment while it lasts."
No.2
seed Tarek Momen and Germany’s Simon Rösner will line up in the other
semi-final after they achieved respective wins over Peru’s Diego Elias
and 2010 runner-up James Willstrop.
Momen, the World No.3 who reached the final of this tournament during
the 2018-19 season, saw off Qatari No.1 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi in the
previous round and put in a superb performance against World No.7 Elias,
winning 11-6, 13-11, 11-6 to move through to the semi-finals.
“I know that Diego has been into a few semi finals before but maybe the
World Championship is a little bit different.
"He has the experience of making it to the latter rounds, but maybe the
good start that I had made the difference. I am really looking forward
to playing Simon again, and I am hoping for another win to make it to
another final at the World Championships. It would be unbelievable for
me to make two finals in a row at the Worlds, so I am really looking
forward to it.”
Meanwhile,
Rösner is through to a second World Championship semi-final after he
ended Willstrop’s resurgence, earning a 14-12, 11-6, 11-3 victory to
prevent the Englishman from following up his shock third round win over
No.3 seed Karim Abdel Gawad.
A 25 minute first game proved crucial as Rösner converted on the fifth
game ball despite some terrific battling from Willstrop and that gave
him the confidence to take the game to the former World No.1 in the
final two games to book his place in the last four.
“You want to win the title when you get this far and it has to be my aim
now," Rösner said.
"You don't want to lose just before the finish of the tournament, so I'm
definitely up for the next match no matter who I'm playing tomorrow and
I'm looking forward to that one.”
The semi-finals will be held on Thursday November 14, with play
beginning at 17:00 (GMT+3). Play from the Khalifa International Tennis &
Squash Complex will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport
Player (Europe only), the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour
(Indian subcontinent) and mainstream broadcast channels such as BT
Sport.
For
more information on the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship, visit the
official PSA World Tour website or follow the tournament on
Twitter and
Facebook.
|
Round 3
Lower Half
ElShorbagy Brothers to Face Off in Quarter-Finals
Egyptian brothers Mohamed and Marwan ElShorbagy will go head-to-head in Doha,
Qatar after they booked their places in the quarter-finals of the 2019-20 PSA
Men’s World Championship almost two years after meeting in the title decider of
the 2017 event.
Th ElShorbagy siblings became the first brothers in history to contest the final
of the prestigious World Championship, with Mohamed winning a dramatic five-game
thriller in Manchester to finally lift the biggest title on the men’s tour.
Mohamed
- who already boasts a formidable record in Doha after reaching World
Championship finals here in 2012 and 2014 in addition to winning three Qatar
Classic titles - dispatched India’s Saurav Ghosal in straight games today to
book his spot in a ninth World Championship quarter-final.
“This is my fourth tournament this season and this will be my third meeting with
him [younger brother, Marwan]," said World No.2 Mohamed.
"It is normal because we both play in the later stages of the tournament. It is
a unique situation for our sport, but we both give something different to the
sport and I am glad to be a part of it.”
Marwan
also claimed a 3-0 victory as he made it five wins in a row against an out of
sorts Mohamed Abouelghar. World No.8 Abouelghar was fortunate to make it through
his round two match with Hong Kong’s Leo Au after two controversial decisions
stroke decisions in the closing stages of the fixture, and he never really got
going in his match with the lower ranked ElShorbagy.
The World No.10 dominated proceedings and managed the cold court conditions well
as he did all the attacking against a passive Abouelghar, who is normally one of
the top shot-making talents on the PSA Tour, winning 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 in just 30
minutes.
“Mohamed is a very good player, he plays at a very fast pace and likes to go
short quickly, so I had to make sure I started really sharp and started better
than I did two days ago [against Nicolas Mueller],” Marwan said.
“I just want to focus on the rest of the day, I have some stretching to do and
when tomorrow comes I will think about it [playing his brother], I don't have to
think about it today.”
New
Zealand’s Paul Coll prevented it from being an Egyptian clean sweep today as he
prevailed in a brutal match with 2015 runner-up Omar Mosaad which, at 119
minutes, is the longest World Championship fixture since 2017.
The match was a monumental battle, with the fifth game - which was littered with
refereeing decisions - lasting over half an hour. Coll looked to have booked his
last eight berth after going 10-7 ahead in the decider, but Mosaad was able to
save all three match balls, before then saving another four in the ensuing
tie-break.
The Egyptian then had two match balls of his own, but World No.5 Coll managed to
fight back from both. The Kiwi was finally able to get the win over the line
thanks to another decision on his eighth match ball, with a no let decision
given against Mosaad to send Coll through to the quarter-finals.
“I am very relieved because it was really scrappy squash there at the end," said
a breathless Coll shortly after the match.
"There weren’t many flowing rallies, so it became tough mentally and the ball
was getting soft, so I just had to keep it together and I am happy that I came
through out the other side. I knew I just had to keep on it mentally and I
always thought that I should have closed it out earlier. In the end, I got a bit
more positive, a bit more aggressive and I took the game to him and I was happy
to close it out on that final match ball."
He
will take on Egypt’s World No.16 Zahed Salem, who upset Colombia’s Miguel
Rodriguez to win in four games. Rodriguez had won seven of their previous eight
matches on the PSA Tour coming into the match and prevailed in a scrappy
102-minute battle the last time they met at March’s Grasshopper Cup, despite
Salem holding three match balls against the World No.9.
Rodriguez came back to within one point after going five match balls down in the
fourth to evoke memories of that win in Zurich, but Salem held his nerve to
complete an 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 victory.
“I'm happy to be through to the quarter-finals, it's the first time for me at
the World Championship,” said Salem afterwards.
“This tournament is important for everyone, it's a World Championship. I've
given my best, I have had tough matches, I've played so well and I'm proud of my
performances. It's good to be playing in the quarters and I'm looking forward to
it.”
The quarter-finals take place on Wednesday November 13 with four matches in
store at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex. Play begins at 16:00
(GMT+3) and will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player
(Europe only)
the
official
Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.
For
more information on the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship, visit the
official PSA World Tour website or follow the tournament on
Twitter and
Facebook.
|
Round 3
Top Half
England’s Willstrop Stuns Gawad in Doha to Reach Quarters
36-year-old
former World No.1 James Willstrop rolled back the years as he put in a
spellbinding performance against the in-form World No.4 Karim Abdel
Gawad to book his place in the quarter-finals of the 2019-20 PSA Men’s
World Championship currently taking place in Doha, Qatar.
Willstrop, a World Championship runner-up in 2010, has taken a short
break from the sport in recent weeks to star in a production of
‘Hangmen’ in his native Yorkshire - and his fixture with 2016 World
Champion Gawad yielded the kind of drama that wouldn’t have looked out
of place in a theatre.
He played with precision and freedom in a supremely accurate display
that saw him win two of the first three games on offer against an
opponent who captured a PSA Platinum title in front of the Great Pyramid
of Giza just two weeks ago with victory over World No.1 Ali Farag in the
CIB Egyptian Squash Open title decider.
The crowd were on tenterhooks in the fourth as Willstrop and Gawad went
toe-to-toe in a gripping contest, with the former squandering two match
balls as Gawad came back to force a tie-break. But the Englishman wasn’t
to be denied as his next match ball was met with a tinned drop from
Gawad, sending Willstrop through to an 11th World Championship
quarter-final.
“I am absolutely thrilled," World No.18 Willstrop said afterwards.
"It is hard to say because I am on a rush of adrenaline, particularly in
these conditions where it is shootout squash. The intensity is cranked
up and you haven’t got any time to settle. The mental intensity of the
squash that has been played is heavy, so the adrenaline is high, I
didn’t know whether I was capable of doing it.
"I know what I am doing in training, and I know I can play alright and I
know I can hit the ball alright, but it is whether physically I can cope
with these players in a match situation. To be here [the quarter
finals], and with a rest day, that is quite positive. It is a fabulous
prospect, and hopefully I can get recovered well and do it justice on
Wednesday.”
The
Commonwealth Games gold medallist will play World No.6 Simon Rösner for
a place in the semi-finals of the biggest tournament on the men’s tour.
The German put in arguably his best performance of the season to take
out World No.12 Joel Makin by an 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 margin.
The pair have had contrasting fortunes in the opening months of the
season, with Rösner dropping out of the top five after two quarter-final
appearances in four tournaments, while Makin was coming off the back of
a first ever PSA Platinum semi-final at the CIB Egyptian Squash Open
last week. But the formbook went out of the window in Qatar as Rösner
played some sublime squash to book his spot in the last eight.
“Having not had the best few weeks lately, it's very good to get a win
against someone who is in form like Joel at the moment, beating Tarek
last week [at the CIB Egyptian Squash Open]," Rösner
"It’s a big confidence boost for me and I need to take this kind of form
into the next rounds and I'm looking forward to it.”
The home crowd came within a whisker of witnessing a home winner in the
final match of the evening as Qatari No.1 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi
relinquished a 2-1 lead against No.2 seed Tarek Momen to narrowly miss
out on a quarter-final spot.
Al Tamimi has been one of the surprise packages of the tournament so
far, beating French duo Gregoire Marche and Mathieu Castagnet on home
soil to set up the meeting with 2018-19 World Championship runner-up
Momen.
Roared on by the home support, Al Tamimi played some breathtaking squash
at times to overturn a one-game deficit, before going 6-3 up in the
fourth to put himself within touching distance of a massive upset. But
he was unable to capitalise as Momen refocused to draw level, before the
Egyptian held his opponent off in the decider to book his spot in the
last eight.
“I
am quite happy, because it was a very tough match," Momen said.
"Halfway through the fourth game, I knew things were critical because I
was 6-3 down. I had no solutions at the time so I had to just really
grind it out. I am really happy with the way I fought to come back and
win, and I have to recover now, stop thinking about what happened and
move forward and prepare for my match against Diego [Elias]."
Peru have a player in the quarter-finals of this tournament for the
first time as World No.7 Elias came back from a game down to beat
Egypt’s Fares Dessouky to set up a quarter-final clash with Momen.
Elias and Dessouky have had some fractious matches in the past – not
least a highly-charged affair during the quarter-finals of the 2017 El
Gouna International – but there were less fireworks this time around as
both players kept their composure in a clean contest. Elias fell a game
behind but the 22-year-old outplayed Dessouky and displayed superior
racket skills in the final three games to book his place in the next
round.
“I
started a bit nervously, it's my first time in the last 16 of a World
Championship,” Elias said.
“But then I started to play better, more consistent squash, and I think
I did really well at the end to close it out.
“Every time it's better, we are pretty close in the rankings, we've been
playing all of our lives now. It's always a tough match, so it's hard to
be pretty good friends off court, but we're trying to be as good as we
can.
“One of my goals was to make it to my first quarter-finals of the World
Championship. I'm feeling great and I feel like I'm playing good squash,
so I think I can go all the way.”
The third round continues on Tuesday November 12 from 15:00 (GMT+3)
onwards and action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world),
Eurosport Player (Europe only) and
the
official
Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.
For
more information on the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship, visit the
official PSA World Tour website or follow the tournament on
Twitter and
Facebook.
|
Round
2 Lower Half
ElShorbagy Brothers Claim
Last 16 Spots
Bristol-based
Egyptian brothers Mohamed (right) and Marwan ElShorbagy remain on course for a
quarter-final clash at the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship after both
players claimed their round three spots earlier today at the Khalifa
International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar.
World No.2 Mohamed and World No.10 Marwan became the first brothers in history
to contest the men’s World Championship final when they met in the title decider
of the Manchester event in December 2017, and both players moved one step closer
to a rematch after respective wins over England’s Adrian Waller and
Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller.
ElShorbagy was caused plenty of problems by World No.17 Waller, who played at a
fast tempo and dominated large parts of the fixture. However, unforced errors
ultimately proved to be his downfall as he failed to capitalise on leads in all
three games as ElShorbagy won 13-11, 11-9, 11-9.
“I have never seen Adrian play with such a fast pace before," said 28-year-old
ElShorbagy, who plays India’s Saurav Ghosal in the next round.
"After the first game, he played with such a high pace and he has never done
that against me before. I told myself after the first game that he would not be
able to do it all match. You can tell yourself there is no pressure, but the
only solution is to try and deal with it. After all these years on tour, I
cannot fail because of pressure because it is not acceptable.
“It is only the second round and there is still along way to go for this event.
The World Champion is not always the best player in the world. There is usually
a surprise in this tournament. I will give it my best shot and see how it goes
this week.”
26-year-old
Marwan faced a stern test against World No.27 Mueller and initially went a game
down after the lower ranked player built on an 8-0 lead to take control. But
ElShorbagy had won their four previous matches and he drew on that experience to
impose himself on the match from the second game onwards to complete an 5-11,
11-9, 11-8, 11-6 victory.
“Nicky started the first game really well and he came out firing. It was a big
test coming back from that first game because I had to find a way to get myself
into the match,” Marwan said.
“I had to do something, because he could have just played like that for a good
three games and I would have lost the match. I am glad that I fired myself up
and I found a rhythm. I found my game and I think I started to control the match
from about halfway through the second game, and I played really well after
that."
His opponent for a place in the last eight will be No.7 seed Mohamed Abouelghar,
who snuck past Hong Kong’s World No.30 Leo Au by the slimmest of margins, with
two controversial stroke decisions right at the death seeing him edge an
exciting 68-minute battle by an 11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 12-10 margin.
The match was an intriguing tactical affair, with Abouelghar dominating the
first two games against a disinterested looking Au who struggled to get to grips
wth the Egyptian’s shot-making talents. But Au looked like a different man as he
returned to court after the game break, taking advantage of the cold conditions
on court as he lobbed the ball to the back of the court time and time again, and
he duly drew level.
The
fifth went to a tie-break, when Au received a stroke against him after the
referee adjudged him to have taken Abouelghar’s line after a drop, and the
decision was upheld after an Au video review. That lost review proved crucial as
Abouelghar was awarded with another stroke at match ball in a similar situation,
meaning Au was unable to query the decision as Abouelghar advanced into the next
round.
“I couldn't be happier, I know we get tough calls, both me and the opponent,
it's part of the game,” Abouelghar said afterwards.
“I’m not really sure about the decision, but I thought I had a good pickup
earlier that was called not good, so it is just part of the game. I had an
injury two months ago and I had to stop playing for a month. I'm happy I'm back,
my goal is just to enjoy myself, take one match at a time and hope things go
well.”
Also
through to the next round is New Zealand’s World No.5 Paul Coll, who cruised
past former World No.5 Borja Golan in straight games after an immaculate
performance saw him win 11-7, 11-4, 11-8.
“It has been a good tournament so far but I have got eyes on much further down
the line," Coll said.
"I am just taking it match-by-match and not getting caught up in it. I am really
happy today but I am also looking ahead to my next match.”
He will play 2015 runner-up Omar Mosaad, who defeated Syed Azlan Amjad in a
comfortable 3-0 victory as the Qatari player made his return from injury after
being struck with the ball in his opening round match with Spain’s Iker Pajares
Bernabeu.
Colombia’s No.8 Miguel Rodriguez and Egypt’s Zahed Salem were the other winners
on day three as they beat Scotland’s Alan Clyne and World Junior Champion
Mostafa Asal, respectively.
Round three gets under way tomorrow on Monday November 11 with four matches in
store starting from 15:00 (GMT+3). Action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest
of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the
official
Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.
For
more information on the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship, visit the
official PSA World Tour website or follow the tournament on
Twitter and
Facebook.
|
Round 2 Top Half
Qatar’s Al Tamimi Causes Another Upset to Reach Round Three
Qatar’s
World No.47 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi made it back-to-back upsets over French
opposition as he followed up his opening day defeat of World No.14 Gregoire
Marche with a surprise 3-0 win over World No.28 Mathieu Castagnet on home soil
to reach the last 16 of the PSA Men’s World Championship for the first time.
Al Tamimi’s impressive win over Marche in round one saw him reach the second
round of the most prestigious men’s squash tournament in the world, and he has
now gone one better after dispatching Castagnet by a 12-10, 11-8, 11-8 scoreline
at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex.
“It feels really good, especially here at home," Al Tamimi said afterwards.
"It was really hard today to back it up after yesterday. I played really well
yesterday to beat French No.1 Gregoire Marche, and to back it up, to beat
Castagnet who is a former World No.6, I was really happy to win in three.
“I was not expecting that performance today… after every rally the fans were
cheering and jumping from their chairs. I was trying to focus on court and I was
not looking outside. Afterwards, I saw all my friends and family who I didn’t
even realise were there. People from the Aspire Academy and from the [Qatar
Squash] federation, they have all been here from the first day and I am looking
forward to seeing them here as well on Monday.”
A quarter-final spot will be up for grabs when the 24-year-old takes on No.2
seed Tarek Momen in the next round after the World No.3 overcame fellow Egyptian
Mazen Hesham in straight games.
Momen,
the 2018-19 World Championship runner-up, found himself three game balls down in
the second game of his match with Hesham after some impressive shot-making from
the World No.19 saw him rattle off a number of points and unsettle his opponent.
But Momen kept his concentration to take five successive points, and he made no
mistake in the third as he closed out an 11-9, 12-10, 11-5 victory in 35 minutes
to seal his last 16 berth.
“It was very close, with the first two games going down to the wire and you
never know what could have happened if the score was reversed," Momen said.
"I am very happy with the way I carried out my plan today. It is the best you
can do against Mazen because sometimes he comes up with some unbelievable stuff
that no matter what you plan for, you might as well cancel it immediately. I
just hung in there, and it was crucial to get that 2-0 lead, because otherwise,
things could have gone a different way.”
The
only match of the day to go all the way to five games featured Peru’s Diego
Elias and Scotland’s Greg Lobban, with the former squeezing through courtesy of
a 6-11, 11-3, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4 victory to become the first Peruvian to reach the
last 16.
Lobban put in a huge physical effort as he attacked well, while Elias looked off
the pace at times. But he settled any nerves in the decider to earn a third
round spot against Egypt’s Fares Dessouky, who beat Spain’s Edmon Lopez.
“It was a really tough match," Elias said.
"Every time we play, we go to five games so I had that in my mind. I started
playing better as the match was going but in the first game, it was hard for me
I then started to move faster and play better and I am happy I got the win."
The longest match of the day saw Welshman Joel Makin hold off Egyptian
challenger Mohamed ElSherbini to book his spot in the last 16 after 74 minutes
of action, where he will play Germany’s World No.6 Simon Rösner.
World
No.12 Makin has had a strong start to the season after reaching the final of the
Open de France, while he reached a first PSA Platinum semi-final at the Egyptian
Open last week, but he was never comfortable on court against his opponent today
as ElSherbini played some fabulous squash. Makin pulled through in the end
though as the 25-year-old completed an 11-3, 6-11, 11-9, 14-12 triumph.
“I want to beat the higher ranked players and get as far into the draw as I
can," Makin said afterwards.
"I feel good physically and we’ve got plenty of rest days, so I don’t see any
reason why I can’t get through plenty of matches. I can beat plenty of the guys
on my half of the draw, so I’m feeling good even though that wasn’t the best
performance today.”
Rösner’s match with England’s Declan James totalled 70 minutes, with the tall
German winning 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9.
Round two action continues tomorrow, with play beginning at 12:00
(GMT+3). Matches will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world),
Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official
Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.
For
more information on the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship, visit the
official PSA World Tour website or follow the tournament on
Twitter and
Facebook.
|
Round 1
Qatar’s Al Tamimi and Amjad Make History on Opening Day
There will be two Qatari players in the second round of the PSA Men’s
World Championship for the first time in history after local players
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi and Syed Azlan Amjad both claimed wins on the
opening day of the 2019-20 edition at the Khalifa International Tennis &
Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar.
World
No.47 Al Tamimi became the first player from the country to reach the
last 32 of the biggest men’s tournament in squash as he upset French
World No.14 Gregoire Marche to send the home support wild.
Al Tamimi has threatened a big upset numerous times in the past – not
least when he took three-time World Champion Nick Matthew to five games
back at the 2016 edition of the Qatas Classic – and he finally got his
first major win on home soil as he defeated Marche 11-6, 11-9, 7-11,
11-9 to reach the last 32.
“It felt really good, I saw the happiness in my dad's eyes and all of my
family and friends are here, so I'm glad I made everyone proud," Al
Tamimi said afterwards.
"I don't want to stop here, I'm really looking forward to the next
round. I lost a bit of concentration and my length in the third game. I
was thinking that I had to have a good length at the start of the fourth
game because the winners would come after. Even though he was coming
back at me, I tried to always keep the lead over him.
“My goal now is to really focus on the next round and make sure I play
well again, if I do then I have a chance to win.”
Al Tamimi will play another Frenchman, Mathieu Castagnet, in the next
round where he will be joined by compatriot Amjad after the World No.159
advanced from his round one fixture with Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu
in bizarre circumstances.
Pajares was 2-1 up in games and 2-0 behind in the fourth game when he
went to hit the ball back to himself off the front wall but
inadvertently struck Amjad, who then had to go off court due to
sustaining an injury.
Amjad was unable to return to court to finish the match and was taken to
hospital but, as it was an opponent-inflicted injury, the match was
awarded to the Qatar player, and he will take on 2015 World Championship
runner-up Omar Mosaad in the next round.
Meanwhile,
2017 World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy got his tournament under way with
a 3-0 victory over 20-year-old Frenchman Victor Crouin as he returned to
action after sitting out the CIB Egyptian Squash Open last week.
The 28-year-old has reached three finals so far this season at the China
Open, Oracle NetSuite Open and U.S. Open – winning the first two – and
he kickstarted his attempts to win a second World Championship title
with a 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 victory over Crouin.
Crouin impressed at the Egyptian Open as he reached the third round to
earn himself a spot on the glass court in front of the famous Great
Pyramid of Giza. He performed well and was able to move ElShorbagy
around the court, but the Egyptian’s superior experience saw him come
through at the latter stages of each game.
“I had Shanghai, San Fran and the U.S. Open, so there were three
tournaments in a row,” said ElShorbagy, who reached World Championship
finals in Qatar in 2012 and 2014.
“I felt towards the end of the U.S. Open I was feeling a bit flat
mentally and physically, and it was nice to get a break, refresh again,
think about my game more and see what I needed to improve after those
three events. I'm coming here feeling strong again, I've done some good
work and let's see what happens."
The 28-year-old top seed will take on England No.1 Adrian Waller in the
last 32, while No.2 seed Tarek Momen navigated a banana-skin fixture
against Germany’s Raphael Kandra.
Kandra has proven himself capable of claiming big scalps in the past –
as evidenced by his shock run to the semi-finals of the Allam British
Open last year – and he caused plenty of problems for Momen, with the
pair sharing the spoils in the first two games. But 2018-19 World
Championship runner-up Momen steadied the ship and prevailed in games
three and four to book his second round spot against fellow Egyptian
Mazen Hesham.
“I’ve
always wanted to win this title, I keep coming back to fight for it,"
Momen said.
"I have another chance this time, and I’m pretty determined to go all
the way until I fulfil that dream. I’m playing Mazen next, that’s
another tricky one and we haven’t played each other in a while. I know
how tricky he can be, he has a pretty awesome arsenal of shots, and I
definitely look forward to having a good match against him tomorrow.”
2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad got his title assault under way
with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Frenchman Auguste Dussourd, winning
11-4, 11-8, 13-11.
Gawad
comes into the event off the back of a stunning title win in front of
the Pyramids at the Egyptian Open, and he is returning to the scene of
his first PSA Platinum title this week in Doha, which he won just two
weeks after his World Championship triumph over Ramy Ashour.
“Winning a major tournament gives you extra confidence, especially when
you're playing well, and I played really well back home in Cairo," said
Gawad, who will play Mexico’s Cesar Salazar.
"Now a week after we are playing a World Championship here in Qatar and
that gives me more confidence. I'm focusing on my performance, how I'm
playing and how I can can enjoy my squash and play better on court.
Hopefully I can do something special here.”
Elsewhere, England’s Daryl Selby suffered an upset against Egypt’s World
No.43 Youssef Ibrahim, despite the latter rolling his ankle with the
scores poised at 9-9 in the fifth. After a lengthy delay of almost half
an hour, Ibrahim hobbled back on to court and won the next two points to
claim a shock victory, and he will play former World No.1 James
Willstrop next.
England’s Declan James was the only player to come back from two games
down on the opening day of action as the World No.22 avoided an upset
against World No.58 Vikram Malhotra, and he will line up against No.5
seed Simon Rösner in the last 32.
Round two of the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship begins on Saturday
November 9, with play getting under way at 12:00 (GMT+3). Play will be
broadcast live on
SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport
Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the
PSA World Tour.
|
click image for Subscription details
As one World Championship comes to an end, a new one begins. This
time it's the PSA Men's World Championship 2019-2020 held in Doha, Qatar
that will grace your screens. Action starts tomorrow on Eurosport
Player!
And we will have a new men's World Champion!
Top seed Mohamed ElShorbagy takes on stiff opposition as compatriots
Tarek Momen and Kairm Abdel Gawad along with New Zealand's Paul Coll and
Peru's Diego Elias fight for the title.
Here's the line up for November 8:
12:00 - [5] Simon Rösner (GER) v Ben Coleman (ENG)
13:00 - Ivan Yuen (MAS) v [6] Diego Elias (PER)
14:00 - [L] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) v [3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
15:00 - [4] Paul Coll (NZL) v [WC] Hamad Al-Amri (QAT)
16:00 - Victor Crouin (FRA) v [1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
17:00 - Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) v [15] Gregoire Marche (FRA)
18:00 - [2] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Raphael Kandra (GER)
19:00 - Youssef Soliman (EGY) v [8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
All times are local (UTC +3)
|
2019-20 PSA Men's World Championship
Tickets Now On Sale
Tickets
are on sale now for the PSA Men’s World Championship 2019-2020, with the
best squash players in the world set to appear at the Khalifa
International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha between November 8-15.
This will be the 41st edition of the Men’s World Championship, and the
fifth time that the tournament will be held in Qatar, after the 1998,
2004, 2012 and 2014 events were also held in Doha.
The Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex will be the host
venue, with this event replacing the annual PSA Platinum Qatar Classic
tournament.
The last three winners of the Men’s World Championship will all feature
in Qatar, with reigning World Champion and World No.1, Ali Farag leading
the way, alongside 2017 World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy - who was a
runner-up in Doha in 2012 and 2014 - and 2016 champion Karim Abdel Gawad.
Farag will face Germany’s Raphael Kandra in one of the toughest first
round matches on day one, while former World No.1 ElShorbagy will face
compatriot Karim El Hammamy.
Gawad, another former World No.1, will be up against Frenchman Auguste
Dussourd in the first round.
The likes of Tarek Momen, Paul Coll, Simon Rösner, Mohamed Abouelghar,
Diego Elias, Miguel Rodriguez and Marwan ElShorbagy will all be aiming
to win a first World Championship title next month in a multi-national
draw.
Tickets are available for purchase through the Qatar
Squash Federation website. Squash fans can also follow
the tournament on
Twitter and Facebook
|
Farag Tops 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship Draw in
Qatar
Doha, Qatar will host the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship between
November 8-15, 2019 with the world’s greatest players - led by World
No.1 and defending champion Ali Farag - in attendance as they battle for
the most prestigious title on the men’s tour.
The Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex will feature 64 of the
world’s leading male players as they compete for a share of the $335,000
prize fund, with 24 nations represented across the draw. In addition to
capturing the trophy and the lion’s share of the prize money, the winner
will also qualify for the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals.
Three former World Champions feature in the entry list, including top
seed, reigning champion and 2018 Qatar Classic champion Farag, 2017
champion Mohamed ElShorbagy and 2016 winner Karim Abdel Gawad.
They, along with 2018-19 runner-up Tarek Momen, take the first four
seeded positions as Egypt continue to dominate on the world stage, but
they will be joined by the likes of New Zealand’s Paul Coll, Germany’s
Simon Rösner, Peru’s Diego Elias and Colombia’s Miguel Angel Rodriguez,
all of whom will be aiming to become the first non-Egyptian winner since
Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in 2015.
That year's runner-up Omar Mosaad, 2010 runner-up James Willstrop and
the talented Mohamed Abouelghar, who reached the final of the 2018-19
CIB PSA World Tour Finals on his last PSA appearance, will also take to
the court in Doha.
56 of the world’s top 58 players have entered the draw, with the final
eight spots comprising four winners of World Championship qualifying
events, two World Squash Federation invitees and two wildcards picked by
the Qatar Squash Federation.
Three Qatari men will appear in front of their home crowd, including the
country’s No.1 player, Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi, and wildcards Syed Azlan
Amjad and Hamad Al-Amri.
All matches will be held at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash
Complex, with play split between the glass court and the ‘traditional’
plaster side courts. Fixtures from the glass court will be streamed live
on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the
official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.
For more information on the PSA Men’s World Championship, follow the
tournament on
Twitter and
Facebook or visit the
PSA World Tour website.
2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship - Entry List
1) Ali Farag (EGY)
2) Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
3) Tarek Momen (EGY)
4) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
5) Paul Coll (NZL)
6) Simon Rösner (GER)
7) Diego Elias (PER)
8) Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
9) Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
10) Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
11) Saurav Ghosal (IND)
12) Joel Makin (WAL)
13) Omar Mosaad (EGY)
14) Fares Dessouky (EGY)
15) Zahed Salem (EGY)
16) Gregoire Marche (FRA)
17) Daryl Selby (ENG)
18) James Willstrop (ENG)
19) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
20) Declan James (ENG)
21) Mazen Hesham (EGY)
22) Cesar Salazar (MEX)
23) Tom Richards (ENG)
24) Adrian Waller (ENG)
25) Mostafa Asal (EGY)
26) Leo Au (HKG)
27) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
28) Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
29) Greg Lobban (SCO)
30) Raphael Kandra (GER)
31) Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
32) Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
33) Max Lee (HKG)
34) Borja Golan (ESP)
35) Campbell Grayson (NZL)
36) Lucas Serme (FRA)
37) Youssef Soliman (EGY)
38) Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)
39) George Parker (ENG)
40) Arturo Salazar (MEX)
41) Chris Simpson (ENG)
42) Alan Clyne (SCO)
43) Youssef Ibrahim (EGY)
44) Karim Ali Fathi (EGY)
45) Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
46) Ivan Yuen (MAS)
47) Todd Harrity (USA)
48) Ramit Tandon (IND)
49) Richie Fallows (ENG)
50) Mohamed El Sherbini (EGY)
51) Karim El Hammamy (EGY)
52) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND)
53) Tayyab Aslam (PAK)
54) Ben Coleman (ENG)
55) Nathan Lake (ENG)
56) Edmon Lopez (ESP)
57) Aqeel Rehman (AUT)
58) Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN)
59) Benjamin Aubert (FRA)
60) Auguste Dussourd (FRA)
61) Shawn Delierre (CAN)
62) Kristian Frost (DEN)
Wildcard) Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT)
Wildcard) Hamad Al-Amri (QAT) |
History
Of The World Championships
The inaugural Men’s World Championship began in 1976 in London – with
the whole tournament being played at the old Wembley Stadium, home of
the English football team.
Whilst the Women’s Tour also first began that year in 1976, when the
iconic Heather McKay lifted the first of her two titles, beating Marion
Jackman on home soil in Brisbane, Australia.
Fellow Australians Rhonda Thorne and Sarah Cardwell followed in McKay’s
footsteps before the legendary Susan Devoy became the first
non-Australian player to get her hands on the coveted trophy in 1985, at
which point the tournament was a biennial event.
Since then, the Men’s and Women’s tournaments have been staged in all
four corners of the globe, with the competition being held in countries
such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong and
Germany to name a few.
Australian legend Geoff Hunt took the first Men’s World Championship
title after he beat Pakistan’s Mohibullah Khan in the final and he held
onto it for a further three years after defeating Qamar Zaman on all
three occasions, once in Canada and twice in his native country.
The next 16 years saw the Men’s World Championship dominated by players
from Pakistan and, more specifically Jahangir and Jansher Khan, who
between them won all but two World Championship titles between 1981 and
1996.
The two Khan’s are the most decorated players to have graced the Men’s
World Championship with Jansher having eight to his name, whilst
Jahangir captured the title six times – and the pair are considered to
be two of the greatest players ever to play the sport.
A host of the biggest names in squash have also lifted the illustrious
title, with Amr Shabana (4), Ramy Ashour (3), Nick Matthew (3) and David
Palmer (2) all having their name engraved on the famous trophy.
Martine Le Moignan was the first Englishwoman to capture the title,
before Devoy took the next two titles in 1990 and 1992, with the
tournament switching to an annual format from that point onwards.
Australia dominated the women’s event over the next decade, with
Michelle Martin’s triumph in 1993 bringing about a period that saw the
title shared between her (three wins), Sarah Fitz-Gerald (5) and Carol
Owens (1) in nine of the 10 tournaments held between 1993-2002.
England’s Cassie Campion was the only player to put a dent in the
Australian dominance of the 90s, with her 1999 triumph over Martin
seeing her become the first female English World Champion in 10 years.
Over the next few years, the legendary Malaysian Nicol David made her
mark on the tournament, claiming her maiden World Championship title in
Hong Kong in 2005 courtesy of a win over Australian Rachael Grinham,
before retaining her title the following year with a win over Grinham’s
younger sister, Natalie.
The Grinham sisters met in the final in 2007, with Rachael being the
victor, but David responded with an incredible five wins on the bounce
in an unprecedented spell of dominance.
That run eventually came to an end in the 2013 edition, which saw
England’s Laura Massaro claim her first World title in Penang, beating
then 18-year-old Nour El Sherbini in the showpiece finale.
But El Sherbini soon got her hands on the sport’s biggest prize when she
battled back from two games down to become the youngest ever Women’s
World Champion at the age of 20 – eclipsing the record set by Devoy 31
years earlier.
Tickets are priced from just $30 and are
available for purchase on
Ticketmaster.
For more information on the 2018/19 PSA
World Championships, follow the tournament on
Twitter,
Facebook or the
Event's website.
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