German Spoils English Party At Canary
Wharf Classic
#PSAWorldTour
German World No.9 Simon Rösner prevented the semi-finals of the Canary Wharf
Classic from being an all-English affair for the first time in the
tournament's history with a resounding 3-0 victory over former World No.1
James Willstrop at London's East Wintergarden earlier today.
The powerful man from Paderborn, who stands 6' 3", had never previously
beaten the 31-year-old Pontefract-based Englishman but put in an assured
performance as he romped to an 11-7, 11-3, 11-3 triumph in just 36-minutes,
ending Willstrop's hopes of winning the PSA International 50 title for the
fifth time in his career.
"Obviously I'm very happy to be in the semi-finals here for the very first
time and it feels amazing to get my first win over James," said Rösner.
"He's just come back from surgery and he's been playing good squash but I'm
very pleased with how I kept my focus today and I was pleased with my
performance because I made very few unforced errors."
Rösner will take on number two seed Peter Barker, the Essex-based World No.8
who knocked him out of the competition at the quarter-finals stage in 2014,
while defending champion Nick Matthew will face Daryl Selby as he aims to
add a fifth Canary Wharf Classic trophy to his already impressive trophy
collection.
"I've had some very tough battles with Pete over the years and hopefully
I'll be able to go out there and get my revenge for our quarter-final match
last year," added Rösner.
34-year-old Matthew came through a testing encounter against dangerous
Egyptian Fares Dessouki, 14-years his junior, coming through 11-7, 10-12,
11-7, 11-8 in 78-minutes to line-up against Selby, who took 125-minutes to
get past Spanish champion Borja Golan.
"Fares is a fearless young guys and it was a very tough match - there was
only really a couple of points in it," said Matthew.
"All credit to him because he played with a lot of discipline and attacked
at the right times but I think it was just a case of a little bit of
experience helping me at the end."
Victory for Matthew would see him reach a fourth consecutive PSA World Tour
event final in 2015 and with a chance of completing an impressive hat-trick
of titles, having already claimed the Swedish Open and Windy City Open
crowns inside the past month.
JAMES WILLSTROP went through the menu on his return to Canary Wharf last
night, a year after he left the iconic venue fearing he may never play
again.
The former world number one and four-times winner of the London event
feasted on the adoration of the capital crowd, devoured his opponent
Omar Abdel Meguid and even savoured the delights of a first-game bagel as he
powered to an 11-0, 11-9, 11-7 victory.
The Yorkshireman’s career was on the line 12 months ago following his final
defeat at the hands of great rival Nick Matthew.
“On the Saturday morning, after the final at Canary Wharf, the difficulties
were slightly more pronounced than usual, but I still wasn’t thinking the
problem would be significant enough to change the whole outlook of the next
year of my life,” said Willstrop.
“In June I took the call from a doctor who delivered the news that my career
could well be over. The layer of cartilage in the hip had worn thin and was
arthritic.
“Arthritic? At 31? I wondered if I should visit the local Job Centre.”
Fortunately, surgery, rehab and a lengthy lay-off put Willstrop back in the
game and his performance last night suggested he will be climbing the world
ranking charts sooner rather than later.
“It feels very, very good to be back on court, “ added Willstrop. “I’m
enjoying every playing again but I wouldn’t have put a bet on winning a game
11-0. It was a little scrappy out there, two lumbering guys, but overall I
have to be pleased with that result.
“I am playing the big German Simon Rosner tomorrow night. That will be
another challenge but I am looking forward to it immensely. I love the venue
and the new court is terrific.”
Sports fans in these parts of London are well accustomed to the Hammers so
the ranks of West Ham fans in last night’s Canary Wharf crowd were fully
appreciative of the thundering hammer-forehand Egyptian Mazen Hesham brought
to the show against Hong Kong’s Max Lee.
It is a fearsome weapon and the 20-year-old from Cairo unleashed its full
ferocity as he went toe-to-toe with the tournament’s seventh seed over five
punishing games that finally halted the clock after 76 minutes.
Hesham, ranked 27 in the world and climbing fast, is a raw talent with a
mighty punch.
Sadly for him, Lee, who at a distance looks half his size and half his age,
can handle the big-hitters and has plenty of beguiling skills to back it up.
Lee won a fascinating match up 3-2 to make the quarters for the second year
running. His ability to absorb Hesham’s pace while limiting the error count
was crucial and telling.
The Egyptian crashed down 31 straight winning shots but matched that with 26
errors. In contrast, Lee errored just 10 times. Match-winning stats at this
level.
Afterwards, Lee suggested he had been lucky in game five. A little gracious,
maybe, but certainly now how the crowd saw it. They may be Hammer fans, but
they can spot a battling winner a mile off.
As for Hesham, he will no doubt be reflecting on the tins he hit at 9-9 and
then on match ball down.
In his pre-match interview he had admitted to playing crazy, reckless,
erratic squash.
Most of it is wonderful to watch but, in the end, it all came down to those
two crushing mistakes when a calmer, less outrageous approach was called
for.
Lee will meet Peter Barker in the quarter-finals after the left-handed No.2
seed saw off Mohamed Abouelghar in straight games.
The Egyptian, who often trains with Hesham, is a skillful, attacking player
and Barker knew he had to adopt a cautious approach to avoid setting him up
with any free winners.
Teacher 3, Student 0. A somewhat saucy summation of Peter Barker’s predicted
win over Egyptian qualifier Mohamed Abouelghar but, in truth, pretty accuate.
Barker hails from a nearby postcode and after a dozen or so years on the PSA
circuit, more than knows his way around the block. Some call is nous, some
refer to experience…whatever it is, Barker has it in spades.
The stats are irrelevant, but for the anoraks among us, Barker won 3-0, hit
22 winners , few errors and romped home by a country mile. Abouelghar is
among the new breed of Egyptians who will shine bright in future. The
present, however, still has the hallmark of Barker, Matthew, Shabana, Selby
and Willstrop firmly engraved on the silverware.
For the Essex man, the only way is effort, and the hard yards on the
training court are, for now, enough to keep the young bucks at bay. Like all
good students, Abouelghar asked questions. Sadly for him. Barker had the
answers.
Barker said: “I read the report from the qualifying competition and could
see how dangerous he is.
“So I apologise for making the match so boring. I just wanted to play the
ball as straight and tight as I could to avoid giving him too many openings,
because I know how he can put the ball away.”
When asked about the wave of young Egyptians marching up the rankings,
Barker added: “There are so many of them. Each year the English guys have a
meeting and we always ask which player we’ve got to watch out for next. But
there are so many of them it’s becoming harder and harder.
Some of them have overtaken us already.
“But it’s great to have that kind of rivalry in the sport, especially in big
tournaments like this.
“I love the new court. It’s hot and bouncy, which suits my game.”
Germany’s Simon Rosner snuffed out the challenge of Frenchman Lucas Serme
then spoke of his desire to build on his world ranking of nine.
“I spent a long time trying to break into the top 10 players in the world,
and now that I am here, I want to rise event further,” said Rosner following
his well grafted 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 win over the French number two.
Rosner has added a steeliness to the cerebral, and it’s a potent cocktail.
While Serme pushed and probed looking for frailties in the German’s game,
the chinks were few and the rewards even fewer.
The closest he got the Rosner was a painful blow to the head when the
players had a coming together in the third game.
It will give him a headache in the morning, but not as big as the one he’ll
get trying to fathom how to beat his Eurozone foe in the near future.
James Willstrop devoured his
opponent Omar Abdel Meguid
Peter Barker saw off Mohamed Abouelghar in straight games.
Simon Rosner snuffed out the
challenge of Frenchman Lucas Serme
Lee won a fascinating match up 3-2 to make
the quarters for the second year running. Beating Egypt's Mazen Hesham’s
2014 champion Nick Matthew began the defence of his Canary Wharf Classic
title with a comfortable 3-0 victory over fellow Englishman Eddie Charlton
during the first day of action at London's East Wintergarden today (Monday
March 23).
The 34-year-old from Sheffield, vying to win the PSA International 50 title
for the fifth time in his career, was in sublime form as he dispatched World
No.52 Charlton 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 in just 36-minutes to send out a message to
his main rivals as he seeks to win a third consecutive PSA World Tour title.
The three-time World Champion has been in emphatic form recently, winning
both the Swedish Open and Windy City Open, and he will now take on dangerous
Egyptian talent Fares Dessouki in the last eight to keep his hopes of
clinching a tour hat-trick alive.
"It was important to get a good start in each game tonight and I was pleased
with how I got going and kept going and I'm really enjoying my squash at the
moment," said Matthew,
"It was unbelievable to come out and play in front of a packed house on the
first night - the atmosphere here is always great - and I'm looking forward
to hopefully having a few more matches on court here this week."
Dessouki, competing at the event for the first time in his career, booked
his place to face Matthew with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Adrian Waller
while Daryl Selby and Borja Golan were also victorious on the first day of
action, overcoming Joe Lee and Laurens Jan Anjema, respectively.
Nick Matthew Begins His Defence
Qualifying
Canary
Wharf Set For Classic Week Of Squash Action
London's Canary Wharf will be
the stage for a compelling week of action on the PSA World Tour as the first
round of the 2015 Canary Wharf Classic, PSA International 50 tournament,
gets underway tomorrow (Monday March 23) at the city's stunning East
Wintergarden.
After winning both the Swedish Open and Windy City Open in the last month,
England's three-time World Champion Nick Matthew is firm favourite to retain
the title he won in the capital in 2014 and add a fifth Canary Wharf Classic
to his impressive title collection.
Matthew faces wildcard Eddie Charlton in the first round while number two
seed Peter Barker, the Essex-based World No.8, will take on World No.33
Mohamed Abouelghar in his first round encounter after the Egyptian came
through today's final qualification round to earn a place in the main draw.
Londoner Joe Lee also came through qualification, the only home talent to do
so, with an impressive performance against Scotland's Greg Lobban and the
25-year-old will face Essex's Daryl Selby in another all-English first-round
encounter.
Elsewhere James Willstrop, the former World No.1 who recently returned to
competitive action following a five-month injury-enforced absence will take
on Egyptian qualifier Omar Abdel Megiud, while number three seed Borja Golan
and number four seed Simon Rösner, face stiff first round matches against
Laurens Jan Anjema and Lucas Serme, respectively.
The first round action gets underway at the East Wintergarden at 5.30pm on
Monday March 23, with all the action available to watch live on SQUASHTV:
www.psaworldtour.com/tv
The Canary Wharf Squash Classic has added a novel feature to this
year’s final day programme – an on-court shoot-out between two rising
English stars to win a coveted wild card place into the main draw of next
year’s tournament.
Ben
Coleman (left) and Lyell Fuller are the lucky lads chosen by Tournament
Director Tim Garner, who is expecting fireworks on the glass court before
the main final on Friday, March 27.
He said: “Qualifying tournaments are a brutal part of every major squash
event, with young players desperate to reach the main draw. As well as
picking up some extra prize money, their main focus is on gaining ranking
points.
“Climbing through the rankings is a tough process for players, and every
tournament organizer is always inundated with requests for local spots in
qualifying and the wild card in the main draw.
“The competition for places is so intense that this year we decided to make
a special feature of it and have two very deserving players fight it out for
real on the glass court before the final.”
Coleman is the more experienced of the two players. The 23-year-old from
Chelmsford, Essex, is currently ranked 65 in the men’s PSA world rankings.
His shoot-out opponent, Fuller, is a 19-year-old from Devon, ranked 164 in
the world, who is now based in London as he bids to make a major
breakthrough in the senior game.
The two players met in the final of the Croydon Open in December and Coleman
won a tough match in straight games. He said: “Lyell had a fantastic run to
get through to the final.
“He's quickly improving but I managed to stay ahead of him throughout that
match and I was playing well. I never gave him many chances, which was nice.
“At Canary Wharf, I expect him to try and dictate the game against me from
in front, but my task is to stop that from happening.”
Coleman added: “The shoot-out is a great idea and Lyell and I are very
grateful to the Canary Wharf organisers for making it happen.
“Qualifying for big events can be tough because to start with you usually
get drawn against a top-seeded player if you make it through.”
Fuller
(right) said: “I’m looking forward to playing on the glass court in front of
a big crowd at the East Wintergarden.
“I have never been to Canary Wharf before but I have grown up watching it on
SquashTV every year. It looks like a great event so I'm looking forward to
experiencing it.”
As for his tactics against Coleman, he added: “That's a secret, but I'm
going to try my hardest, keep to my processes and enjoy the experience.”
Preview
By Alan Thatcher
BREWIN-DOLPHIN Confirmed As
Official Event Partner
Financial management experts Brewin Dolphin have joined forces with the
Canary Wharf Squash Classic as Official Event Partners of London’s most
popular tournament.
With the 2015 tournament a complete sell-out, Tournament Director Tim Garner
was delighted to announce this new partnership with one of London’s oldest
and most prestigious financial institutions. Founded in 1762, Brewin Dolphin
has 28 offices throughout the UK.
Garner said: “The success of the tournament, and its setting in such a
wonderful venue at the East Wintergarden, in the heart of Canary Wharf’s
financial district, makes the Canary Wharf Squash Classic an attractive
vehicle for sponsors.
“We are delighted to welcome Brewin Dolphin as Official Event Partners and
look forward to a long and successful partnership.”
Alistair Beattie, a divisional director at Brewin Dolphin, said: “We are
pleased to be associated with such a well-established and popular
tournament. The standard of play produced by the leading professionals
delivers phenomenal skill and entertainment for the spectators. We are very
much looking forward to our partnership with one of the most successful
tournaments in the world of squash.”
The 2015 Canary Wharf Classic takes place from March 23-27 and Garner added:
“This week the attention of the squash world is on the JP Morgan Tournament
of Champions, which is taking place inside Grand Central Terminal in New
York.
“Many of those players will also be competing at Canary Wharf. The two
tournaments have a lot in common, being the only two major events in squash
that sell out every ticket, every day.”
Tickets for the
2015 Canary Wharf Classic have sold out but a waitlist is open in case
any tickets are returned. Email cw@eventis-sports.com
The fabulous East
Wintergarden also offers superb opportunities for corporate hospitality,
with the gallery restaurant offering “the best view of squash anywhere
in the world” according to former world champion Peter Nicol.
The qualifying
competition takes place at Wimbledon Racquets and Fitness Club over the
weekend of March 21-22 with four winners joining the top 12 seeds in the
main draw.
Host
Sponsor: Canary Wharf Group plc
Official Event Partner: Brewin Dolphin
Official Racket Partner: Harrow
Official Hotel
Partner: Radisson Blu
The Canary Wharf
Squash Classic at the East Wintergarden is jointly promoted by Eventis
Sports Marketing and SquashUK
Tournament Dates:
March 23-27, 2015
Venue: East
Wintergarden, Bank Street, Canary Wharf, E14
Corporate Hospitality: Superb packages are available, enabling
spectators to wine, dine and watch all the gripping squash action
from the Gallery restaurant within the East Wintergarden.
Full details from Tim Garner at Eventis Sports Marketing
Telephone: 07973 817468. Email:
tgarner@eventis-sports.com
Media information from Alan Thatcher
Text or telephone: 07971 639829. Email:
alan@squashuk.com
