Egypt's Amr Shabana stormed to victory in the
Infor Windy City Open Squash Championship,
beating Australia 's Anthony Ricketts in
final of the second PSA Super Series Silver
event of the year in Chicago,
USA .
The
world number one from Cairo made up for the
disappointment of losing in the second round of last
week's PACE Canadian Classic in Toronto by
beating fifth seed Ricketts, from Sydney, 11-8,
11-8, 11-10 (5-3) in 53 minutes.
"I
lost in the final against John White two years ago,
and I really wanted to win this title," said Shabana.
"Losing early in Toronto was like a wake up call. I
didn't want to lose points for my ranking at the
start of the year. I want to stay on top. So I
really came here to do well."
Ricketts responded: "I was a bit up and down today,
but it's not just me, it was him, the way he was
playing. He is the one who made me make all the
errors, he didn’t let me impose myself."
Shabana, who collected five PSA Tour titles in 2006,
is celebrating the first of the new year - but the
15th of his career.
Australian Anthony Ricketts recorded a
stunning four-game semi-final victory over Egyptian
teenage star Ramy Ashour to reach the final
of the Infor Windy City Open Squash Championship
in Chicago , where he will meet another
Egyptian, top seed Amr Shabana who despatched
Scotland 's John White in straight games.
Ricketts, the fifth seed from Sydney , is enjoying a
notable return to form in the second PSA Super
Series Silver event of the year in the USA .
The 27-year-old made his breakthrough by defeating
fellow countryman David Palmer, the second
seed and defending champion, in the previous round.
Ashour, however, arrived in the Windy City having
just collected the first Super Series crown of his
career in the PACE Canadian Classic in
Toronto - where he beat Ricketts for the third time
in two months!
After surviving a tie-break in the first game,
UK-based Ricketts went on to beat Ashour 11-10
(2-0), 11-3, 8-11, 11-8 in 61 minutes.
"It
was a fantastic game of squash," Ricketts said.
"I've lost the last three times I've played him, and
he has been a fantastic winner. Today, he has
proven that he knows how to lose too, and I have a
lot of respect for him - he knows how to take it.
"With Ramy, you've got to stick with it with every
point. Last week in Toronto , I had the lead, but I
let it slip away, like I did with Peter Nicol in
Kuwait two years ago," added Ricketts, now in his 15th
PSA Tour final.
Amr
Shabana notched up his 21st PSA Tour
final appearance after beating John White 11-3,
11-6, 11-7 in 30 minutes. The hard-hitting Scot,
now based in the US , was clearly feeling the
effects of his impressive five-game upset over
Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, the world No3, 24
hours earlier.
Seeds Sink As Windy City Storm Follows Chicago Calm
After
three days of action in which all the favoured players
prevailed, three of the four top seeds failed to make
the semi-finals of the Infor Windy City Open Squash
Championship in the first day of shocks in the
second PSA Super Series Silver event of the
year in Chicago, USA.
The
biggest casualty was second seed David Palmer,
the defending champion from Australia who crashed out
11-9, 11-7, 11-7 in 53 minutes to compatriot
Anthony Ricketts.
The
win marked the 27-year-old from Sydney's first PSA
Tour victory over Australian team-mate Palmer in
nine career meetings since June 2001.
"I’d never beaten
David on the PSA circuit, so I'm very happy,
obviously," said Ricketts. "I had had such a bad run
of injuries during the past months, I really wanted to
prove something last week (in Toronto) and put so much
pressure on myself to try and make the semis or the
final - whereas this week, I was much more relaxed and
just decided to enjoy my time here in Chicago."
Third
seed Thierry Lincou, the former world number
one from France, also fell - beaten for the second
time in three months by rising Egyptian star Ramy
Ashour. The 19-year-old sixth seed secured the
shortest win of the day, beating Lincou 11-8, 11-7,
11-10 (2-0) in 48 minutes.
But
perhaps the most notable upset was achieved by John
White, the US-based Scot who took out fourth seed
Gregory Gaultier, the French star who is now
ranked three in the world. Sporting a brand new
racquet from sponsors Prince, White avenged his
straight games defeat by the 24-year-old in last
year's World Open to beat Gaultier 11-9, 7-11,
11-9, 6-11, 11-10 (3-1) in a 75-minute marathon.
"I
could see from the start that he was not as relaxed as
he normally is," said White. "I’m glad that my game
plan came off. It’s fantastic to beat the world
number three and, at 33, still be able to beat those
young spring chickens."
Willstrop Battles Into Windy City Quarters
England's James Willstrop battled for 72 minutes
to overcome Egypt 's Mohammed Abbas in the second
round of the Infor Windy City Open Squash
Championship - the second PSA Super Series Silver
event of the year, in Chicago , USA .
The 23-year-old seventh seed from Yorkshire came back
from a game down to beat Abbas, the 13th
seed, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3 to earn a clash with
another Egyptian, top seed Amr Shabana.
The world number one from Cairo , a surprise second
round casualty in last week's PACE Canadian Classic
in Toronto , was in fine second round form, beating
Finland 's Olli Tuominen 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 in 39
minutes.
"Olli and I have been playing against each other since
we're like 11, so I cannot surprise him," Shabana said
"I can only play my shots. And today, it happened for
me"
A second Egyptian made it into the last eight when sixth
seed Ramy Ashour beat England 's No10 seed
Adrian Grant 11-8, 11-5, 11-3. Ashour, the teenager
who claimed his first PSA Super Series crown in
Toronto last week, now faces France's former world No1
Thierry Lincou, an 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4 winner
over Egyptian Wael El Hindi.
Ryding Weathers
The Storm In Windy City
A five-game battle
between two fellow countrymen was one of the highlights of the
second day of first round action in the Infor Windy City Open
Squash Championship - the second PSA Super Series Silver
event of the year, in Chicago , USA .
It took Graham
Ryding, the Canadian number one ranked 23 in the world, five
games to overhaul Shawn Delierre, rankedmore than
20 places lower, in the Coastal Contacts Jericho Open in
Vancouver last November.
And again, the
unseeded 24-year-old from Montreal fully stretched his senior
compatriot in Chicago - leading 2/1 before 15th seed
Ryding fought back to win 11-4, 3-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-3 in 55
minutes.
Ryding, 31, from
Toronto, now goes on to face defending champion David Palmer,
the second seed from Australia, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Egyptian teenager
Ramy Ashour began his bid for a second successive PSA Super
Series title in North America with a swift straight games win over
Swedish qualifier Badr Abdel Aziz. The PACE Canadian
Classic champion took just 30 minutes to overcome Aziz 11-3,
11-7, 11-9 to set up a second round clash with England 's
Adrian Grant.
"We are very good friends, I
always wanted to play him, it was a great experience for me,"
said
Aziz. "Both my parents are
Egyptians, but I was born in Sweden . I think that the 'Egyptian
style' comes naturally to us. I always admire the way those guys
play, it’s the way squash should be played for me."
Seeds Sail Through In Chicago
The seeds were
untroubled on the first day of action in the Infor Windy City
Open Squash Championship - though Australia 's defending
champion David Palmer had to fight back from a game down
before reserving his place in the last sixteen of the second PSA
Super Series Silver event of the year, in Chicago , USA .
Second seed Palmer,
the world No2 from New South Wales , needed 64 minutes to overcome
Italy 's Davide Bianchetti, ranked 26 places lower, 6-11,
11-6, 11-8, 11-9.
"I was playing far too slow at
the start of the match, I knew I had to pick up the pace because
it’s not my game at all," said the World Open champion, "It
was not my best game, I had to keep my head down, but at the end of
the day, it’s still a win, even if it was one of those days."
Event favourite
Amr Shabana, the world No1 from Cairo , despatched unseeded
Australian Dan Jenson 11-10 (3-1), 11-4, 11-6 (32m) - to join
fellow Egyptian Wael El Hindi in the second round. The No11
seed removed compatriot Hisham Mohd Ashour 11-9, 11-7, 11-8.
John White,
the hard-hitting Scot who is based in the US, overcame a first game
deficit to beat fellow US-based Briton Mark Heather 8-11,
11-9, 11-10 (2-0), 11-4. The former world No1 will next take on
Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee, the 14th seed who caused
one of three English qualifier casualties of the day when he beat
Stacey Ross 11-7, 11-10 (3-1), 11-6.
English Quartet
Blow Into Windy City Open
A quartet of
Englishmen secured places in the main draw of the Infor Windy City
Open Squash Championship after surviving the qualifying finals of
the second PSA Super Series Silver event of the year, in
Chicago, USA.
In the longest match
of the day, Stacey Ross came from a game down to defeat Egypt's
Mohd Ali Anwar Reda 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-10 (3-1) in 85
minutes. Surrey county team-mate Tom Richards also prevailed,
beating Canada 's Robin Clarke 11-6, 11-9, 11-6.
Essex's Daryl Selby
and Oxfordshire's Scott Handley came through after wins over
Canada 's Patrick Bedore and Frenchman Laurent Elriani,
respectively.
Perhaps the most
notable match of the day, however, was the all-American clash between
Julian Illingworth, the US National champion fromYale,and Christopher Gordon, the highest-ranked USA player from
New York . Illingworth prevailed 11-2, 11-4, 11-10 (2-0) in 35
minutes - a win which is likely to reverse their positions in the PSA
world list.
Egypt's world number
one Amr Shabana leads the high quality field at the PSA event
at the city's University Club. The top seed faces Australian
Dan Jenson in the first round and is expected to meet another
Australian, second seed David Palmer, in the final. Palmer,
the defending champion, meets Italy 's Davide Bianchetti in the
opening round.
All eyes will be on
Egypt 's Ramy Ashour, the 19-year-old from Cairo who romped to
his maiden PSA Super Series title success at the PACE Canadian
Classic in Toronto last month. Seeded six, Ashour takes on
Swedish qualifier Badr Abdel Aziz in the opening round - and is
expected to face France 's former world number one Thierry Lincou
for a place in the semi-finals.
England's world No5
Nick Matthew has been forced to withdraw from next week's Infor
Windy City Open Squash Championship. The second PSA Super Series
event of the year, in which the British Open champion was the
fifth seed, gets underway in Chicago,
USA, on Tuesday (18 January).
England's highest-ranked
player sustained an ankle ligament tear this week in the PACE
Canadian Classic in Toronto. The 26-year-old from Sheffield is
currently undergoing intensive physiotherapy treatment back on home
soil.
The revised draw
elevates Australia's Cameron Pilley to 16th seed and
promotes Canada's Shawn Delierre into the main draw. Pilley,
from New South Wales, now takes on a qualifier in the first round, while
Delierre will meet fellow Canadian Graham Ryding, the 15th
seed.
The star-studded line-up
for $80,000 event is led by Amr Shabana, the world number one
from Egypt who is expected to meet world No2 David Palmer, the
defending champion from Australia, in the final.
Revised 1st round draw:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) v
Dan Jenson (AUS)
[12] Olli Tuominen (FIN)
v Qualifier
[7] James Willstrop
(ENG) v Qualifier
[13] Mohammed Abbas (EGY)
v Qualifier
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
v Alex Gough (WAL)
[9] Stewart Boswell
(AUS) v Qualifier
[8] John White (SCO) v
Mark Heather (ENG)
[14] Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
v Qualifier
[10] Adrian Grant (ENG)
v Qualifier
[6] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v
Qualifier
[11] Wael El Hindi (EGY)
v Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
v Liam Kenny (IRL)
[16] Cameron Pilley
(AUS) v Qualifier
[5] Anthony Ricketts
(AUS) v Rafael F Alarcon (BRA)
