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Finals:
James Willstrop beat John White
8-11, 11-5, 10-11 (2-0),
11-1, 11-2 (71min)
Semi-finals:
White beat Lincou
11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 9-11, 10-11 (2-0),
11-9
Willstrop beat Matthew 11-7, 11-10 (2-0), 11-1.
Willstrop by a
technical knock-out
John White could not walk on the Canary Wharf water two nights in a row,
he tried, made a big splash but was eventually sunk by a persistant
effort from James Willstrop who saw the final out 8-11, 11-5, 10-11
(2-0), 11-1, 11-2 in 71 minutes.
This was always going to be a difficult for John White. He had had a
difficult run and staged some sort of a miracle against Thierry Lincou
in the semi-finals when he was completely spent. Willstrop was
relatively fresh and against Nick Matthew in the semis he demonstrated
his ability to work a tiring opponent ruthlessly.
And so it came to be, but not before White had sparkled, stunned the
ball and the crowd with his exciting reperetoire of nicks, nick boasts,
kills from anywhere but especially the back wall, fine volley drops and
sintiliating crosscourt volley nicks. He was particularly prolific at
plucking crosscourt volley nicks of the right side wall and stunning
them into the nick so as to make them unplayable.
White took the first, a fast 13 minutes game with lots of intercepting
11-8 against Willstrop’s largely (and probably quite sensibly)
retrieving effort. He fell behind in the second however, even while
Willstrop was having trouble getting his play tight against the power
shots his opponent was providing. Willstrop however levelled the games
11-5.
White could have won the third earlier, he was the playmaker, was in
control 9-6, but he contrived a desperate scramble for the game that had
both players diving around the court before he finally finished with
three superb winners to come back from 10-11 and take the game 13-11.
That was his lot. It had been terribly exciting and only the day before
he had staged that famous comeback against Thierry Lincou.
Early in the fourth however he momentarily thought he should let this
game go but he fought on spending what little fuel there was in a tank
running on empty.
The fourth was lost 11-1, and there was much drama in the fifth with
White spending much time prone on the court but there was no way back
and Willstrop was through 11-2 in the 71st minute.
“I thought I had a bit of luck as John had had three five setters
already. I would like to pay tribute to him. I’ve had a 3-0, 3-1 and a
3-2, I’m 23-year-old, and I’m shattered,” he said in recognition of the
33-year-olds efforts.
Then he put his hands around the trophy. It had been a good week for
Willstrop after a disappointing season. He was now able to look ahead
with more confidence.
White survives
to earn Willstrop clash
James Willstrop will be going to bed
with a smile on his face after the semi-finals at Canary Wharf. His
final opponent John White played brilliantly at times, as he can, but
saved his most explosive and exciting play until he was 5-1 down in the
fifth.
“I hope he is completely gone,” said Willstrop with a laugh after his
semi-final match in which he beat Nick Matthew in three games in 44
minutes.
“We (Nick and I) were warming up out the back and watching it on TV and
it was fantastic,” added Willstrop.
There were plenty in the crowd who would agree with Willstrop’s
assessment, perhaps even White himself, although he would probably have
felt it would have been more fantastic if he had produced his
magic form in the third (rather than the fifth) and seen his opponent
off in three and given himself a chance in the final.
White took the first, fell behind 8-3 in the second but got plenty of
advice from the crowd.
“Come on John,” they said … and he did in a burst of frenetic play and
then with some variation of pace (White occasionally lapses into some
sensible tactics or at least he is trying to) closed the gap before
Lincou won game ball 10-7. Then White struck with winners: a backhand
crosscourt kill, and a narrow backhand that Lincou let pass behind him
but when he went to hit it, wasn’t there.
The racket dropped from White's hand
as he was executing a backhand kill, Lincou stopped, realized perhaps he
shouldn’t have, didn’t appeal for a let and White was closing all the
time. White slammed the ball dead in the nick as only he can, totally
committed to crashing it in to go 11-10 ahead when it rolled ,and
finished with a beautiful forehand to leave Lincou bemused and two game
behind.
White went 6-1 up in the third but contrived to loss it making mistakes
in the end. Lincou came onto his game to control the rallies twisting
his opponent all over the court at the end of the game and although
White threatened at 10-all he was being worked and tiring seriously as
the games levelled.
White was stuffed and Lincou away in the fifth to 5-1 and no one would
have given White a chance. He was grimacing with each rally, working at
frenetic pace as Lincou punished him but he kept going, lobbing and
floating the ball when he remembered to curb his natural instincts of
smashing it for the nick. Lincou went short a little injudiciously and
White’s long tired legs lunged in to score winning drops. He scored with
another narrow crosscourt that hit his opponent, Lincou stopped for a
loose ball to receive a no let and as White miraculously claimed match
ball he rolled the ball down the forehand and smashed a forehand
crosscourt volley nick that rolled to fantastic acclaim.
It was an unbelievable victory.
“My legs were saying no, but he mind said yes,” explained White.
Whether his mind will be able to override his body for the final seems
unlikely for when Willstrop got on top of Matthew he gave his no change
and no time on the ball. We will see
--------------------------------------------------------
Quarter-finals:
Willstrop
secures
first win over Beahcill
It’s official, the 21 March 2007,
was the first time ever that James Willstrop, the British National
Champion, beat his Pontefract stablemate Lee Beachill.
It must seem to young Willstrop that he has spent half his life
getting beaten up by Beachill, the player he has looked up to and
trained with for years. Beachill has won three National titles, been
to world no.1 but now resides at no.10 in the rankings and at
29-years-old may be expected to conceded the higher position to the
youngster. It hasn’t happened until now however, although Willstrop is
the National Champion, and has been to no.2 in the world. Perhaps it
is fitting that a month after he has won the National title that the
little bit of unfinished business of beating Beachill was put out of
the way. Well he did it down at Canary Wharf in come style. Perhaps he
was not quite at his best, which in some ways makes it even better,
but after he was forced to come back form 2/1 down he saw out the
match 11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 in 73 minutes and in some style.
Willstrop got the early lead, 8-3, and saw out the first game 11-9
will Beachill came onto his game. From then however Beachill contolled
the rallies, playing straight to length, straight enough to restrict
his opponent’s shots and then come in on the predictable return and
sythe balls down for the nick on the volley. There was much enterprise
from Willstrop and dashing about but at 6-6 in the third the match
came to what could have been the crux when an indifferent drive from
Beachill nicked and rolled away and so it seemed did Willstrop’s hopes
with it as his opponent went 2/1 ahead 11-6, 11-8.
Willstrop was all energy at the start of the fourth, while his
opponent seemed to lack some and faded. It was 6-2 before Beachill
woke up and despite hitting some fine nicks Willstrop levelled 11-8
and established a 7-3 lead in the fifth. Beachill fought back,
anticipated, for he had a good idea of what his opponent would do,
attacked with exquisite volleys but each time he tried to close the
gap something went wrong. On the final ball he tipped the tin for
Willstrop to secure the match 11-7 and a famous win.
“He probably should beat me now,” said Beachill. “He played well and
he should get some wins against the top four and get up there. He’s
had a few injury worries.
Willstrop was rather underwhelmed by his win. “A lot of other people
have made more of it than we have,” he said.
Willstrop will face Nick Matthew in the semi-finals, Matthew having
beaten Wael El Hindi in four games. The first was crucial, as they
both stated, Matthew winning 14-12 but in the end he was too strong
seeing the match out 11-10 (4-2), 10-8, 8-11, 11-2.
------------------------------------------
Matthew Keen To
Fashion
A Result At Canary Wharf
British Open
champion
Nick Matthew was made to fight hard by wild card and fellow
Englishman Bradley Ball before claiming his place in the
quarter-finals of the ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic in
London.
Yorkshireman
Matthew, with his right ankle heavily strapped, surrendered the
first game before recovering to beat his Ipswich-based opponent
8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 in 59 minutes.
The world No7 from
Sheffield now faces fiery Egyptian Wael El Hindi, who beat
Guernsey’s Chris Simpson in straight games at East
Wintergarden in Canary Wharf.
The 19-year-old
'lucky loser', who came into the main draw after Australian
Anthony Ricketts withdrew because of an elbow injury, performed
solidly in the opening two games before El Hindi mopped up the match
11-8, 11-8, 11-5.
Matthew last week
returned after injury to reach the semi-finals of the Kuala
Lumpur Open and is confident of getting his season back on track
after missing the past two months.
"The ankle is fine,"
said the England No2. "It’s no problem now but I’ve been advised to
keep the strapping on it for a while. It was good to get some
matches under my belt in Malaysia and I am sure it will be OK
against El Hindi.”
The Egyptian is
honing his fitness in the UK under the watchful eye of squash legend
Jonah Barrington and is sure to make an impression with his
fashion sense as much as his stylish squash.
The 26-year-old from
Cairo took to the court in a green and yellow singlet, showing off
his heavily tattooed biceps, and sporting calf length white track
bottoms.
"This is my first
time at Canary Wharf and I am so pleased to be here – despite the
freezing cold weather,” said El Hindi
The winner will face
the victor of the battle between Matthew’s Yorkshire and England
team-mates James Willstrop and Lee Beachill, who are
both based at Pontefract Squash Club, where they are coached by
James’s father Malcolm.
Willstrop, who is
seeded above his club-mate at Canary Wharf, is searching for his
first victory over his more experienced opponent.
Left-hander
Adrian Grant, the No8 seed, makes the short journey from his
family home in Catford to challenge the top seed Thierry Lincou,
the reigning champion from France.
Scotland’s No5 seed
John White, the hardest hitter in the history of squash,
faces Welsh veteran Alex Gough, 36. White, who is now based
in Philadelphia and was recorded blasting the ball at 172mph at
Canary Wharf two years ago, had to battle for 70 minutes to remove
Italian Davide Bianchetti. White was timed at a more modest
top speed of 144mph as he hit back from 2/1 down to beat Bianchetti,
from Brescia, 11-3, 6-11, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8.
Gough, White's
former Nottingham team-mate, was forced to stay on court for 42
minutes before overcoming Surrey qualifier Stacey Ross 11-3,
2-11, 11-2, 11-7.
|
.
2006 Event Page
.
Draw
.
Qualifying
.
Reports
.
Alan Thatcher Previews
LINCOU NEW TOP SEED AS SHABANA WITHDRAWS |
OFFICIAL
SPONSORS |
|
|
Canary Wharf Classic
19th - 23rd March 2007 |
|
First Round
19th/20th March |
Quarters
21st March |
Semis
22nd March |
Final
23rd March |
[1] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
9-11, 11-3, 11-1, 11-8 (48 mins)
[Q] Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) |
Thierry Lincou
11-8, 11-9, 11-10 (5-3)
Adrian Grant
|
Thierry Lincou
11-8, 11-10 (2-0)
9-11, 11-10 (2-0),
11-9
John White |
John White
8-11, 11-5, 10-11 (2-0),
11-1, 11-2 (71min)
James Willstrop |
[8] Adrian Grant (Eng)
9-11, 11-8, 11-13, 11-5, 11-4 (74 mins)
Renan Lavigne (Fra) |
[5] John White (SCO)
11-3, 6-11, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8 (70m)
[Q] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) |
John White
11-7, 7-11,11-7, 7-11, 11-5 (81m)
Alex Gough |
Alex Gough (WAL)
11-3, 2-11, 11-2, 11-7 (42m)
[Q] Stacey Ross (ENG) |
Shahier Razik (Can)
11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (42 mins)
[6] Lee Beachill (Eng) |
Lee Beachill
11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7
James Willstrop |
James Willstrop
11-7, 11-10 (2-0), 11-1
Nick Matthew |
[Q] Daryl Selby (ENG)
11-2, 7-11, 11-7, 15-13 (62 mins)
[4] James Willstrop (Eng) |
Chris Simpson (ENG)
11-8, 11-8, 11-5 (36m)
[7] Wael El Hindi (Egy) |
Wael El Hindi
11-10 (3-1), 11-8, 8-11, 11-2
Nick Matthew |
Bradley Ball (Eng)
8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (59m)
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng) |
Qualifying Finals
Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
bt Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-9, 11-6, 4-11, 11-9 (65m)
Stacey Ross (ENG) bt
Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-6, 11-10 (2-0), 11-2 (42m)
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) 11-7, 11-8, 11-10 (5-3) (51m)
Aaron Frankcomb
(AUS) bt Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) 8-11, 4-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-4, 11-6
(75m)
|
Reports
Willstrop &
Beachill To Clash In ISS Canary Wharf Classic
English trio James
Willstrop, Lee Beachill and Adrian Grant advanced to
the quarter-finals of the ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic after
an eventful first round at the stylish East Wintergarden venue
in London.
Number three seed
Willstrop was made to fight all the way by English qualifier Daryl
Selby before edging home 11-2, 7-11, 11-7, 11-10 (5-3) in 62
minutes.
Selby, 24, from Essex,
gave a great account of himself on his debut performance in the 5-star
PSA Tour event and thrilled the packed gallery with a
succession of stunning shots, including two dazzling overhead volley
kills.
Sadly he conceded the
match on a miss-hit volley as Willstrop served for the match. In
Wednesday's quarter-finals, Willstrop will be hunting his first ever
victory over his Pontefract and England team-mate Beachill, the sixth
seed from Yorkshire who eased past Canadian Shahier Razik in
straight games.
Londoner Grant was
made to fight all the way by Frenchman Renan Lavigne. In the
longest match of the night, eighth seed Grant finally triumphed 9-11,
11-4, 10-11 (1-3), 11-5, 11-4 in 75 minutes of high quality squash.
Top seed Thierry
Lincou, Lavigne's French compatriot, was surprised in the opening
game by Australian qualifier Aaron Frankcomb before taking
control to win 9-11, 11-3, 11-1, 11-8.
|
Ricketts Withdrawal
Opens 'Lucky Loser' Door For Simpson |
Anthony Ricketts 2006 finalist
withdraws from 2007 Event |
The eleventh-hour
withdrawal of Australia's two-times runner-up Anthony Ricketts
from this week's ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic in London has
provided a 'lucky loser' opportunity for Guernsey’s Chris Simpson.
Ricketts, the third
seed, had a cortisone injection on his elbow back home in Australia last
week but decided not to risk further damage to his racket arm. The
injury flared up a fortnight ago during the Tournament of Champions
in New York, where Ricketts reached the final against Egypt's world No1
Amr Shabana - but had to concede at one game all because of the
pain.
|
Ironically, Shabana
pulled out of the Canary Wharf Classic last week because of a hand
injury - leaving organisers having to make a redraw last week. Reigning
champion Thierry Lincou of France moved to top seed, with
Sheffield’s Nick Matthew, the current British Open
champion, the new No2 seed.
The absence of Ricketts
means that Simpson, a former European Junior Champion, comes in as lucky
loser after Sunday's qualifying finals of the 5-star PSA Tour event at
Wimbledon Racquets and Fitness Club. The 19-year-old, currently
based in Harrogate in Yorkshire, faces No7 seed Wael El Hindi of
Egypt on Tuesday.
Simpson admitted he was
not expecting to be in the main tournament and said: “Now I will have
to postpone my skiing trip.”
Italian Davide
Bianchetti, Englishmen Stacey Ross and Daryl Selby,
and Australia’s Aaron Frankcomb, won through from qualifying.
Selby had to fight hard to overcome the talented 16-year-old Mohamed
El Shorbagy, who is based at the Wimbledon club and enjoyed the
support of a packed gallery.
Shorbagy held three game
balls in the third game before the more experienced Selby, the
24-year-old world No38 from Essex, clinched the tiebreaker 15-13.
Tarek Momen,
another young Egyptian, lost to Davide Bianchetti of Italy, while
Ross defied a cut hand to overcome Channel Islander Simpson. In the
final qualifier, Frankcomb fought back from two games down to beat
Brazil’s Rafael F Alarcon in 75 minutes.
________________________________________________________________________
|
Alan Thatcher
Previews
Further information from Alan Thatcher
Tel: 07971 639 829
Email: alan@squashuk.com
1st Day Report
English trio James Willstrop, Lee Beachill and Adrian Grant
advanced to the quarter-finals of the ISS Canary Wharf Squash
Classic after an eventful first round at the stylish East
Wintergarden venue.
Number three seed Willstrop was made to fight all the way by
Essex qualifer Daryl Selby before edging home 11-2, 7-11, 11-7,
15-13 in 62 minutes.
Selby gave a great account of himself on his debut
performance in the tournament and thrilled the packed gallery
with a succession of stuinning shots, including two dazzling
overhead volley kills.
Sadly he conceded the match on a mis-hit volley as Willstrop
served for the match. In Wednesday's quarter-fionals, Willstrop
is now hunting his first ever victory over his Pontefract and
England team-mate Beachill, who eased past Canadian Shahier
Razik in straight games.
Londoner Grant was made to fight all the way by Frenchman
Renan Lavigne. In the longest match of the night, Grant finally
triumphed 9-11, 11-4, 11-13, 11-5, 11-4 in 75 minutes of high
quality squash.
Top seed Thierry Lincou, Lavigne's French compatriot, was
surprised in the opening game by Australian qualifier Aaron
Frankcomb before taking control to win 9-11, 11-3, 11-1, 11-8.
LINCOU
NEW TOP SEED AS SHABANA WITHDRAWS
Reigning champion Thierry Lincou is favourite to retain next week’s ISS
Canary Wharf Squash Classic title after top seed Amr Shabana pulled out with
an injury.
The Egyptian world No.1 withdrew because of a wrist injury after winning the
Tournament Of Champions in New York. Ironically, Australia's Anthony
Ricketts conceded with an elbow injury in the final at Grand Central
Station.
New Canary Wharf top seed Lincou is scheduled to meet Ricketts in the
semi-finals on Thursday evening on the Harris Brushes ProCourt at the East
Wintergarden venue.
Shabana’s withdrawal resulted in a redraw of the tournament and British
stars James Willstrop, Lee Beachill and British Open champion Nick Matthew
will have to battle it out in the bottom half of the draw.
Pontefract team-mates Beachill and Willstrop, the new national champion, are
due to meet in the quarter-finals with the Sheffield-based Matthew waiting
in the semis.
London-based Adrian Grant, who had originally been due to meet top seed
Shabana in the first round, now meets Frenchman Renan Lavigne, who has moved
up from the qualifying competition to fill the vacant slot.
Wild card Bradley Ball, from Ipswich, faces No.2 seed Matthew in the opening
round, which is spread over Monday and Tuesday next week.
The qualifying competition is being staged this weekend at Wimbledon Rackets
and Fitness Club.
Tickets can be purchased from the Ticketmaster hotline 0870 534 4444, or
online at
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Superb corporate hospitality packages are also available enabling spectators
to wine, dine and watch all the gripping squash action from the Gallery
restaurant within the East Wintergarden.
BRITISH STARS AIM FOR
REVIVAL AT WHARF
New national champion James
Willstrop is aiming for success in next month's ISS Canary Wharf Squash
Classic to give a lift to the British squash scene.
Willstrop beat big-hitting Scot John White to win the British Nationals in
Manchester and is aiming to maintain that form in front of packed and
expectant home crowds at Canary Wharf in March.
This star-studded PSA Five Star world
ranking tournament takes place on the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt
inside the stunning glass atrium venue, the East Wintergarden at Canary
Wharf, from March 19-23.
Willstrop won the inaugural Canary Wharf
title in 2004, beating former world champion Thierry Lincou in a dramatic,
groundbreaking final played over the best of seven games.
Willstrop and England team-mates Nick
Matthew and Lee Beachill have all suffered from injuries this season -
although Matthew provided the domestic highlight of the season so far when
he won the British Open title in Nottingham in September.
Matthew beat reigning Canary Wharf
champion Lincou in the British Open final to become the first English-born
winner for 67 years. He is now looking to deliver something special at
Canary Wharf, despite a damaged hamstring ruining his start to the year. His
injury in the Canadian Classic in Toronto forced him to withdraw from the
Chicago Open and he was unable to defend his national title in Manchester.
Co-promoter Peter Nicol, now retired from
the world tour, said All of the British players will be looking for good
performances, especially on home soil. Injuries are the worst thing in sport
and James, Nick and Lee will all want to do well in front of a passionate
home crowd.
The audiences at Canary Wharf are always
knowledgeable about the game and really get behind the home players. James
and Nick have had a tough time with injuries and fitness this season but
they are tremendous athletes and will have learned from their setbacks.
It was a shame that Lee had to withdraw from the Nationals with a twisted
neck but he is still playing extremely well and recently reached the final
in Richmond, Virginia, where he lost to Anthony Ricketts.
EGYPTIAN STARLET SET TO THRILL CROWDS
A
NEW ERA is dawning in top-class professional squash, and London crowds are
drooling at the prospect of seeing the amazing young Egyptian Ramy Ashour
(left) in action at the ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic in March.
Ashour has
rocketed into the world top six after a devastating rise through the
rankings in the past six months. And former world champion Peter Nicol is
looking forward to seeing the precocious 19-year-old parade his dazzling
skills on the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt inside the East Wintergarden
atrium at Canary Wharf from March 19-23.
Ashour has
begun the year in tremendous style, winning the Canadian Classic in Toronto
and reaching the semi-finals of the Chicago Open.
Ashour
overcame Australia’s world champion David Palmer in straight games in the
Toronto final and Canary Wharf co-promoter Nicol said: “Ramy is working hard
and he is immensely talented. To achieve results like those is simply
astonishing for such a young man. He has developed at an amazing rate,
physically, tactically and mentally.
“He
retained the world junior title a few months ago and has made an incredible
impact in his first full season on the senior professional circuit.
“He has
just gone on court and shown he has got what it takes to beat the top guys
in the world, and you cannot underestimate the immense physical ability he
has developed.
“What most
people love about him is his personality. He clearly loves what he is doing,
he plays with a smile on his face most of the time and is an exceptional
young man.”
That’s
high praise indeed from a professional thoroughbred like Nicol, who
dominated the sport for most of the past decade, much of which was defined
by his intense rivalry with Canadian Jonathan Power.
Now both
have retired there is immense competition at the top of the rankings.
Ashour’s compatriot Amr Shabana has taken over the top spot in a top ten
that boasts a third Egyptian, Karim Darwish, who reached the semi-finals at
Canary Wharf last season.
Reigning
Canary Wharf champion Thierry Lincou is no longer even the leading Frenchman
in the PSA world rankings, with his compatriot, the stylish Gregory Gaultier,
now one place above him at number three.
Gaultier
was runner-up in the World Open in Egypt in September, losing to Palmer in
an open-air amphitheatre in front of the Great Pyramids, having earlier
removed top seed Shabana. He repeated that success when he achieved a major
career milestone by winning the US Open in November, beating Shabana in the
final in Boston.
The 2006
ISS Canary Wharf runner-up, Australia’s Anthony Ricketts, is looking to go
one better this year. He reached the final in Chicago, having finally put a
stop to Ashour’s charge in the semi-finals, but lost in straight games to a
supercharged Shabana.
The ISS
Canary Wharf Classic line-up is sure to provide a mouthwatering feast of
squash and the joint promoters, Eventis Sports Marketing and SquashUK, are
looking forward to a further week of sell-out crowds.
As well as
seating round the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt, superb corporate
hospitality packages are available with spectators able to wine, dine and
watch the action from the best vantage point in any squash arena, the
Gallery restaurant at the East Wintergarden.
GIFT WRAPPED, THE WORLD’S LEADING SQUASH
STARS
Sports fans searching for the
perfect Christmas present can gift-wrap the ideal seasonal offering, tickets
for the star-studded ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic.
The world’s leading squash stars will be competing in this dazzling sports
event, with action on the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt inside the
stunning East Wintergarden atrium at Canary Wharf from March 19-23.
Co-promoter Peter Nicol, the former world champion, said: “I can’t think of
a better gift for the sports fan, whether they are a squash player or not.”
Tickets can be booked from the
Ticket Hotline 0870 534 4444, or online at
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Nicol added: “We are all
looking forward to the next ISS Canary Wharf tournament in March. We have
fantastic sponsors who have enabled us to develop the tournament into a real
London showpiece featuring the sport at its very best in a superb venue.
“Squash is a fantastic spectator sport, combing physical and mental agility
from the players, with a mixture of dazzling skill, powerful, attacking
shots and breathtaking retrieving.
“The top speed for hitting a squash ball was recorded at Canary Wharf two
years ago when Scotland’s John White was timed bashing the ball at a
phenomenal 172mph. That’s more than 20mph faster than the top speed recorded
in tennis.”
Nicol, who retired earlier this year after dominating the squash world for a
decade, added: “To retrieve the ball travelling at that pace you have to
react incredibly quickly. I’m just glad I don’t have to put my body through
that any more!”
This season’s competition is again a Five-Star ranking tournament on the PSA
world circuit, thereby guaranteeing the presence of the world’s top players.
Frenchman Thierry Lincou is looking forward to retaining his ISS title after
a successful year in the UK in which he collected a hat-trick of major
tournament wins, including the Liverpool Open and Mamut English Open in
Sheffield.
However, Nicol knows that competition will be tough. He added: “When you
look at the world top ten there are so many fine players – David Palmer and
Anthony Ricketts from Australia, Amr Shabana, Ramy Ashour and Karim Darwish
from Egypt, Lincou and Gregory Gaultier from France, plus the British
contingent of James Willstrop, Lee Beachill and new British Open champion
Nick Matthew, who are all capable of winning any event.
“It all comes down to who feels fit and fresh, who is playing well and who
can play consistently well in any part of the world.
“With that kind of quality line-up, we are all looking forward to another
fantastic tournament.”
As well as seating round the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt, superb
corporate hospitality packages are available with spectators able to wine,
dine and watch the action from the best vantage point in any squash arena,
the Gallery restaurant at the East Wintergarden.
ISS CANARY WHARF SQUASH CLASSIC:
A REAL TREAT FOR SPORTS FANS
Sports fans searching for the perfect Christmas present can gift-wrap the
ideal seasonal offering, tickets for the star-studded ISS Canary Wharf
Squash Classic.
The world’s leading squash stars will be competing in this dazzling sports
event, with action on the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt inside the
stunning East Wintergarden atrium at Canary Wharf from March 19-23.
Co-promoter Peter Nicol, the former world champion, said: “I can’t think
of a better gift for the sports fan, whether they are a squash player or
not.”
Tickets can be booked from the Ticket Hotline 0870 534 4444, or online at
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
Further information from Alan Thatcher
Tel: 07971 639 829
Email: alan@squashuk.com
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