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Nick Matthew Claims Record Sixth Canary Wharf Classic Crown

England's Nick Matthew proved age is no barrier to success as he felled Egypt's 22-year-old Fares Dessouky, 14-years his junior, 3-1 to win the 2017 Canary Wharf Classic and lift the trophy for a record sixth time inside London's East Wintergarden.

On the banks of the river Thames Matthew completed the victory courtesy of an 11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 11-8 scoreline that sees him collect the 35th title of his PSA World Tour career - with Dessouky, World No.11, the only man this week to even take a game from the 36-year-old World No.4.

The Egyptian had come through a mammoth 124 minute semi-final with Spaniard Borja Golan to reach the title-decider and Matthew took advantage of weary legs to open up an early first game lead. The Sheffield-based man continued to dominate and double his advantage but Dessouky rose to the challenge, putting together a purple patch to take the third game against the run of play. But ultimately he couldn't do enough to stop the Matthew charge.

"He had a long, hard match last night and it's so hard mentally to recover from a match like that, but he showed just how tough is his the way he came back in that third game," said Matthew.

"I know what it's like to back up a tough semi-final, it's so hard, so it's credit to him for the way he pushed me. I never really felt settled on there, I was never that far in front of him so it was a bit of a concentration battle - but I'm happy to come through and get the win and I'm very proud of the achievement.

"For me it's also just such a pleasure to play here - I truly missed this tournament last year. The Friday Night crowd at Canary Wharf is the best on Tour," added Matthew, who donated all of his prize winnings to Sumner Malik, a promising 10-year-old squash player who has been diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma – a rare form of brain tumour.

"I know the the Malik family and they live and breathe squash. We're fortunate to do what we do for a living and we take it for granted at times. I don't want any thanks or personal gain for doing it - it's about raising awareness for him and it's the least that I can do. I'm a parent myself and hopefully he can have a great life ahead of him and I'm glad that I've been able to give them a good fund."

After the match Dessouky said: "I had a great week and played my best ever squash here. The crowd were supporting me from first the first day and getting to the final was very pleasing. Maybe next time I can win the title - I feel like I am pretty close."
 

Nick Matthew To Face Fares Dessouky In Final

England's Nick Matthew used all of his big match experience and unquestioned class to stop the run of New Zealand's Paul Coll at the 2017 Canary Wharf Classic and come through their semi-final encounter in straight games to book a place in tomorrow's final - where he will be aiming to win the title for a record sixth time inside London's East Wintergarden.

Up against the in-form World No.16 Matthew produced a masterclass performance, picking his shots and bossing the court with precise placement from the off to secure a 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 win that sees him through to meet Egypt's Fares Dessouky in the title-decider.

"Sometimes the scoreline doesn't tell the story and tonight was very tough - especially the first two games," said 36-year-old Matthew, who will be hoping to collect his 37th PSA World Tour title.

"I think maybe a bit of experience came in there and I just managed to keep him at bay. If anyone can come back from 2-0 down I know it's him so I'm happy with how I played and I feel like there's still plenty left to come - which is a great feeling to have ahead of a big match tomorrow.

"I missed this tournament last year and it's only with hindsight that I realised how much I enjoy it here. It's the best crowd on Tour and I think 'Friday Night Finals Night' at Canary Wharf is one of the best stages on Tour.

"The crowd are great and they can have a few drinks tomorrow night without worrying about work, so it's very special atmosphere, I'm looking forward to playing in it."

22-year-old Dessouky secured his place in the final, in what will be the biggest match of his career to date, after coming through a scrappy five-game affair with Spain's Borja Golan that was littered with over 50 refereeing decisions.

Dessouky won 12-10, 15-17, 13-11, 11-13, 11-5 after 124 minutes - the third longest match in the events history.

"It was a pretty long match and I was starting to cramp towards the end, so I'm very happy to be through," said Dessouki.

"It was a very hard match mentally. There was lots of talking and we were struggling with each others movement. I am glad I am through, I'm really happy to be in the final.

"It is a great achievement for me and Nick is one of the legends of the sport. I've watched him since I was young and dreamed of playing him in big matches - I will do what I do every day to recover and hopefully I can come here tomorrow and play my best and make the crowd proud."
 

2016 Canary Wharf Champion Ousted As Paul Coll Sets Up Semi-final v Nick Matthew

New Zealand's Paul Coll backed up his mammoth 2 hour victory over Simon Rösner in round one of the 2017 Canary Wharf Classic with a hugely impressive 3-0 defeat of crowd favourite Daryl Selby today (Mary 8) to reach the tournament's semi-finals - where he will face five time tournament winner Nick Matthew - while 2016 winner Mathieu Castagnet bowed out at the quarter-final stage.

Coll, who hasn't lost a match on English soil since his first round exit at the 2016 British Open almost a year ago, was in cruise control against former World No.9 Selby, using his physical strength to extend the rallies and force errors from the 34-year-old to come through 11-7, 11-3, 12-10 in just under an hour.

"I'm very happy and relieved to get through that match tonight, especially in three games," said Coll.

"He really stepped up in the third and was hitting some outrageous shots, so it's good to get off in three and get an early night to rest and recover. I had a tough one on Monday but I did all the recovery work and felt pretty fresh tonight.

"There's a lot of hard work and suffering that goes in behind the scenes so it feels good to be getting the wins. And I've had some good results in London recently, it's become a bit of a happy hunting ground for me - hopefully I can keep that going."

Coll will face 36-year-old Matthew for the first time ever after the three-time World Champion saw off Australian Cameron Pilley 3-0 courtesy of a dominant performance.

"I've been working a lot on my game lately and put in a very good few weeks and feel like I'm moving better than I have done for a few years," said Matthew.

"I'm really looking forward to playing Paul. I've never played him before and he's come up a long way in a short space of time and really announced himself as not just a contender, but someone who can win. His physicality is his strength and he plays a very disciplined game of squash so I have to be at my best - hopefully I can stop his run in London."

2016 tournament winner Mathieu Castagnet meanwhile saw his hopes of a Canary Wharf double dashed at the hands of Egyptian Fares Dessouky as the 22-year-old came through a scrappy affair 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6.

Castagnet, who's career has been plagued by injury since winning here twelve months ago, looked to be back to his free flowing best as he engaged in exchange after exchange that saw the two covering all four corners of the court in the early going. But, with the referee becoming increasingly involved, it was Dessouky who kept his momentum going to secure the win and go through to meet Spain's Borja Golan.

"I'm feeling great - beating Mathieu was a great thing for me," said Dessouky.

"He's a great player and I really enjoyed the battle - I'm just trying my best every day and playing as well as I can."
 

Qualifying Finishes at Canary Wharf

MAKIN MAKES IT THROUGH PAST COLEMAN

Joel Makin powered his way through to the main draw of the Canary Wharf Classic with a solid performance against Ben Coleman.

Coleman has returned from an injury and played with an ankle support on his right leg. But his movement appeared to be smooth and efficient during some phenomenally long opening rallies.

However, three tins gifted Makin a 7-3 lead. Each one played precision drops from the back of the court and each was awarded a stroke before Makin clinched the game with a backhand drive that was glued to the left-hand wall, a shot that summed up his mastery of that particular zone of the court.

Makin led 6-4 in the second but by now the match had taken on a physical tone as both players responded aggressively to a succession of “No let” decisions.

Coleman drew level at 8-8 with a superb backhand volley drop and took the lead when Makin put drop into the tin.

Coleman put a boast into the tin to make it 9-9 but then nailed a crosscourt backhand volley nick. A forehand straight drive gave Coleman the game and he roared with animal passion as he left the court.

Before the start of the third game the referee announced there would be no soft lets in the front left corner but most of the traffic issues were around the mid-court line.

At 5-5 Makin was awarded a stroke and Coleman received a conduct warning for alleged dissent. Coleman responded with a mistake on the subsequent service return. A stroke to Makin was followed by two “no let” calls to Coleman.

At game ball down, Coleman responded with an inside-out Essex misuki into the front right nick but then put a drop shot into the tin to give Makin the game.

Makin dominated most of the fourth game as the side walls took a pounding from bodies being propelled into the concrete with an alarming regularity.

There were some lengthy rallies and some intelligent squash but too many passages of play ended with scrappy scuffling and pushing around the middle of the court.

Makin clinched the fourth game 11-6 after 69 minutes of combat to become the first name into the draw with the big guns.


BLOOD ON THE COURT

Declan James made it through to the main draw after a huge battle with experienced Egyptian Mohamed Reda.

Leading two games to one, James started the fourth game in fiery form, claiming three quick points as he clearly set out to finish the match as quickly as possible.

However, he had scraped his knuckle earlier in the match and, with a few drops of blood on the court, he was asked to leave to have it treated.

After a ten-minute delay, and a nice breather for Reda, play finally resumed. James was soon into his stride again and he seemed set to close out the match as he led 8-4, but Reda had other ideas.

He grabbed three quick points after a trio of tins from his opponent but then Reda received the double setback of a “no let” and a conduct warning for shouting. That put James at 9-7 but the tall Englishman conceded a stroke. Reda then stumbled as he chased a backhand and put the ball into the tin to put James on match ball at 10-8.

That’s when the fun began. Reda struck a brilliant crosscourt volley nick and a tight forehand drop made it 10-10. A backhand drop gave Reda game ball but the Egyptian slashed at first a backhand and then a forehand, sending both into the tin, to put James back on match ball at 12-11.

Astonishingly, a mis-hit backhand somehow squirted on to the front wall to put Reda level at 12-12. James was perfectly set up at the front of the court for a crosscourt slam kill into the left nick but his shot glanced off the tin: 13-12 to Reda.

Reda screamed in dismay after a “no let” made it 13-13, then he conceded a stroke after a loose ball in the front right corner.

To cap an entertaining finale, James buried a forehand kill into the front right nick from the back of the court to take it 15-13.

SERME AND LAKE SERVE UP A TREAT

Lucas Serme joined reigning champion Mathieu Castagnet to double the French presence in the main draw after a hugely entertaining five-game marathon against Nathan Lake.

Lake led 4-2 in the first game but Serme took control to win nine points in a row. He could not maintain the momentum in the second as Lake built a solid 5-3 lead, advanced to 9-4, and weathered a late flurry of points from Serme to take it 11-7.

Serme produced a sublime spell of squash to win the third 11-3 but Lake responded strongly again to win a tight fourth game.

Those efforts took their toll as Serme built a 7-2 lead in the fifth and reduced a tiring Lake to some desperate retrieving, accompanied by much grunting and grimacing.

He refused to give up and doggedly chased the ball into all four corners, claiming another five points with some outstanding winners, before the stylish Serme triumphed 11-7 after 74 minutes of high quality squash.

It was a great advertisement for the game.


FALLOWS FALLS

The final match, between London rivals Charles Sharpes and Richie Fallows, was always going to be a battle of raw emotion. It ended up as the longest battle of the day, with Sharpes winning the fifth after being embroiled in some unsavoury interaction with the match officials.

Richie is to be commended for his conscious decision to let his racket do the talking, and his short game, when it works, is showing signs of significant improvement.

However, his error count was way too high in this match and in the vital third game he hit the tin seven times and gave away a penalty stroke, which is pretty much giving the whole game away to your opponent.

In a fractious encounter, Sharpes won the opening game 11-9 but, at the end of the second, he lost the deciding point on a “no let” decision and received a penalty stroke at the beginning of the third. When Fallows then moved 3-2 ahead, Sharpes received a conduct warning for dissent.

He tightened up as Fallows imploded, but the fourth game was a total horror show. It ended with Sharpes receiving a conduct stroke for racket abuse and he responded by smacking the ball into the ceiling, an act that went unpunished.

Before the fifth game, Sharpes was warned that he faced the full force of the disciplinary powers available to the referee if he continued to misbehave.

This helped him to calm down and may well have been the decisive factor. Fallows was unable to repeat the winners that won him the fourth and a flurry of tins helped his opponent ease to match ball, which he converted with a simple forehand drop.

Sharpes was rewarded with a place in the opening match on the glass court against Daryl Selby, with Makin facing Cameron Pilley later in the evening.

James and Serme were both rewarded with a rest day before their appointments on Tuesday, with James facing Spain’s Borja Golan and Serme meeting number two seed Marwan Elshorbagy, runner-up in last week’s Windy City Open in Chicago.
 

Top qualifying Seeds Adrian Waller and Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi knocked out
By ALAN THATCHER

Top qualifying seeds Adrian Waller and Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi were both knocked out of the PSA M70 Canary Wharf Classic at the first hurdle.

Waller fell in straight games to Welsh number one Joel Makin, and Qatari ace Al Tamimi was outplayed by Londoner Richie Fallows.

On a successful day for the Midlands-based Robert Owen Academy, Nathan Lake joined fellow pupil Makin in the qualifying finals after beating Josh Masters 3-1.

Makin and Lake were well prepared for the battle, both physically and mentally. Makin came through a niggly, scrappy encounter with Waller and Lake’s tight, controlled squash forced his opponent, Masters, into numerous errors.

Wimbledon Racquets and Fitness Club is a happy hunting ground for Makin. He won the recent Wimbledon Open, beating Ben Coleman in the final, and he is hoping for a repeat performance tomorrow.

Makin said: “I lost to Adrian at this stage in the Channel VAS Open at St George’s Hill three months ago so I knew what to expect and knew what I had to do to avoid another result like that.

“I know how good Adrian is at the front so I tried to keep him out of those areas where he can do a lot of damage.

“I have been working hard with Rob Owen on improving my quality all over the court and I am also working with the Welsh national coach David Evans. The hard work is paying off and I just want to keep getting the results to improve the rankings.

“I am looking forward to playing Ben tomorrow. We played here in the Wimbledon final and I won that one so I hope I can produce the same level of performance tomorrow against a very good player.”

Coleman was delighted to celebrate his return from injury with a 3-1 victory over Tristan Eysele from South Africa.

He said: “I think it’s the first time since I started squash at the age of 11 that I’ve been away from the court for that long. I think I was off four days once, but this time, I was away for eight weeks. Squash is hard enough when you are 100% fit, but when you struggle physically… I feel for those guys like Ramy Ashour, I now realise how hard it is.

“Tristan played well, really great, but I feel that my strength when I was playing at my best was my physicality, whereas now I’m just fighting to try and get back to where I was.”

Lake fought back impressively after losing the opening game to No.8 seed Masters.

It was a battle of contrasting styles, with the tall Masters playing at a high pace and looking to hit winners at the earliest opportunity.

Left-hander Lake was more patient and methodical and those tactics ultimately reaped the desired dividend.

Masters attacked from the off and the opening game was a justified reward for his ambitious approach, but he lost his way somewhere in the second game.

As Lake tightened up his width and length, he presented fewer opportunities for Masters to attack.

Lake comfortably took the second game and opened up a 7-5 lead in the third. Masters fought back to draw level and at 7-7 the most crucial phase of the match unfolded.

It was Lake who managed that passage of play more intelligently and he let out a roar of delight as he clinched the game 11-9.

The value of that exchange was soon evident as a stream of errors flowed from Masters throughout the fourth. Lake continued to move the ball to the back corners with impressive accuracy and dominated throughout.

Lake said: “I am very pleased to get past Josh. We all know how he can put pace on the ball and he loves to attack. I stuck to my game plan and I hope I can keep it going against Lucas Serme.”

Masters admitted: “I made too many mistakes and felt that I was not fit enough to play at that level. I was trying to put the pressure on and force the pace but I need to learn to be more patient.”

Ironically, the two players will meet again on the glass court on Friday in the Wild Card Challenge for a place in next year’s main draw.

Fallows was in outstanding form to beat a subdued looking Al Tamimi, who spent most of his energy on arguing with the referee.

Fallows said: “A few people came to tell me that my game is better now I’m not getting involved any more. It’s something I have been working on for a few months now, because I realise that it was not helping my game. So, I’m happy that work has improved my squash.

“Today, I was just trying to frustrate him by getting some of his best shots back. And once I got a few of his shots back, it looked like he went a bit well, crazy! And that was the game plan really…”

There were comfortable wins for Lucas Serme, Declan James, Charles Sharpes and Mohamed Reda, although Reda lost the first game to home hero Kyle Finch, who was cheered to the rooftops by a packed Wimbledon gallery.
 

Mosaad Withdraws from Canary Wharf Classic

Egypt’s former World No.3 Omar Mosaad has pulled out of next week’s Eventis Canary Wharf Classic due to illness.

The current World No.13 - who was a beaten finalist at the PSA M70 tournament last year - will be replaced as the tournament’s number three seed by German No.1 Simon Rösner.

Mosaad’s compatriot, World No.11 Fares Dessouky, moves up to the number four seed position and he will now take on England’s Tom Richards, while Australian World No.18 Cameron Pilley, who had been due to play Mosaad in round one, will instead face a qualifier.

 

Schedule

First round
6th March
(top half)

First round
7th March
(lower half)

Quarters
8th March

Semis
9th March

Final
10th March

INFO

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 6-10
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
  

TICKETS

Tickets for the 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.
 

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