New Zealand’s Coll Beats Egypt’s Farag to Win Canary
Wharf Classic Title
New
Zealand’s World No.3 Paul Coll claimed the Canary Wharf Classic title
for the second time in his career after he prevailed in a thrilling
final against Egypt’s World No.1 Ali Farag at the spectacular East
Wintergarden in London.
The pair were meeting for the 18th time in their careers, with Farag
holding a lofty advantage at 15-2 in the head-to-head. However, it was
Coll who triumphed for the second time in a final over the Egyptian this
year, backing up his 2021 Allam British Open victory to clinch the PSA
World Tour Gold title in front of a packed-out crowd.
A best-of-three games format was used up to and including the quarter
finals in Canary Wharf with scoring reverting to best of five for the
semis and final and it was World No.1 Farag who got off to the better
start, finding his length early on and moving Coll into all four corners
of the court before converting the first game, 11-7.
Coll responded in emphatic style in the second, cutting down Farag’s
angles and restricting his creativity to race into a 10-5 lead, but it
took seven game balls before he was able to draw back level.
The final two games were a perfect display of concentration from Coll as
he stuck to his game plan to successfully convert the 7-11, 13-11, 11-5,
11-6 victory and win his second major title of the year.
“I’m
very happy,” said Coll in his post-match interview. “I have so much
respect for Ali, he’s such a great champion, he’s a top player. For me
to beat him in the final is extra special, he’s such a top and fair
player and everyone should look up to as a quality champion. I’m so
happy to take two titles off him.
“It’s so tough to beat him. You’ve got to put so many things together,
get a game plan and then execute it from start to finish, I’m very proud
of this win. I want to thank the crowd, it’s my favourite venue to come
to, Tim garner, you do an amazing thing here. Thanks Canary Wharf, the
crowd make it but to even have the event in such a special location and
I know all the players are so privileged to come here and play this
tournament.
“Rob Owen has changed my game, taught me how to play the game and I’m
just so grateful to share his time and his commitment to me and all his
players.”
Farag
added: “He’s the worthy winner, he played a lot better than I did, the
ball was a flyer again, I couldn’t control it from the get go, he was
taking better positions in the middle and hitting his corners better
than I was so definitely didn’t deserve to win today.
“I don’t think I deserved to win it, I have nothing but respect for Paul
and his coach Rob Owen whatever they did together is paying off, they do
a lot of work I’m sure, there’s a lot of work going on behind the
scenes. There’s so much you don’t see, all the team behind us supports
us all the way, so I’d like to congratulate them and everyone behind
them.”
Coll takes home over $17,500 in prize money and his next tournament will
be the CIB Squash Open Black Ball in Cairo, with the men’s and women’s
event taking place between December 12-20.
Top Seeds Farag and Coll Set Up Canary Wharf
Classic Final
Egypt’s
World No.1 Ali Farag and New Zealand’s World No.3 Paul Coll will go
head-to-head in the final of the Canary Wharf Classic after claiming
respective wins over Egypt’s Tarek Momen and Peru’s Diego Elias at
London’s East Wintergarden.
The two players will face each other for the third time in a final
this year with each player taking one victory apiece so far in 2021
as they go to battle for the PSA World Tour Gold title tomorrow
evening.
Farag is aiming to go one better this year after falling short in a
thrilling final to compatriot Mohamed ElShorbagy last year as he
dismantled former World Champion Momen in straight-games this
evening.
The World No.1 came from 10-7 down in the first to hold his nerve
and take the lead on the tie-break, with the semi-finals and final
reverting to the traditional best-of-five format. From that moment
on it was all about the top seed as he produced a comfortable and
clinical display to win 12-10, 11-2, 11-4 in 33 minutes.
“I had a clear game plan in mind, but it’s not easy to implement it
against Tarek,” said Farag. “It was a matter of who got their game
plan going first. In the first we traded blows a little and it went
my way which calmed me down, so it was easier for me to implement my
game plan. In the second and third, I don’t think I’ve ever done it
to that level against Tarek before.
“I’ve made semis here and the final, so I hope the trend continues.
I hope I can go one further this time. It’s a joy to play on this
amazing stage, in front of this amazing crowd.”
Coll, meanwhile, got his revenge on Peru’s Elias as they played out
a repeat of last month’s Qatar Classic final where the World No.5
won his maiden Platinum title. However, this time it was a different
result as the New Zealander was at his clinical best to convert.
World No.3 Coll – who won the tournament back in 2019 - started
strongly and dealt with everything that Elias threw at him as he
triumphed 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 in 50 minutes.
“I
always feel confident going into a tournament after having a good
training block,” said Coll afterwards. “I knew it would be tough
tonight, Diego beat me three weeks ago, so credit to him for backing
up and having another good tournament, it’s always so hard to do
that.
“Ali and I have had some good battles in finals this year, another
one tomorrow. I’ve got a lots of support from best friends and my
coach here. I’m just in a good place this week, the crowd’s
amazing.”
The final of the Canary Wharf Classic take place tomorrow (November
19). Action will begin at 19:30 (GMT) and the match will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV (worldwide), while the
semi-finals and final will be shown live on the channels of
contracted broadcast partners.
Fans can stay up to date with the latest news on the tournament by
visiting the event’s
official website or by following
the Canary Wharf Classic on
Twitter.
Momen Gets Revenge on Asal
as Canary Wharf Classic Semi-Finalists Confirmed
Egypt’s
World No.4 Tarek Momen got his revenge on compatriot Mostafa Asal to
book his place in the semi-finals of the Canary Wharf Classic taking
place at London’s East Wintergarden.
Momen had lost the previous four meetings to 2021 U.S. Open winner
Asal, some in controversial fashion which had caused a fierce rival
between the two Egyptians, but Momen put right those wrongs with a
dominant performance at the PSA World Tour Gold event.
The former World Champion trailed for most of the first game but was
able to capitalise on some loose shots from his younger opponent to
take the lead. A hand injury at the start of the second game did not
stop the momentum of Momen as he powered to the finish line 11-8,
11-3.
“I think my hand hit my kneecap as I was hitting my shot and it sort
of paralysed half of my hand,” said Momen in his post-match
interview. “I’m glad I could finally take advantage of the
three-minute injury break, it always gets used against me, so
finally I can make some good use of it myself.
“I’m just happy with the way I played today, given all the history
it’s tough to get your head in the game and I managed to do that
well today and stay calm. I always like to enter every match just
thinking about the game plan, cancel out everything that’s happened
before, only focus on my game and I’m very happy I could do that
today.”
Momen will face World No.1 Ali Farag for a place in the final after
he defeated Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez in a match that entertained
the packed-out crowd in London.
The Colombian delighted the crowd with his electric movement and
creative shot making, but was unable to really trouble the reigning
World Champion as he prevailed 11-8, 11-3 in 22 minutes.
“I
wouldn’t say we played an exhibition match, he played the exhibition
show, I was watching,” said Farag. “Miguel is such an entertainer,
what I admire so much is he can do it whilst playing serious squash
as well and winning the British Open and achieved so much whilst
playing such entertaining squash.
“I was warming up so couldn’t watch everything [of the Momen v Asal
match] but I watched bits of it. Both are brilliant players and
they’re evenly matched every time they play. This time Tarek came
out on top so I’m going to have a tough match tomorrow but one which
I will really enjoy.”
The other semi-final will see a rematch of the Qatar Classic final
as Peru’s Diego Elias and New Zealand’s Paul Coll go head-to-head
for a place in the conclusion of the Canary Wharf Classic.
The last time the two players met it was Elias who took the
memorable victory as he claimed his maiden Platinum title in Doha
and he continued that rich vein of form with an impressive
performance against France’s Gregoire Marche to win 11-7, 11-7 in 38
minutes.
“I’m
not used to best of three,” said Elias afterwards. “I’ve done well
this week, it’s a different warm up, different mentality and in
Qatar I was 2-0 down against Greg so I knew I had to be at my best
from the first point, so I’m happy I did that and against Paul it’s
like the final again in Qatar.
“I think in the head-to-head its 2-2 so it’s always tough, but you
never know, tomorrow’s another match and I just need to prepare well
and be ready.
“It’s always long with Paul, I have to go on court with that
mentality to be there for a long time and I think I’ll be alright.
Coll, meanwhile, was at his clinical best to overcome Welshman Joel
Makin in straight-games and book his place in the last four.
A superb technical display by the New Zealander proved to be too
much for Makin as he closed out the match 11-5, 11-6 under the
lights at East Wintergarden.
“I’m
feeling really good and I’m super happy with that performance,” said
Coll. “Joel’s a really solid player that matches my physicality, so
it came down to me trying to play a really good squash match and
just super happy with that performance.
“He’s very strong across the middle as soon as I left the ball
short, I was in a lot of trouble and he can pick up a lot of balls.
It was a challenge for my squash and my patience and mentality and
playing the right shot at the right time so just really happy to win
that 2-0 and get through to the semis super fresh.”
The semi-finals of the Canary Wharf Classic take place tomorrow
(November 18) as play reverts to the best-of-five format. Action
will begin at 18:30 (GMT) and the matches will be shown live on
SQUASHTV (worldwide), while the
semi-finals and final will be shown live on the channels of
contracted broadcast partners.
Fans can stay up to date with the latest news on the tournament by
visiting the event’s
official website or by following
the Canary Wharf Classic on
Twitter.
Round Two Lower Half
New Zealand’s Coll and
Wales’ Makin Set Up Canary Wharf Classic Quarter Final
New
Zealand’s World No.3 Paul Coll and Wales’ World No.9 Joel Makin will
meet in the quarter finals of the 2021 Canary Wharf Classic after
round two concluded at London’s East Wintergarden.
2019 champion Coll started his campaign strongly against Egypt’s
World No.17 Youssef Soliman after he comfortably settled into his
length and rhythm on the all-glass showcourt at the PSA World Tour
Gold event to advance by an 11-6, 11-3 scoreline.
“He’s a really solid player, strong around the middle and a very
good mover,” said the New Zealander.
“You have to hit more than one good shot to win the point. I was
happy with tonight, felt like I could have started sharper with my
short shots but found the back of the court which is key to my game
and pushed on from there. I’m happy to be back.”
Meanwhile, Makin was forced to dig deep against India’s World No.15
Saurav Ghosal to make it safely through the second round as he
claimed an 11-9, 11-8 victory in the best-of-three format.
Ghosal came out of the blocks firing to storm into a 9-4 lead in the
first, but Makin played patient squash to buy his time and grind his
way back into the game, rattling off seven points in succession to
take the lead before closing out an edgy second game.
“I
was stuck behind him at the start and he played some good stuff
around the middle,” said Makin afterwards.
“I had to get a bit of pace back into the ball and get in front of
him and take my chances, I was being a bit negative and you’re well
aware of the importance of the start in best-of-three. You just have
to find a way in those situations to get back on top.
“It’s 1-1 with me and Paul this season and they’ve both been
best-of-threes. It’s going to be tight, he’s in great form and it’s
impressive to break the top Egyptians up. We need variety at the top
of the game and hopefully we can all get up there and break it up as
it’s more interesting I think.”
The other quarter final in the bottom half of the draw will see
France’s Gregoire Marche and Peru’s Diego Elias go head-to-head
after they claimed respective wins over English duo James Willstrop
and George Parker.
World No.19 Marche was at his accurate best to end the run of former
World No.1 Willstrop as he prevailed 11-6, 11-4 in the opening match
of the night.
The English veteran had rolled back the years in his previous round
when he took out Egypt’s Mohamed Abouelghar – who is 10 years his
junior – however, Willstrop was unable to repeat that feat as he
came up against an in form Marche who put in a dominant performance.
“It’s
always a pleasure to play James,” said Marche following his match.
“I have always watched his matches since I was young. It’s always
special to be on court with him, he’s done so much for squash,
especially in England.
“I’ve been playing well recently and it’s good to get this kind of
win. I was moving well and I was happy with some of the shots, I’m
looking forward to playing again tomorrow. I lost to Diego last
time, so I hope that if I play him I can get my revenge.”
His quarter final opponent, Elias meanwhile, ensured a safe passage
through to the next round after he defeated World No.37 Parker in
straight-games.
The No.4 seed continued his rich vein of form which saw him win his
maiden Platinum title at the Qatar Classic last month as he
prevailed in a tough first game before comfortably dispatching
Parker in the second to storm through at London’s East Wintergarden.
“It’s
always fun to play George,” said Elias. “You know what’s going to
happen, it can be crazy or normal but it’s always fun. I’m happy
with this win and I’m enjoying it.
“Qatar was the biggest win of my career. I enjoyed it a little bit
but I knew it was time to work hard again and I’m ready for this
tournament. Paul [Coll] is one of my closest friends on Tour and it
was great to play in the final and the first final with no Egyptians
for years.”
The quarter finals of the Canary Wharf Classic take place tomorrow
(November 17) and play will begin at 18:00 (GMT). All of the action
will be shown live on
SQUASHTV (worldwide), while the
semi-finals and final will be shown live on the channels of
contracted broadcast partners.
Fans can stay up to date with the latest news on the tournament by
visiting the event’s
official website or by following
the Canary Wharf Classic on
Twitter.
World No.1 Farag Leads Top Seeds into Canary Wharf
Classic Quarter Finals
Egypt’s
World No.1 Ali Farag got his Canary Wharf Classic under way with a
victory over Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu as the top seeds advanced
to the quarter finals of the PSA World Tour Gold event in London’s
East Wintergarden.
The top half of the draw was in action tonight and Farag, who is
searching for his first Canary Wharf Classic title this week after
missing out in last year’s final to Mohamed ElShorbagy, got his
tournament off to the dream start with an 11-7, 11-2 victory.
World No.27 Pajares made life difficult for the reigning World
Champion in the first game, forcing some errors, but it was not
enough to take an important first game in the best-of-three format
and Farag was able to assert his dominance to take the match.
“This is one of our favourite tournaments across the year, because
of the crowd,” said Farag afterwards.
“Yesterday, Iker put on a great show, I thought Castagnet was going
to get through just because of his experience, but he was the worthy
winner. I started the match with very open squash and he punished me
right away. I thought I needed to go back to basics again, so that’s
why the first part of the game took so long because I wanted to
assert myself on the T but I found my game in the second.”
Farag will take on Colombia’s former World No.4 Miguel Rodriguez in
the quarter finals after the No.7 seed overcame England’s Declan
James in the last match of the evening.
The two players went the distance in a 61-minute affair as Rodriguez
eventually overturned a one-game deficit to conquer the tall
Englishman 10-12, 11-5, 11-8 and book his place in the last eight.
"Age
is just a number,” said Rodriguez. “I adapt my game, squash has
changed over the past few years to be very physical and fast so I’m
trying to be smart to choose events and prepare differently and I'm
still enjoying the game.
"It's going to be a difficult match [against Farag], we played in an
exhibition match in New York not long ago and he was fantastic. I
wish I could play like that, he’s going to be very challenging. That
the good thing about squash, you can play the same players every few
months and you have the chance to learn and adapt. But the main
thing is just to be back here, in front of this full crowd."
The other quarter final in the top half of the draw will see a
mouthwatering prospect between Egyptians Tarek Momen and Mostafa
Asal with the two having a fiery past with controversy a plenty in
their previous fixtures.
World
No.6 Asal made light work of England’s Adrian Waller to advance on
his first appearance at the PSA World Tour Gold event as the 2021
U.S. Open winner was in emphatic form to comfortably dispatch an
out-of-sorts Waller, 11-1, 11-4 in 22 minutes.
“It’s my first time here in Canary Wharf and it’s amazing for me,”
said Asal. “The crowd, they are playing with us, I love the crowd.
“I want to push more, everything I have achieved is in the past, not
thinking about my age, thinking about the future. I have the
confidence every tournament is a new chance for a new title.”
Meanwhile, former World Champion Momen started sharply in his
opening match of the tournament to take out France’s Baptiste
Masotti.
The World No.4 took the first game, before Masotti showed his
fighting spirit in the second to capitalise on Momen’s loose shots
and get back into the encounter. However, the Egyptian’s class shone
through as he recovered to dominate the third and safely book his
place in the last eight.
“I
knew he’s a danger as an upcoming French player and I tried to be
very sharp from the beginning today,” said Momen after the match.
“Coming into this event, I didn’t think I had the best preparation,
but I felt like I was getting into it, I wanted to get into the
rhythm, the past two days I’ve been spending a lot of time on court
and today I tried to start well, get myself in the zone.”
On his quarter final opponent, Momen said: “Mostafa is doing very
well for a 20-year-old. You don’t see many players breaking through
to later stages of Platinum events. He is a great player, I wish he
didn’t resort to the stuff that causes issues every time. Tomorrow
it’s a new day and all I care about is playing my best, hopefully no
shenanigans and it’ll be a good match.”
The bottom half of the draw feature in round two tomorrow (November
16) and play will begin at 18:00 (GMT). All of the action will be
shown live on
SQUASHTV (worldwide), while the
semi-finals and final will be shown live on the channels of
contracted broadcast partners.
Tickets for the event are available for purchase via
Ticketmaster.
Fans can stay up to date with the latest news on the tournament by
visiting the event’s
official website or by following
the Canary Wharf Classic on
Twitter.
Willstrop Winds Back Clock as Canary Wharf Classic
Gets Under Way
English
veteran James Willstrop - the 38-year-old former World No.1 - rolled
back the years to produce a vintage display of accurate, controlled
hitting on the opening day of action at the 2021 Canary Wharf
Classic to defeat Egyptian World No.14 Mohamed Abouelghar, ten years
his junior.
Willstrop, the current World No.24, won the inaugural Canary Wharf
Classic competition, staged in 2004, but he showed no
signs of
slowing down as, almost 18 years later, he came out
of the blocks
firing on all cylinders to control the play and nullify the
attacking threats of Abouelghar, prevailing an 11-6, 11-8 victory in
the best of three format.
“It was good, I didn’t think we were giving each other very many
chances,” said Willstrop in his post-match interview.
“I just had to be very clever and selective when I went in short and
I’m very pleased to be playing, that was amazing. I was in the
reserves and when you get the call about Canary Wharf it’s special
and I’ve been here about 300 times. I think this is almost the most
special in a way because I wasn’t going to get in and I thought I
missed out.”
Willstrop will now face French number one Gregoire Marche in the
second round on Tuesday November 16, while he is joined in the last
16 by compatriots Adrian Waller and Declan James, who both scored
upset wins against Malaysian Eain Yow Ng and German Raphael Kandra,
respectively.
Waller, the World No.28, showed tenacity and fighting spirit to edge
a tightly contested affair 11-9 in the third game - having witnessed
an early 1-0 game advantage slip away.
“I imposed my game quite early in the match, but credit to him, he
came back with a brilliant game plan and got back in front,” said
Waller afterwards.
“In a best-of-three you have less margin for error. It’s a lot
shorter and I think mentally it’s different, you will see everyone
approach it more cautiously.”
James meanwhile produced one of his best performances of the past
year as he came from a game down to defeat Kandra - the German
sitting 13 places higher on the World Rankings - 7-11, 12-10, 11-3,
coasting home in the third game thanks to some superb shot placement
and a devastating finishing touch.
“I’ve
just been desperate to play matches,” admitted James afterwards. “I
feel like in the last two years I’ve had like 10-15 matches and
these guys that are in the top 10 and 15 have been playing a lot
more than me because I haven’t been winning, it’s not been good
enough. Coming here this week, I’ve been training hard, it’s not
good enough to just come up and win a first or second round, I need
to be pushing to the next level.”
Elsewhere, former World No.9 Daryl Selby played his last match at a
major PSA World Tour event after he suffered a 2-0 defeat to
compatriot George Parker.
The 39-year-old announced before the event that this would be his
last Canary Wharf appearance and Selby put up a good fight but was
unable to get past a resilient Parker who dug in to take the win
11-9, 11-9 in 25 minutes.
“I
was probably a bit edgy knowing it was my last Canary Wharf
opportunity,” said Selby on court afterwards. “I was desperate to
win to try and play one more match. Fair play to George and
hopefully he can kick on from here.”
Elsewhere, Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu prevailed against 2016
winner Mathieu Castagnet to secure a second-round match against
World No.1 Ali Farag, with the Egyptian searching for his first
Canary Wharf Classic title this week after falling short in the
final to Mohamed ElShorbagy last year.
“Mathieu used to be one of my favourite players and when he won the
tournament here, he won that final without making any mistakes,”
said Pajares. “I learned a lot from this match and it feels amazing
to finally beat him.
“I’ve been a bit unlucky with the draws and I’ve been meeting all
the top players in early rounds. Tomorrow I’m playing Ali Farag, but
it’s best-of-three and I take a lot of confidence from today.
The top half of the draw feature in round two tomorrow (November 15)
and play will begin at 18:00 (GMT). All of the action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV (worldwide), while the
semi-finals and final will be shown live on the channels of
contracted broadcast partners.
Tickets for the event are available for purchase via
Ticketmaster.
Fans can stay up to date with the latest news on the tournament by
visiting the event’s
official website or by following
the Canary Wharf Classic on
Twitter.
World No.1 Farag Aiming to Break Title Duck as
Canary Wharf Classic Draw Released
World
No.1 Ali Farag will be the favourite to capture his first Canary
Wharf Classic title after the draw for the PSA World Tour Gold
tournament - taking place 14-19 November in London’s spectacular
East Wintergarden - was released today.
Farag was a beaten finalist last year and the 29-year-old will look
to take a step further to capture one of the sport’s few prizes that
has eluded him.
Farag, who has won the World Championship, Egyptian Open and Oracle
NetSuite Open this year, is predicted to meet mercurial compatriot
Mazen Hesham in round two and will need to be on his toes if he is
to beat one of squash’s most creative players.
The winner of that match is seeded to play former World No.1 Karim
Abdel Gawad in the quarter finals, while U.S. Open champion Mostafa
Asal or No.3 seed Tarek Momen could be semi-final opponents.
In the other half of the draw, New Zealand’s World No.3 Paul Coll is
projected to make a strong bid to recapture the title he won in
2019.
Lying in his path, though, will be the likes of tireless Welsh No.7
seed Joel Makin, Egyptian No.4 seed and 2020 semi-finalist Marwan
ElShorbagy, and Peru’s Manchester Open champion and No.8 seed Diego
Elias.
For the home crowd, there are three English representatives to cheer
for, with all three entering in the first round. Former World No.9
Daryl Selby - who will be celebrating his 39th birthday two weeks
before the tournament begins - faces France’s Gregoire Marche,
Declan James plays Germany’s Raphael Kandra, and wildcard Charlie
Lee takes on Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez.
“The Canary Wharf Classic is world famous for having one of the best
atmospheres in squash, thanks to a raucous and knowledgeable crowd.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we are delighted to be able
to deliver the 18th edition of such a special event and look forward
to a fantastic and safe tournament,” said tournament director Tim
Garner.
He added: “With so many of the world’s top stars in attendance, and
in such an iconic venue, we can’t wait for all the action to begin.”
Once again, the Canary Wharf Classic will use a best-of-three games
scoring format up to and including the quarter-finals, before
reverting to best-of-five scoring for the semi-finals and final.
All of the action from East Wintergarden will be streamed live on
SQUASHTV (worldwide), while the
semi-finals and final will be shown live on the channels of
contracted broadcast partners.
Tickets for the event are available for purchase via
Ticketmaster.
Fans can stay up to date with the latest news on the tournament by
visiting the event’s
official website or by following
the Canary Wharf Classic on
Twitter.
2021 Canary Wharf Classic – Draw
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) [bye]
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) v [9/16] Mazen Hesham (EGY)
[9/16] Raphael Kandra (GER) v Declan James (ENG)
[5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) [bye]
[8] Mostafa Asal (EGY) [bye]
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) v [9/16] Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
[9/16] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v [WC] Charlie Lee (ENG)
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) [bye]
[4] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) [bye]
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [9/16] Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[9/16] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v Baptiste Masotti (FRA)
[6] Diego Elias (PER) [bye]
[7] Joel Makin (WAL) [bye]
Cesar Salazar (MEX) v [9/16] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[9/16] Youssef Soliman (EGY) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) [bye]