Egypt’s World No.10 Fares Dessouky produced a sublime display to win the
2022 GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic title after he defeated
compatriot Mostafa Asal in straight-games inside London’s East
Wintergarden.
The last time the two players met it was in the quarter finals of the
2021 El Gouna International when Dessouky took the win in 123 minutes.
However, it was much more straight-forward for the 27-year-old this time
around as he got over the line by an 11-5, 13-11, 12-10 margin to win
the PSA World Tour Gold event.
Asal had spent a huge 264 minutes on court en route to the final,
beating Peru’s Diego Elias in five-games last night. However, that
looked to have taken its toll on the 20-year-old tonight in front of a
packed-out crowd as Dessouky dominated the first game to take it 11-5.
World No.4 Asal responded well in the second game and looked as though
he was going to draw level, but Dessouky fought fire with fire to save
game balls as he doubled his lead on the tie-break.
Dessouky was once again too sharp in the third as he picked off Asal’s
attacks and despite the younger Egyptian saving three championship
balls, held his nerve to close out 12-10 to win his first Canary Wharf
Classic title and fifth PSA World Tour title overall.
“I want to congratulate Asal for an unbelievable week,” said Dessouky.
“You played so well, you are number one material you have to keep
working hard and keep believing in yourself. I think we’re playing first
round in the British Open, so we have to get on with that.
“This is one of the best venues in the world so we want to make it
bigger and bigger. I want to thank Tim Garner [Tournament Director] for
everything that he does, he makes all of our lives easier. Thanks to the
refs, they did a great job this week, I know it's not easy with some ups
and downs during the week, but they dealt with it very well.
“I want to thank my team, Ahmed Effat, my coach, Samy Farrag, my fitness
coach, and I want to thank my family for my support. I want to thank my
ex-fitness coach, he’s back in Alexandria. I used to train with him but
now I'm in Cairo but he's always catching up with me and making sure I'm
fit and healthy, so I want to thank him so much for that.”
Runner-up Asal added afterwards: “I gave it more than 200%. Fares and I
are good friends. I'm really happy that he's back. His squash is
unbelievable, his skills are unbelievable and I'm glad to see him back
with a bang.
“This tournament is unbelievable. Thanks for the sponsors, we appreciate
every tournament on the calendar, thank you guys you made the tournament
unbelievable.”
The next tournament is the 2022 Allam British Open in Hull, England,
which takes place March 28 – April 3. Action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV
and multiple broadcasters around the world.
To buy tickets and for more information, visit the tournament website or
follow the event on
Twitter,
Facebook
andInstagram
Egypt’s Fares Dessouky and Mostafa Asal will contest the 2022
GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic final after they claimed respective
wins over Egypt’s Mazen Hesham and Peru’s Diego Elias at London’s East
Wintergarden.
The two Egyptians have only faced each other once in their PSA careers
before, when Dessouky took a 3-2 victory in the quarter finals of the
2021 El Gouna International and they will lock horns once more as they
both look to claim their first Canary Wharf Classic title.
Dessouky secured his place in his second Canary Wharf Classic final
after defeating compatriot Hesham in a tough five-game battle, with the
semi-finals and final of the PSA World Tour Gold tournament reverting to
the traditional best-of-five format.
World No.10 Dessouky got off to a subdued start as Hesham blitzed into a
6-3 lead, however, it wasn’t long before the former clicked into gear
and showcased his incredible finishing abilities to save two game balls
and go on to take opening game, 12-10.
Hesham got himself back into contention though as he drew level before
the games continued to exchange hands once again to take it to a fifth.
In the decider, it was Dessouky that quickly settled into his rhythm and
didn’t give Hesham any time to recover as he executed the 12-10, 9-11,
11-3, 7-11, 11-4 victory in 72 minutes.
“It was a very tough match, Mazen is one of the most talented players on
Tour,” said Dessouky following his win. “He's always very tricky, we've
grown up playing together and have been playing since we were about
nine. When we were hitting a few days ago we were remembering these
times. It was always going to be a tough match and today was no
different. I hope he stays injury-free because he's one of the top guys
for sure.”
Meanwhile, Asal and Elias played out a hefty 127-minute battle in the
other semi-final of the night in front of a full house in East
Wintergarden.
A massive 39-minute first game went the way of Elias on the tie-break,
who had to dig deep to close out 16-14. Due to the intensity of the
match, in the second game the interaction with the referee began to
creep more and more into the match but the quality remained high and
this time it was Asal who was able to take the game.
The momentum continued to shift between the two players as the match
wore on. Asal was beginning to break up Elias’ rhythm with the severity
of his hitting and stoppages throughout, which led to the Peruvian
getting increasingly frustrated on court, but he managed to retake the
lead courtesy of a 13-11 win in the third.
The 20-year-old Egyptian came back strongly though to get back on level
terms before powering to the finishing line in the fifth to book his
place in the final.
“First of all, it was an entertaining match,” said Asal afterwards. “Me
and Diego were playing some great squash, all credit to him. I used to
watch him when I was a junior and watched him at the British juniors in
Sheffield, and how he succeeded in the juniors was unreal.
“Fares and I are good friends, he's playing superb squash, I'm really
happy that he's back he's amazing to watch, I think all the people
watching Fares play think he's unreal and I wish myself a good match
tomorrow."
The final of the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic will take place
tomorrow (March 18) from 19:30 local time (GMT). Action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV
and multiple broadcasters around the world.
To buy tickets and for more information, visit the tournament website or
follow the event on
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Facebook
andInstagram
Egypt’s World No.4 Mostafa Asal was forced to do things the hard way to
book his place in the semi-finals of the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf
Classic following a 95-minute battle with Wales’ Joel Makin at London’s
East Wintergarden.
Asal, who has been away from the Tour for two months following a
suspension, stormed out of the blocks in the first game to gain an
impressive advantage before Makin regrouped, but despite saving one game
ball it was 20-year-old Asal who took the important lead in the
best-of-three format.
World No.8 Makin continued to show his resilience in the second with the
two players not giving each other an inch as it remained nip and tuck
throughout before the Welshman was able to convert 13-11 to draw level.
The intense rallies continued in the decider as the hitting power of
Asal didn’t slow but neither did the movement or determination of Makin.
The score remained close throughout, but it was the quality from the
Egyptian that shone through in the end as he converted after a mammoth
95 minutes of action.
“Everything hurts. Joel is unbelievable, to be back and to compete at
that level is never easy,” said Asal afterwards. “The guys are so
powerful and strong, they compete in every tournament and you get the
fitness level up. I have been training hard for two months, four or five
hours a day, but you can't replicate match level
“I'm happy to be back, only two matches until I get the trophy and I'm
going to do it.”
Diego Elias in action
Asal will face Peru’s Diego Elias in the semi-finals, which will revert
to the traditional best-of-five format along with the final, after he
defeated Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller in an entertaining 11-5, 8-11,
11-9 battle to end the night’s action.
Mueller proved himself to be a crowd favourite once again as he
continued to play with confidence, hitting some stylish winners, but it
was the accuracy of Elias that proved the difference as he booked his
place in the next round.
“That was a great match,” said Elias. “Nicci had been playing great, he
hit some unbelievable shots after the first game and I was struggling a
bit, the ball got colder and I’m just happy at the end I played better
and could win this match.
“It’s going to be a tough match [against Asal]. I just need to go back
and do all of my recovery but I think it’s going to be a good match, so
I just want to be at my best.”
Fares Dessouky celebrating
The other semi-final will be contested by Egyptians Fares Dessouky and
Mazen Hesham after they claimed respective wins over former World
Champion Tarek Momen and France’s Victor Crouin.
It was an electric start between both Dessouky and Momen with the World
No.10 pulling ahead to convert a crucial first game. Momen responded
well though and kept his focus to convert the second on the tie-break
and draw level.
However, it was all about Dessouky in the third as he raced into the
lead and never looked back with Momen struggling to recover as the
27-year-old booked his spot in the last four of the PSA World Tour Gold
event.
“Best of five you’re more relaxed,” said Dessouky. “In the second game I
was 10-7 up and I was so nervous and wanted to give it everything in the
third and not start thinking about losing because I will lose for sure
if I think like this so, I needed to stay in a positive mindset.”
Mazen Hesham wins
Meanwhile, Hesham was in blistering form to record a 20-minute victory
over ‘giant killer’ Crouin, who took out World No.1 Paul Coll in the
previous round.
A nervous start from the 22-year-old Frenchman was capitalised on by
Hesham who comfortably eased into the semi-finals for the first time at
the event by an 11-3, 11-3 margin.
“Me and Fares have been sharing the courts around the world together for
so long, and people compare our styles and I think we bring a lot to
squash,” said Hesham.
“We’ve been unlucky with injuries and it’s great to see Fares playing
well and we’re both healthy, finally. It’s going to be tough, we know
each other pretty well and I hope tomorrow I bring my A-game and let’s
see what we can do tomorrow.”
The semi-finals of the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic take place
tomorrow (March 17) from 18:30 local time (GMT). Action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV
To buy tickets and for more information, visit the tournament website or
follow the event on
Twitter,
Facebook
andInstagram
Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller continued his fine run of form as he
defeated Egypt’s No.5 seed Marwan ElShorbagy for the second time in a
week to reach the quarter finals of the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf
Classic taking place at London’s East Wintergarden.
The two players faced each other just last week at the Optasia
Championships in Wimbledon, where Mueller claimed the victory to reach
his first semi-final at a PSA World Tour Gold event and the ‘Swiss
Rocket’ backed that up with another win over the World No.7 in Canary
Wharf.
World No.26 Mueller took the first game with his confident shot making
coming to the fore before ElShorbagy got back on level terms to make it
a straight shootout in the best-of-three format.
With the scores locked in at 5-5 it was the Swiss player who made the
break and never looked back to close out 11-7, 6-11, 11-6 in 30 minutes.
“It was quite an intense game. In the best of three format the first
game is so crucial,” said Mueller. “When you get that 1-0 lead under
your belt, it helps. Considering I played very well last week, I'm very
happy I could keep that going into this week.
“If you're lower ranked you have nothing to lose and all the pressure is
the top seed, and as we saw last night with Paul, the World No.1 losing,
it can happen.”
Mueller will face Peru’s Diego Elias in the quarter finals after he got
the better of experienced Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet, who won the
tournament back in 2016.
Elias, who finished runner-up at the Optasia Championships last week,
moved Castagnet into all four corners of the court to comfortably book
his place in the next round courtesy of an 11-7, 11-2 margin in 34
minutes.
“He's always been a warrior, I grew up watching him play, he was one of
the fittest on Tour,” said Elias. “I tried to make it long at the start,
I think it worked. I think playing three games in 70 minutes the other
day was tough for him and I'm just very happy to be done with this, it's
best of three so I was a bit nervous.
“You have to be at your best from the start, you see so many upsets in
best of three, so I need to get a really good warm-up and be ready for
tomorrow.”
The other quarter final in the bottom half of the draw will see No.2
seed Mostafa Asal face Wales’ World No.8 Joel Makin.
Asal’s last appearance on the Tour came in January’s Houston Open before
his suspension, however, he returned with a bang as he edged out
England’s Nathan Lake in two tight games.
The Egyptian took the opening game 11-9 after some gruelling rallies
with both players trying to figure each other out. However, the pace and
power of Asal’s movement and hitting proved too much in the end.
More competitive squash followed as the accuracy of Lake was troubling
the 20-year-old, but Asal stuck to his task and managed to squeeze an
error from the racket of Lake on match ball to secure his quarter final
place.
“I want to say, I've missed you guys,” said Asal in his post-match
interview in front of the packed-out East Wintergarden crowd.
“I'm impressed with the way Nathan played, he was unbelievable. First of
all, I'm really happy to be back, not competing for two months is
ridiculous for me. I'm happy I'm back here playing my squash, playing
competitive matches, especially Canary Wharf, this crowd is amazing.
“He played superbly. I'm happy to be through you saw yesterday how
Victor [Crouin] beat Paul Coll, so I was weary about Nathan winning
today.”
Makin, meanwhile, held off fiery Frenchman Baptiste Masotti to advance
to the last eight of the Gold event.
An attritional first game suited Makin to take the lead and he then
managed to hold off Masotti, who rattled off several outrageous winners,
in the second to claim an 11-7, 12-10 victory to end the night.
“Baptiste was incredibly attacking in that match,” said Makin. “I
managed to keep the ball away from shoulder height but he had a patch in
the second where everything was a straight kill or a cross-court nick
but I had to get it high and switch it to close it down but found the
quality in the end.
“It'll be an interesting match tomorrow, I'm looking forward t it, he's
causing a few issues and getting stuck in and I do enjoy that so it'll
be good.”
The quarter finals of the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic take place
tomorrow (March 17) from 18:00 local time (GMT). Action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV
To buy tickets and for more information, visit the tournament website or
follow the event on
Twitter,
Facebook
andInstagram
France’s World No.21 Victor Crouin claimed the biggest win of his
career as he sent out World No.1 Paul Coll in the second round of
the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic taking place at London’s East
Wintergarden.
Crouin had never taken a game off the New Zealander before, but the
best-of-three format, which is used at the PSA World Tour Gold event
up to and including the quarter finals, worked to his advantage as
he caught the defending champion off guard.
22-year-old Crouin started well, finding aggressive lines and taking
his opportunities going short and coupled with some uncharacteristic
errors from Coll was able to take the first game, 11-7.
The confidence stayed with Crouin in the second as he moved Coll,
who beat Ali Farag in last year’s final, into all four corners of
the court to rattle off six successive points to come from behind to
win 11-7, 11-7 in 36 minutes. That win makes Crouin the first player
outside the top 20 of the World Rankings to beat Coll since Chris
Simpson in 2016.
“My game plan was just to win one game,” said Crouin in his
post-match interview. “We played four times last season and I didn't
get one game. After yesterday, it was the first time I’d played best
of three and I didn't like it as it takes away the endurance of the
game, but today I just beat Paul Coll in two games, so I think I
like it now.
“Paul’s No.1 because of his consistency, so I'm glad I could break
that today but he's World No.1 and I'm sure he’ll stay there for a
while and everyone is chasing him. I was just trying to improve my
game and be more consistent competing against these players and get
some results this season so I can be among them to get to top 15,
top 10 and someday World No.1.”
Crouin will face Egypt’s Mazen Hesham for a place in the last four
after he defeated England’s Patrick Rooney 11-9, 11-9 in the last
match of the day.
The Englishman gave a good account of himself in his first year at
the event, but ultimately fine margins proved the difference with
Hesham dangerous as always with his shot making to reach the last
eight.
“Today was really difficult. I've never felt that drained mentally
just to come and play,” admitted Hesham. “I wasn't going to come and
play today, I felt a massive setback after my match against Diego
[Elias] in Wimbledon. I'm glad of how I came back today, even with
all the nerves I can win, it's my first win on this court actually.
“With best of three, you can see it's very intense. It’s better for
some players than others, you can play a bit down, even the last few
shots here I was shaky, I wouldn't go for winners. We saw it today
with Paul, but Victor is playing amazingly well, he's up and coming,
the same as Patrick, and it's only a matter of time before they're
challenging us.”
Meanwhile, it will be an all-Egyptian affair in the other
quarter-final from the top half of the draw after former World
Champion Tarek Momen and World No.10 Fares Dessouky claimed
respective wins over England’s Adrian Waller and Colombia’s Miguel
Rodriguez.
Momen was put to the test against an accurate Waller, who took the
first game 14-12 on the tie-break. However, the 2019 runner-up was
able to get his accuracy back in the next two games to adapt and
come out on top in the unpredictable best-of-three format.
“Adrian played really well today, he was really sharp apart from a
few errors here and there,” said Momen.
“I, on the other hand, couldn't get the ball to the back of the
court for some reason, it’s no excuse for a professional player to
not be able to adapt for three games but I think I got better in the
end. He helped me a little bit with some errors at crucial times but
overall, I think he played well, and I kept improving which is a
good thing.
“It's always tough to play best of three, there's a lot of pressure
on me being the higher seed but I'm happy that I handled my nerves
and eventually got to sneak the win in the end.”
Dessouky, meanwhile, was in dazzling form against Rodriguez, who
enjoyed a good win over England’s former World No.1 James Willstrop
in the previous round.
The Egyptian moved around the court with ease, showing off his
spectacular array of shots much to the delight of the crowd inside
East Wintergarden as he secured an 11-7, 11-9 victory in 30 minutes.
“Miguel played very well, he's very entertaining,” said Dessouky
afterwards. “I always enjoy playing him and he's a good friend of
mine and it’s always nice to play a very clean match.
“I'm feeling very well, I started moving really well and smooth so
I'm happy. I'm still gaining confidence throughout the matches, so
this is the best thing. I'm very happy to be here, I always enjoy
this tournament. I've been in the final before and I'm hoping to be
there again.”
Round two of the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic continues
tomorrow (March 15) from 18:00 local time (GMT) when the bottom half
of the draw take to the court. Action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV
To buy tickets and for more information, visit the tournament website or
follow the event on
Twitter,
Facebook
andInstagram
England’s World No.36 Nathan Lake stunned France’s World No.11
Gregoire Marche on the opening day of action as the GillenMarkets
Canary Wharf Classic got under way in the spectacular setting of
London’s East Wintergarden.
Chicago-based Lake, who was a late call-up into the main draw
following a number of withdrawals, delivered a solid performance to
claim a stunning 11-9, 11-3 victory over the Frenchman, with the PSA
World Tour Gold event using a best-of-three format up to and
including the quarter finals.
The 29-year-old will face Egypt’s No.2 seed Mostafa Asal for a place
in the quarter finals.
“It's great to play here, Tim [Garner, Tournament Promoter] kindly
gave me the wildcard here about five years ago and that's really
helped,” said Lake afterwards. “Just so I knew what to expect, I’m
really pleased with that and especially the second game.
“I played Gregoire in January, I lost in a close 3-2, I think with
these guys, I will have seen a lot more of them than they have of me
so I try to go in with a blank canvas and think about what I was
trying to do, I tried to stay as calm as I possibly could and I'm
glad I could manage my head today.
“He’s great for the game, [Mostafa Asal] love him or hate him
people, are talking about him so whatever your opinion I think he's
good for squash.”
Patrick Rooney and Adrian Waller will join Lake as the remaining
home hopes in the event as they claimed respective wins over Egypt’s
Mohamed ElSherbini and England’s George Parker.
Rooney managed to battle past a nervous start to overcome the
talented ElSherbini, 11-8, 11-9 in 29 minutes on his first
appearance at the event. Rooney’s second round opponent will be
another Egyptian in the form of World No.9 Mazen Hesham.
“I was quite nervous, it’s my first time playing here,” said Rooney.
“It’s a tournament I've always watched. The crowd always looks good
but those first four points I was shaking a lot, so once I got over
that I started playing and once I did I played well.”
Waller will take on former World Champion Tarek Momen for a place in
the last eight after he came out on top in the tightly contested
all-English battle with Parker.
Meanwhile, England’s former World No.1 James Willstrop saw his
Canary Wharf campaign come to an early end at the hands of 2018
British Open champion Miguel Rodrgiuez.
The Colombian extended the rallies to force the four-time tournament
champion deep into the back corners and attacked with relentless
pressure to book his place in the second round where he faces
Egypt’s Fares Dessouky.
“I'm happy with my performance,” said Rodriguez. “He was playing
very offensive, I was very tempted to go for shots but last week he
was playing very well in the front so I had to keep him in the back
I had to dig deep in the first game and it was really big and got
more confident from there.”
France’s Mathieu Castagnet was the surprise package of the day as he
toppled Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng, who is ranked 29 places above him,
in a three-game battle that went down to the wire much to the
delight of the packed-out crowd.
The 2016 winner of the tournament rolled back the years as he used
his experience to prevail in a topsy-turvy clash and will now face
2021 Qatar Classic champion Diego Elias in the second round. After
the match, Castagnet admitted it could be his last outing at the
event.
“I was just thinking I am going to retire from the PSA World Tour
soon and my biggest success has been here at the Canary Wharf
Classic and my only thoughts were to keep going and play one more
match because I will never be back playing here again.”
Fellow Frenchmen Baptiste Masotti and Victor Crouin will join him in
the second round following their wins over Egypt’s Moustafa El Sirty
and English wildcard Joshua Masters on the opening day of action.
Masotti was forced to do things the hard way in both games against
the rising star of the Tour El Sirty as a nervous start from both
players saw scrappy rallies before the Frenchman began to find his
length and accuracy.
More decisions followed in the second game with Masotti unhappy with
El Sirty’s movement. However, he managed to keep his focus and hold
off the 20-year-old’s attacking prowess to prevail 14-12, 14-12. He
will face Welshman Joel Makin in the second round on Tuesday.
“I’m sorry guys, the match was awful, to be honest,” said Masotti in
his post-match interview. “He is playing well, but when he’s doing
these kinds of things he will never be respected. You need to
respect your opponent, I tried to play my best, I’m sorry for this
awful match, I found a way to win. He is a very good player but I
can’t respect what he is doing on court.”
Meanwhile, Crouin overturned a 6-0 deficit in the first game with
English wildcard Joshua Masters before comfortably prevailing 11-2
in the second to secure a second-round meeting with World No.1 and
defending champion Paul Coll.
Elsewhere, it continued to be a good couple of weeks in London for
Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller as he moved past France’s World No.39
Auguste Dussourd by an 11-1, 7-11, 11-3 margin.
Mueller will face Egypt’s Marwan ElShorbagy in the next round, with
the two playing each other just last week when the ‘Swiss Rocket’
caused an upset at the Optasia Championships in Wimbledon.
Round two of the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic takes place from
18:00 local time (GMT) tomorrow (March 14) when the top half of the
draw, including World No.1 Coll, begin their tournaments. Action
will be shown live on
Matthew and Gaultier to Renew Rivalry in Dunlop
Legends Challenge ahead of GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Squash Classic
Final
A
major squash rivalry will be rekindled when Nick Matthew meets
Gregory Gaultier in a Dunlop Legends Challenge on finals night at
the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Squash Classic.
The two former World Champions will play ahead of the final on
Friday March 18 before a sellout crowd at Canary Wharf’s spectacular
East Wintergarden venue.
They met in the Canary Wharf Classic final in 2010 when Matthew
triumphed 12-10, 6-11, 13-11, 11-3 in 69 minutes of intense,
physical squash.
It was Matthew’s first Canary Wharf title and he went on to win the
event six times, overtaking four-time winner James Willstrop in the
process.
That 2010 clash was Gaultier’s only appearance in a Canary Wharf
final, and Matthew’s victory tasted even sweeter after an epic
semi-final battle with fellow Yorkshireman Willstrop the previous
night, which lasted 127 minutes.
The appearance of Matthew and Gaultier at Canary Wharf will herald
the relaunch of the Dunlop Squash Roadshow programme, which was
postponed during lockdown.
Sheffield-based Matthew is delighted to be spearheading the project,
saying: "Canary Wharf is the ideal venue to restart the Dunlop
Roadshows that we were doing before lockdown. We reincarnated the
idea as a Jonah Barrington-style Roadshow with myself leading it and
obviously that is a massive honour for me to be able to do that.
“In terms of the Dunlop Legends Challenge match, I am really looking
forward to once again savouring the special atmosphere of finals
night at Canary Wharf.
“Along with the Tournament of Champions finals night in New York,
Canary Wharf has that unbelievable buzz to it. I enjoyed getting on
court with Ramy Ashour at the Grand Central Terminal in New York
when Ramy tried out his new scoring system, and I was part of Canary
Wharf finals night in November. This time I’m looking forward to
being part of it again, but actually on the court this time.
“Hopefully we will put on a great show for the crowd. I know both of
us are still in good shape and can still put up a good show. I am
really excited to showcase ourselves and the Dunlop brand, relaunch
the Roadshow and have a bit of fun with the crowd.
“Dunlop have some exciting plans to take the Roadshow round some key
clubs across the UK and I’m looking forward to those events helping
to build the game back up.
“Obviously I played at Canary Wharf a lot more times than Greg did,
but I remember us having a couple of really good battles on that
court and it will be fun to have one last one for the crowd.
“We will of course enjoy the legendary Canary Wharf hospitality
after the match as well, which is a big part of the whole occasion.
Gregory Gaultier added: “I’m delighted to come back to Canary Wharf
and play Nick for the Dunlop Legends Challenge match. We have both
been representing Dunlop for 20-plus years and it’s great to keep
involved with the brand that supported us over the years.
“I have been keeping in shape, and I’m looking forward to seeing
everyone again in London and playing in that beautiful venue.”
Dunlop Squash Category Manager Steve Heatley said: “What a fantastic
opportunity to watch two legends of the Dunlop brand, and our great
sport, get back on court at Canary Wharf.
“Nick and Greg were both World Champions, World No.1s and down the
years both players played some great matches at Canary Wharf, one of
the leading venues for international squash.
“As Dunlop Ambassadors, Nick and Greg are still heavily involved
with the brand and I’m sure their rivalry will re-ignite and they
will put on a great show.”
A
major squash rivalry will be rekindled when Nick Matthew meets
Gregory Gaultier in a Dunlop Legends Challenge on finals night at
the GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Squash Classic.
