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Saudi International 2006
December 16th
- 20th |
Reports
Final
Shabana Celebrates Saudi Success In Year-End
Event
Egypt's Amr Shabana, who kicked off
the year with victory in his first
tournament, rounded off 2006 in fine style
when he clinched the Saudi International
title after beating Frenchman Gregory
Gaultier in straight games in the final
of the PSA Super Series Platinum
event in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
It was the 20th PSA Tour final
appearance for both players, but the fifth
title of the year – and the 14th
of his career - for the 27-year-old world
number one from Cairo who took 44 minutes to
quash Gaultier, the No7 seed, 11-7, 11-9,
11-4.
Gaultier, the 23-year-old from
Aix-en-Provence who has had a meteoric rise
up the rankings this year – starting at 12
and finishing at four – was appearing in his
third successive PSA final after upsetting
third seed Thierry Lincou and No2 seed
David Palmer in the previous two
rounds.
"I think Greg had a harder route to the final
than I had. I was fresher and also more
determined than he was, I didn’t have the
pressure," top seed Shabana said
afterwards.
Gaultier was surprisingly upbeat after the
match: "I’m disappointed, of course, but not
that much. It's a positive result and a great
end of the year."
Shabana's Saudi success moves him into third
place amongst current players in the list of
PSA title-holders, behind David Palmer with
19 titles and Thierry Lincou with 18. The
Egyptian's next appearance will be at the
World Squash Awards at the RAC Club in
London on Friday (22 December) where he is
one of the nominations for PSA Player
of the Year.
Semi Finals
Shabana & Gaultier To Contest Saudi
International Final In Al Khobar
In their fifth Tour meeting over the past
three months, favourite Amr Shabana
and seventh seed Gregory Gaultier will
contest the final of the Saudi
International after demanding semi-final
clashes in the Super Series Platinum
event which rounds off the PSA Tour
year in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
Both players, despite being four years apart
in age, are celebrating their 20th
appearances in PSA Tour finals – Frenchman
Gaultier his third in a row in the past five
weeks and Shabana, the world number one from
Egypt, his sixth this year.
Shabana recovered from a game down to beat
England's fourth seed James Willstrop
7-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-9 in 49 minutes.
"It’s always a mind game between James and I,
and I think it’s good for the squash when we
play together," the 27-year-old from Cairo
told said
afterwards. "It’s squash at its highest
quality."
In the other match, Gaultier gained revenge
for the five match-balls he failed to convert
against David Palmer in the World
Open final in September, beating the
Australian 11-8, 11-2, 11-9 in 43 minutes.
"I’ve tried to give my 100% on every ball, on
every rally, and not to give anything away,"
said the 23-year-old from Aix-en-Provence
after his impressive upset.
Palmer, the world champion ranked two in the
world, was not too unhappy with his
performance: "I really struggled to move
tonight, the body was not responding. After
the first game, Greg's confidence just grew
and grew, and the way he plays at the moment,
he just believes in his game."
Despite never having been ahead of Shabana in
the world rankings, Gaultier boasts a 5-2
head-to-head record over the top-ranked
Egyptian – including a 3/1 victory in the
US Open final in November.
Quarter Finals
Gaultier Chalks Up
Second Win Against Team-Mate Thierry
The French squash pecking
order is on the verge of its first major
change for eight years after Gregory
Gaultier recorded his second PSA Tour
win over compatriot
Thierry Lincou,
the long-established French number one, in
the quarter-finals of the Saudi
International.
Gaultier, the 23-year-old
seventh seed from Aix-en-Provence who is
ranked four in the world - now just one place
behind his French team-mate in the Dunlop
PSA World Rankings – beat third seed
Lincou 11-9, 11-7, 11-10 (2-0) in 56 minutes
to reach the semi-finals of the final major
international squash event of the year
in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
"I feel sorry for him, it’s hard to play
against each other," Gaultier said
afterwards. "I know what it is to lose
against him, the last time we played he beat
me, today I beat him, so in a way I’m happy
to have won the match, but on the other hand
I’m sorry to have beaten my best mate."
Remarkably, it was the
pair's sixth Tour clash this year – with
Lincou's current all-time 7-2 head-to-head
lead looking in jeopardy of further erosion
in the future.
"Greg really likes those
conditions, it suits his game, and on such a
cold court, it’s very hard to retrieve,"
explained the 30-year-old former world number
one from Marseille. "It was very close, very
close indeed, but he was just a bit better
than I was. I could never get ahead, even
when I was leading, and I couldn’t get the
third, that he won with three superb backhand
winners."
Gaultier, just one match
away from his third successive PSA Tour
final, takes on No2 seed David Palmer
in a repeat of the World Open final –
won by the Australian – in Egypt. Palmer
toiled for 52 minutes to overcome England's
British Open champion Nick Matthew,
the No6 seed, 11-10 (5-3), 11-7, 6-11, 11-7.
The match will be Palmer's sixth successive
semi-final since becoming world champion in
September.
The other semi-final
between Egypt's top seed Amr Shabana
and England's
James Willstrop
will also be a replay
of a an earlier classic confrontation – in
the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open
in October.
Shabana, the world number
one from Cairo who had not dropped a game on
his way to the last eight, continued his fine
run of form with an 11-7, 11-7, 11-6
dismissal of compatriot Mohammed Abbas
in just 28 minutes. Abbas, the 15th
seed, had achieved his unscheduled appearance
in the last eight after upsetting
eighth-seeded fellow countryman Karim
Darwish in the previous round.
"I’ve been training with
Mohammed every day for the past 10 or 11
years, there is no surprise. It’s always the
same when two Egyptian players play against
each other, it’s who plays the tighter and
better," explained the left-hander who boasts
four PSA Tour titles this year, including
three Super Series. "Today, it was my turn
to play well, I’m glad."
James Willstrop, the
fourth seed from Pontefract eager to make up
for disappointing runs in his previous two
PSA events, was in sparkling form as he
defeated Australia's fifth seed Anthony
Ricketts 8-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5, 11-10
(3-1) in 58 minutes. The win cements the
Englishman's place in the 2007 Super
Series Finals, but rules out Ricketts's
chances of defending his title next May in
London.
"It's disappointing to
lose, it was a big match for me - I wanted to
get back on track before Christmas after a
fairly poor run of results," said a
disconsolate Ricketts later. "I knew I
needed to win to guarantee a Super Series
Finals place, and my gut feel is that the
quarters here wasn't quite enough. I'd have
loved to defend that title, but we'll just
have to see how it goes."
Round 2
Darwish Downed In Second Domestic Duel
After beating his higher-ranked fellow
countryman Ramy Ashour in the first
round of the Saudi International,
Egyptian Karim Darwish went down to
lower-ranked compatriot Mohammed Abbas
in the second round of the final major
international squash event of the year
in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
Abbas, the 15th seed from Cairo –
and the fifth highest-ranked Egyptian in the
Dunlop PSA World Rankings – brushed
aside eighth-seeded Darwish 11-9, 11-5, 11-6
in just 29 minutes to record the only upset
on the second day of this PSA Super Series
Platinum event in its second year.
"I’ve been losing all my matches to him for
the past five to six years - I’ve lost so
many finals against him, and every time I
lose, it grows in my head, what I’m supposed
to do to beat him," Abbas said
"Today I was blessed, all my shots just came
in. I told my mother to pray for me, I guess
she must have done!" added Abbas, who now
meets Egyptian favourite Amr Shabana
in the quarter-finals.
The 2007 Saudi International is providing the
world's top players the final chance to earn
points to qualify for next year's Super
Series Finals, the annual event which
showcases the eight most successful players
in the previous year's PSA Super Series
events.
Darwish, the world No9 from Cairo, lies in
eighth place in the latest standings – but
could lose his qualification place to
Anthony Ricketts if the Australian
title-holder (currently ninth in the list)
reaches the semi-finals.
Fifth seed Ricketts overcame Finland's 12th
seed Olli Tuominen 11-10 (3-1), 11-9,
11-9 and will now face
James Willstrop
in the quarter-finals. The fourth-seeded
Englishman also had a straightforward second
round win, avenging his Pontefract club
team-mate Lee Beachill's shock first
round loss to Joey Barrington by
cruising to an 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 victory over
the English qualifier in just 28 minutes.
Willstrop, virtually assured of a place in
the 2007 Super Series Finals, lost to
Ricketts in the 2006 event – but boasts a 4-3
head-to-head record over the defending
champion.
A French rivalry which has grown in intensity
throughout the year - and produced two
dramatic PSA Tour finals – will be replayed
for the sixth time on the Tour in 2006 when
world No3
Thierry Lincou
takes on the new world No4 Gregory
Gaultier in the quarter-finals.
Lincou, the third seed battled for 52 minutes
to quash England's 14th seed
Adrian Grant
11-4, 3-11, 11-3, 11-5, while Gaultier, the
No7 seed, outplayed the other surprise
qualifier in the last sixteen when he beat
Egypt's Hisham Mohd Ashour 11-5, 11-5,
11-6.
Round 1
Barrington Beats Beachill In Saudi Surprise
England's Joey Barrington twice
recovered from a game down to beat compatriot
Lee Beachill in the biggest upset
on the opening day of action in the Saudi
International, the final major
international squash event of the year
in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
Beachill, a quarter-finalist
in this PSA Super Series Platinum event
a year ago, was looking for a good run in the
event to capture a late place in next year's
Super Series Finals - the eight-man event
which features the top eight players from this
year's PSA Super Series tournaments, in which
the 29-year-old Yorkshireman has competed for
the past four years.
But his opponent, son of the
illustrious six-times British Open champion
Jonah Barrington, was determined to make
the most of the qualifying slot he earned in
September, after losing out at the first round
stage in the inaugural event in 2005.
Barrington, 26, from
Glastonbury in Somerset, battled for 76 minutes
to achieve his impressive 5-11, 11-9, 6-11,
11-9, 11-7 upset over the England
international, ranked 10 in the world. His
next opponent will be another fellow Englishman
– and Pontefract stable-mate of Lee Beachill –
James Willstrop, who eased to an 11-3,
11-3, 11-7 win over Canada's Shahier Razik.
At the end of a long, and
surprisingly rain-soaked, day in Saudi Arabia,
Egyptian qualifier Hisham Mohd Ashour
also claimed a seed scalp when he beat No10
seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar 11-10 (5-3),
11-8, 10-11 (0-2), 11-6 in 45 minutes. It was
the end of a disappointing week for the
Malaysian who was beaten into second place in
the Asian Games championship in Qatar 48
hours earlier.
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SAUDI INTERNATIONAL
2006
$130,000
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Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Quarters |
Semis |
Final |
16th
Dec |
17th Dec |
18th Dec |
19th Dec |
20th Dec |
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy)
11/2, 11/6, 11/5 (30m)
Cameron Pilley (Aus) |
Amr Shabana
11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (31m)
Alex Gough |
Amr Shabana
11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (28m)
Mohammed Abbas |
Amr Shabana
7-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-9 (49m)
James Willstrop |
Amr Shabana
11-7, 11-9, 11-4 (44m)
Gregory Gaultier
|
[16] Alex Gough (Wal)
11/10(7-5), 11/5, 11/8 (56m)
[Q] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) |
[8] Karim Darwish (Egy)
7/11, 11/10(2-0), 11/6, 11/6 (51m)
Ramy Ashour (Egy) |
Karim Darwish
11-9, 11-5, 11-6 (29m)
Mohammed Abbas |
[15] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
10/11(0-2), 11/6, 11/6, 11/3 (42m)
Peter Barker (Eng) |
[4] James Willstrop (Eng)
11/3, 11/3, 11/7 (37m)
Shahier Razik (Can) |
James Willstrop
11-6, 11-3, 11-8 (28m)
Joey Barrington |
James Willstrop
8-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5, 11-10 (3-1) (58m)
Anthony Ricketts |
[9] Lee Beachill (Eng)
5/11, 11/9, 6/11, 11/9, 11/7 (76m)
[Q] Joey Barrington (Eng) |
[5] Anthony Ricketts (Aus)
11/5, 11/8, 11/8 (22m)
[Q] Shahid Zaman (Pak) |
Anthony Ricketts
11-10 (3-1), 11-9, 11-9 (37m)
Olli Tuominen |
[12] Olli Tuominen (Fin)
11/3, 11/2, 11/3 (24m)
Mohammed Taher Al-Saif (Ksa) |
Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/10(5-3), 11/8, 10/11(0-2), 11/6 (45m)
[10] Azlan Iskandar (Mas) |
Hisham Ashour
11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (35m)
Gregory Gaultier |
Gregory Gaultier
11-9, 11-7, 11-10 (2-0) (56m)
Thierry Lincou |
Gregory Gaultier
11-8, 11-2, 11-9 (43m)
David Palmer |
[Q] Simon Parke (Eng)
11/8, 11/3, 11/5 (44m)
[7] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) |
Borja Golan (Esp)
1/11, 6/11, 11/10(3-1), 11/5, 11/10(2-0) (94m)
[14] Adrian Grant (Eng) |
Adrian Grant
11-4, 3-11, 11-3, 11-5 (52m)
Thierry Lincou |
Wael El Hindi (Egy)
11/9, 11/9, 11/8 (47m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (Fra) |
[Q] Daryl Selby (Eng)
11/7, 11/6, 11/7 (39m)
[13] Stewart Boswell (Aus) |
Stewart Boswell
11-5, 11-8, 11-10 (2-0) (54m)
Nick Matthew |
Nick Matthew
11-10 (5-3), 11-7, 6-11, 11-7 (52m)
David Palmer |
[Q] Alister Walker (Eng)
11/8, 11/6, 6/11, 11/7 (52m)
[6] Nick Matthew (Eng) |
[Q] Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak)
6/11, 11/8, 11/6, 4/11, 11/8 (63m)
[11] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) |
Ong Beng Hee
11-9, 11-6, 10-11 (4-6), 11-6 (65m)
David Palmer |
Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
11/7, 10/11(1-3), 11/5, 11/8 (46m)
[2] David Palmer (Aus) |
Qualifying
Qualifying finals: |
Laurens Jan Anjema
(NED) bt Ben Garner (ENG) |
11-7, 11-6, 11-2
(35m) |
Hisham Mohd Ashour
(EGY) bt Julian Illingworth (USA)
|
11-6, 11-6, 11-7
(28m) |
Daryl Selby (ENG)
bt Davide Bianchetti (ITA) |
8-11, 11-10 (2-0),
3-11, 11-9, 11-2 (98m) |
Simon Parke (ENG)
bt Mark Chaloner (ENG) |
10-11 (2-4), 11-6,
11-7, 11-4 (60m) |
Aamir Atlas Khan
(PAK) bt Jean-Michel Arcucci (FRA) |
11-10 (5-3), 11-10
(2-0), 8-11, 11-5 (64m) |
Shahid Zaman (PAK)
bt Bradley Ball (ENG) |
11-8, 11-9, 10-11
(1-3), 1-11, 11-9 (66m) |
Alister Walker
(ENG) bt Joseph Kneipp (AUS) |
11-3, 11-2, 2-0
ret. (22m) |
Joey Barrington
(ENG) bt Stacey Ross (ENG) |
9-11, 11-9, 11-7,
11-2 (59m) |
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1st qualifying
round: |
Laurens Jan Anjema
(NED) bt Arthur Gaskin (IRL) |
11-6, 11-4, 11-6 |
Ben Garner (ENG) bt
Jago Nardelli (ENG) |
11-5, 11-6, 11-9 |
Julian Illingworth
(USA) bt Dylan Bennett (NED) |
11-5, 9-11, 11-2,
11-3 |
Hisham Mohd Ashour
(EGY) bt Rob Sutherland (WAL) |
11-10 (2-0), 11-2,
11-8 |
Davide Bianchetti
(ITA) bt Jason Barry (RSA) |
11-8, 11-5, 11-4 |
Daryl Selby (ENG)
bt Joe Lee (ENG) |
11-6, 11-6, 11-7 |
Simon Parke (ENG)
bt Yasir Butt (PAK) |
11-6, 11-6, 11-9 |
Mark Chaloner (ENG)
bt Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) |
11-3, 8-11, 11-8,
11-7 |
Aamir Atlas Khan
(PAK) bt Renan Lavigne (FRA) |
11-3, 11-7, 11-9 |
Jean-Michel Arcucci
(FRA) bt Lee Drew (ENG) |
5-11, 11-9, 11-7,
11-6 |
Bradley Ball (ENG)
bt Shawn Delierre (CAN) |
11-6, 11-7, 11-8 |
Shahid Zaman (PAK)
bt Chris Simpson (ENG) |
11-8, 11-9, 11-8 |
Joseph Kneipp (AUS)
bt Scott Handley (ENG) |
11-9, 11-10 (3-1),
11-4 |
Alister Walker
(ENG) bt Jesse Engelbrecht (ZIM) |
11-10 (2-0), 11-9,
11-8 |
Stacey Ross (ENG)
bt Tom Richards (ENG) |
7-11, 11-9, 11-5,
11-7 |
Joey Barrington
(ENG) bt Alex Stait (ENG) |
8-11, 11-4, 11-8,
11-0 |
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Saudi Sets Scene For Last Super Series Finals
Qualifying Chances
This week's Saudi Squash International,
the ninth and final PSA Super Series
event of the year, provides the final
opportunity for players to claim lucrative
places in the 2007 Super Series Finals
in London.
The Saudi International, in its second year
in the Saudi Arabian city of
Al Khobar,
gets underway on Saturday 16 December,
leading to the final on Wednesday (20
December). The second richest PSA event
of the year, the Saudi International boasts a
$130,000 prize-fund.
Egypt's world number one Amr Shabana
heads the latest Super Series standings –
compiled from points received from the eight
Super Series events so far this year.
Only the top eight players in the final list
will qualify for the 2007 Super Series
Finals.
Winner of the Hong Kong Open, PSA
Masters and Tournament of Champions,
Shabana is more than one thousand points
ahead of second-placed David Palmer,
the Australian who won the Windy City Open
in Chicago at the beginning of the year,
then clinched the World Open title for
the second time in Egypt in September.
Frenchman Gregory Gaultier is
currently in third place – and is certain to
finish in the top eight and thereby make his
Super Series Finals debut next year.
Ramy Ashour, the Egyptian teenager who
had never progressed beyond the first round
of a Super Series event before this year, is
in fifth place in the list – and, like
compatriot Karim Darwish, is set to
make his Finals debut in 2007.
However, the pair are scheduled to meet in
the first round in Al Khobar – and a win by
Ashour might jeopardise eighth-placed
Darwish's finish in the top eight.
Defending Super Series Finals champion
Anthony Ricketts will be looking for a
positive performance in Saudi. The
Australian is currently in ninth place in the
list – and will need to reach the
quarter-finals in Al Khobar to boost his
chances of returning to London's Broadgate
Arena.
Englishman Lee Beachill is also
currently out of contention: The world
No10 from Yorkshire has qualified each year
since 2003 – and was runner-up to Ricketts in
this year's final.
Gawain Briars,
Chief Executive of the PSA, commented:
"Reflecting the burgeoning condition of the
PSA Tour in general and the Super Series
badge in particular, we have player
competition that is on a knife edge to gain
the all-important Super Series ranking points
to qualify for the lucrative Super Series
Finals in Broadgate London next spring.
The tour is currently witness to an ongoing
spree of top class results whose
unpredictability challenges the most
experienced aficionados to pick certain
winners from any rounds. The professional
game is so much more exciting as a
consequence."
Current Super Series Standings (after
the Warid Pakistan Open, US Open,
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open, Al-Ahram World
Open, Liverpool 08 Open, Virtual Spectator
Bermuda PSA Masters, Bear Stearns Tournament
of Champions, and SSA Global Windy
City Open):
1
Amr Shabana (EGY)
8,618.75
2
David Palmer (AUS)
7,356.25
3
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
6,400.00
4
Thierry Lincou (FRA)
5,925.00
5
Ramy Ashour (EGY)
3,312.50
6
James Willstrop (ENG)
3,306.25
7
Nick Matthew (ENG)
3,143.75
8
Karim Darwish (EGY)
2,856.25
9
Anthony Ricketts (AUS)
2,381.25
10
Stewart Boswell (AUS)
2,225.00
11
Lee Beachill (ENG)
2,162.50
12
John White (SCO)
1,831.25
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Previews
Maximum
Reward For Pakistan In Saudi International
Qualifiers
Pakistan
achieved maximum returns from both their
players in the qualifying finals of the
Saudi International when Shahid Zaman and
Aamir Atlas Khan secured places in the main draw
of the PSA Super Series Platinum
event which will take place in Al Khobar,
Saudi Arabia, in December.
Khan became one of the
youngest players ever to earn a place in a PSA Super
Series event when he beat France's Jean-Michel Arcucci
11-10 (5-3), 11-10 (2-0), 8-11, 11-5 in 64 minutes on
the second day of the special qualifying event held at
St George's Hill in Surrey, England.
The
16-year-old from Peshawar, who is the reigning
Asian Junior (U19) champion, is making great
strides on the senior international circuit -
and reached the first round of last week's
World Open in Egypt as a qualifier.
Shahid Zaman, 24, from Quetta, beat England's
Bradley Ball 11-8, 11-9, 10-11 (1-3), 1-11,
11-9 in 66 minutes to join Khan in the Saudi
main draw.
Meanwhile England claimed four places in Saudi
with qualifying finals wins by Daryl Selby,
Simon Parke, Alister Walker and Joey
Barrington. |
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