Ashour Beats Matthew 11-3 In The Third To Gain North American Open Final; Willstrop Over Gaultier
from DailySquashReport.com
photo courtesy Andrew Prezioso and Mary Johnson
February 25, 2012 - Former World #1 Ramy Ashour put on a dazzling display of offensive fireworks last night in besting England's Nick Matthew 12-10, 13-11 and 11-3 to advance to the finals of the 2012 Davenport North American Open in Virginia.
Ashour will face top seed James Willstrop, a four-game, 93-minute semi-final winner over Gregory Gaultier, in tonight's championship match.
The final will be streamed live on ESPN3 at 5:30pm EST.
The 24-year-old Ashour, out of Cairo, showed no ill-effects of the hamstring injury that had sidelined him since early December. He fought back from 10-7 down in the first game, and 8-4 down in the second, before dominating the number-one-ranked Matthew in a sub-6-minute third game.
Matthew appeared rattled at the end of Game 1, as he tinned the return of serve trailing 11-10.
The match was marred slightly by both players leaving the court to argue various calls without being disciplined by the head referee.
Alan Thatcher files this report:
Egyptian squash genius Ramy Ashour showed he is back on top form by crushing world champion Nick Matthew to reach the final of the Davenport North American Open in Richmond, Virginia.
Ashour, the 24-year-old from strife-torn Cairo, has impressed all week on his comeback after injury. But against Matthew he stepped up a level with a performance that left England’s reigning champion exhausted after two games.
Ashour meets top seed James Willstrop in the final and will have another point to prove with the Englishman returning to the top of the PSA world rankings in March.
Willstrop wore down French No.4 seed Gregory Gaultier with a commanding performance in a 97-minute marathon that justified his status. That was impressive enough, but the crowd went wild at Ashour’s high-octane display.
The Egyptian fought back from 10-7 down in the first game to win 12-10 and produced a phenomenal recovery to win the second 13-11 after being 8-4 down. Matthew was demoralized after blowing two crucial leads and fell away badly in the third. Ashour took less than six minutes to win the third and complete victory in 52 minutes.
Diving around the court to retrieve what looked like certain winners, he played shots behind his back and conjured up a succession of astonishing winners that drew admiration from his fellow professionals.
Indian number one Saurav Ghosal Tweeted: “That proves Ramy is an alien – he plays squash from another planet.”
Ashour himself said: “I am so happy to be in the final and playing James. I want to thank everybody back home for helping me to get fit and my brother Hisham for helping me this week.
“It should be a great match against James. He is a fair and honest player and we always have close games.”
Matthew admitted: “Ramy was too sharp tonight. I have got some important lessons to learn from that. It was hard to push on in the third when I could and possibly should have been 2-0 up. I was weak in the third, though. I didn’t help myself with the amount of time I spent on court in the early rounds. I can’t beat Ramy like that. He’s too good.”
Matthew’s English rival Willstrop was also in outstanding form as he completed his fourth consecutive victory over Gaultier to reach his first Richmond final since winning here in 2008, against the Frenchman.
After the opening two games took almost an hour to complete, the 6ft 4in Willstrop’s superior strength was clearly evident as he dominated the third and fourth. Seven inches taller than Gaultier, Willstrop appeared to physically intimidate his opponent, who complained to tournament referee Mike Riley that his path to the ball was being blocked.
However, in the later stages of the match the issue was fitness and conditioning, and that’s where committed vegetarian Willstrop had the edge.
A year ago, Willstrop was left exhausted by the enormous demands of endless matches and gruelling travel schedules.
He admitted: “I suffered a bit of a meltdown when all the matches and the flights caught up with me. Since then I have tried to be a bit smarter with the way I do things.”
Willstrop, who beat Gaultier in the 2008 final, added: “I am very satisfied to beat the world number three and looking forward to the final.
“It’s been a long time since my last one. It’s great to have Ramy back in action this week, hitting nicks from everywhere and entertaining the crowds.”
Results, $115,000 PSA North American Open, Richmond, Virginia
Semi-finals:
(1) James Willstrop (England) beat (3) Gregory Gaultier (France) 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5 (97m)
(4) Ramy Ashour (Egypt) beat (2) Nick Matthew (England) 12-10, 13-11, 11-3 (52m)
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