Ashour, Willstrop Advance In NAO 1st Round Top Half, Mosaad Beats Delierre
by Alan Thatcher
photos Dan Bogosh
February 25, 2013 - Egyptian maestro Ramy Ashour rekindled his love affair with Richmond in a hugely entertaining match against determined English underdog Chris Simpson.
The advertising campaigns say Virginia is for lovers. Well, the Virginians certainly love having Ramy in town for the Davenport North American Open, one of the elite group of PSA World Series events which has rocked up in Richmond for a tenth anniversary tournament this year.
Ashour has a genius that can't be coached, a touch and feel for the ball that not only his fans in the crowd wish they could emulate, but so too do most of the leading professionals who share the court with him.
Having won the North American Open back in 2009, and lost the last three finals, Ashour returns as world champion, world number and top seed for a week of high-calibre squash on the glass court at the Westwood Club.
He threatened to roll aside English challenger Chris Simpson as he won the opening game 11-4 as Simpson nervously mis-hit three clear openings for winners.
However, the crowd got behind Simpson as the two 25-year-olds locked horns in the second game.
Simpson matched Ashour's artistry at the front of the court and held game ball at 10-8.
But the Egyptian hit back and thought he had won the game, only for Simpson's video review appeal to overrule the referee's decision.
The Englishman closed out the game 14-12, the crowd roared and the smile disappeared from Ashour's face for the first time in the match.
Back on court, he ruthlessly set about his business in the third game, attacking at every opportunity to win it 11-4 in quick time.
Simpson battled heroically throughout the fourth, but Ashour's skill level was in another galaxy as he clinched victory in 43 minutes.
The delighted Ashour told the Richmond crowd; "It's great to be back but I might have to avoid the wonderful hospitality on offer this week because I need to keep in shape and stay focused.
"A lot of great players are in this tournament and Cameron Pilley will be a tough test in the next round. He is a very good player and I have to take it one match at a time.
"It's great to be back at number one but a lot of stresses and issues come with that, and I need to keep the demons at bay."
Ashour’s brother Hisham also booked a place in the second round against fellow Egyptian Karim Darwish with a surprise win over the younger and fitter Indian number one Saurav Ghosal.
The 30-year-old Ashour looked a little rusty but still managed to produce a succession of blindingly powerful shots to overcome Ghosal.
Darwish heaved a sigh of relief after seeing off an immense challenge from French qualifier Mathieu Castagnet for the second year in a row in this tournament.
Castagnet won the second game and the scoreline illustrates just how hard he worked and how tantalizingly close he came to scoring a major upset.
Reigning champion James Willstrop looked in dazzling form as he won a Battle of Britain clash against Scottish number one Alan Clyne in straight games in just 28 minutes.
Australian Pilley was even quicker as he blitzed his way past Egyptian qualifier Ali Anwar Reda oin just 27 minutes.
Davenport North American Open Squash Championship (PSA World Series Platinum Event) Westwood Club, Richmond, Virginia.
First Round:
(1) Ramy Ashour (Egypt) beat Chris Simpson (England) 11-4, 12-14, 11-4, 11-6 (43 mins)
(3) James Willstrop (England) beat Alan Clyne (Scotland) 11-3, 11-6, 11-8 (28 mins)
Omar Mosaad (Egypt) beat Shawn Delierre (Canada) 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-8 (48 mins)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Colombia) 3-1 Nafizwan Adnan (Malaysia) 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 11-1 (44 mins)
(5) Karim Darwish (Egypt) beat (Q) Mathieu Castagnet (France) 11-5, 10-12, 11-9, 12-10 (65 mins)
Cameron Pilley (Australia0 3-0 Ali Anwar Reda (Egypt) 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 (27 mins)
Simon Rosner (Germany) 3-1 Steve Coppinger (RSA) 11-8, 10-12, 11-5, 11-8 (64 mins)
Hisham Ashour (Egypt) bt Saurav Ghosal (India) 7-11, 11-6, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9 (59 mins)
Today (Tuesday) Bottom half of the first round draw. Play starts at 12 noon.
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v (Q) Joe Lee (Eng)
Adrian Grant (ENG) v Shahier Razik (CAN)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v (Q) Yasir Butt (Pak)
[7] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) v (Q) Campbell Grayson (NZ)
Max Lee (HKG) v Olli Tuominen (FIN)
Tarek Momen (EGY) v (Q) Chris Gordon (USA)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Laurens Jan Anjema (NED)
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