Egyptian Quartet Makes History At 2016 British Open by Sean Reuthe photos squashpics.com
March 26, 2016 -
The final of the 2016 Allam British Open, PSA World Series tournament,
will feature four Egyptians for the first time in the history of the
prestigious event after Ramy Ashour, Mohamed Elshorbagy, Nouran Gohar
and Nour El Sherbini all secured semi-final wins in Hull’s Airco Arena.
Ashour
earned his place in the showpiece finale after coming through a
spectacular 74-minute encounter against World Champion Gregory
Gaultier. The duo drew loud applause from a capacity crowd at the end
of a series of brutal, breathtaking rallies, full to the brim with
attacking artistry and frantic retrieving from both combatants.
Ashour
looked to have conceded the initiative after allowing a two-game lead
to slip through his grasp but he recovered from five-points down in the
fifth to take an 11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7 victory through to the
next stage.
“When the injury happened to me in November in
Seattle I was thinking that I was done,” said Ashour, who was making
his first appearance in four months after a hamstring injury sustained
in the World Championship.
“For some reason, I didn’t
remember where the years went. I would go back and watch and I wouldn’t
feel anything. I was thinking that there was something wrong there.
“I
was thinking about losing the match in the fifth. At the same time,
you’re playing the World Champion. It’s a mental battle, not just
physically. There’s no words to describe how I’m feeling. It was very
dreamy for me just to be back."
Meanwhile, defending
champion Elshorbagy advanced to the final for a second successive year
after sweeping to victory against compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad.
Elshorbagy
dominated the 44-minute spectacle and gave Gawad very little chance to
attack with a series of punishing drives keeping his younger compatriot
rooted in the back of the court and he duly triumphed courtesy of an
11-8, 11-7, 11-7 scoreline.
The World No.1 will take on
Ashour in a mouthwatering repeat of the 2014 World Championship final,
a match widely renowned to be one of the greatest of all time.
Elshorbagy is 7-1 down on the head-to-head record between the two but
admits he is looking forward to the encounter.
"Playing Ramy tomorrow will be completely different,” Elshorbagy said.
“I’m
three years younger than the older generation, Nick, Greg and Ramy and
I’ve been playing with them for so many years. I wasn’t relaxed when I
was playing them because I was trying to catch up with them and win
titles like them. This time, I know I have already won this title last
year so I will be a bit more relaxed.
“If we both stay
injury free we’re going to give something special for our sport. He
played an amazing match today because Greg [Gaultier] was playing so
well and it was great to see him moving and he has been getting better
every day. I am sure that, tomorrow, we will have such an amazing match
in front of an amazing crowd.”
The Women’s final will be a
battle between the two youngest finalists in British Open history with
18-year-old World Junior Champion Gohar set to meet El Sherbini, who
was just 16 years of age when she reached the 2012 final.
Gohar
played with pace and precision in a virtuoso performance against last
year’s winner Camille Serme to surge into a two-game advantage but a
resilient Serme fought back to ensure parity. A nail-biting fifth game
was decided by the narrowest of margins but it was Gohar who edged it
to reach her first ever World Series final, where she could become the
youngest ever Women’s winner - just two months after triumphing in the
the junior edition of the iconic tournament.
“It’s amazing, it’s a very good thing, it’s my biggest achievement so far being in the British Open final,” she said.
“I
was in the British Open Junior final just a few months ago and now I’m
in the final of the senior tournament. Being in the final of the most
prestigious tournament of the year is an unbelievable achievement. I’ve
been playing lots of tournaments, lots of matches so it has given me
experience and helped me improve my game."
El Sherbini
defeated five-time winner Nicol David with a superb 3-1 victory,
sending her into a final that will be completely dominated by Egyptians
- the first time a single nation has provided all four finalists since
Australia in 1977.
Results - Semi-finals Men's 2016 Allam British Open
