Shoukry Shoots Through To Nash Cup Semis
by Howard Harding
23 September 2011 - Egypt's Andrew Wagih Shoukry became the only unseeded player to make the semi-finals of the Nash Cup in Canada after a five-game quarter-final victory in the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event at London Squash Rackets Club in London, Ontario.
It was in the opening round that the 20-year-old from Cairo made his breakthrough - upsetting fourth-seeded Englishman Joe Lee in four games.
But Shoukry then had to fight back from two games down to take out a second Englishman, Olivier Pett 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 in 78 minutes.
"I have done a lot of work on my fitness and feel like I can compete with the better players now," explained the world No71. "My coach Hossam has done some great work with me and I thank him for that. I felt I made far too many errors in the first games but Oli played well and forced me to try things.
"Oli doesn't play your typical English game - he plays more like us (Egyptians). He moves the ball around well. I'm very happy and can't wait for tomorrow!"
Shoukry now faces Jan Koukal, the No2 seed from the Czech Republic. The Czech champion beat rising Canadian star Andrew Schnell 11-9, 11-8, 11-8.
"I watched Andrew play in the world teams and he played well so I knew I needed to be on my game tonight," said world No48 Koukal. "It was tough and there were a lot of hard rallies. There was not a great deal of difference between us tonight. I just felt I played the big points better."
There is local interest in the other semi-final where third seed Shawn Delierre takes on top-seeded New Zealander Martin Knight.
Delierre, the world No54 from Montreal, survived his quarter-final when English qualifier Eddie Charlton conceded the match at 9-11, 11-8, 11-3.
"I was up all night vomiting and felt really weak going into the match - I couldn't even warm up properly," explained Charlton later. "I sneaked the first by slowing the game down and was close in the second but then I was spent.
"I hate retiring from a match as I believe that when you step on court, you should see it through but I really had nothing left and didn't want to make it worse. Credit to Shawn though, he is looking good."
Knight despatched Canadian qualifier David Letourneau 11-4, 11-2, 11-4.
Delierre
Letourneau-Knight
Koukal
SchnellDAVE MORRISH FILED THIS REPORT
The tournament is reaching the business end now and the top seeds came
through. There was some very entertaining squash which the crowd loved
(they are a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic crowd at the London Squash
Racquets Club.
Martin Knight, top seed, got the evening going with a very clinical
performance against Dave Letourneau. Next up was Eddie Charlton against
Shawn Delierre and agreat match was anticipated but Eddie was forced to
retire after the 3rd after being up all night with a sickness bug. Fellow
Englishman Oli Pett could not capitalize on a 2-0 lead against Andrew
Wagih, and Jan Koukal, defending champion, closed proceedings with a
clinical straight games win over Andrew Schnell.
MARTIN KNIGHT (NEW ZEALAND) beat DAVID LETOURNEAU (CANADA) 11-4; 11-2;
11-4 (41 MINS)
It will be hard to find a match between 2 nicer guys who are also
exceptionally fair. As the score would suggest, Martin had too much for
David, but what it doesn’t show is how competitive each rally was. This
was a great match and the crowd loved it.
Martin Knight:
“really happy with the way I played tonight. Dave had 3 matches prior to
this compared to my 1 so I set out to make it as hard as possible for him.
I kept the ball low and flat as he is a superb volleyer. He was in each
rally and I felt towards the end of each game that he dropped off a
fraction and I was able to close it out. Good player. Very happy to be in
the semis.
David Letourneau:
“Every rally was so long and played at such a high pace. He was so quick
onto the ball that I felt I lost my first step. He really took it out of
me. I did my best to slow it down but it dint change much other than to
give me some respite! He made about 2 errors in the whole match. I felt I
played well – he was just too good. I played 4 matches here and had an
amazing time – Jay Nash has put on one hell of an event here!”
SHAWN DELIERR (CANADA) beat EDDIE CHARLTON (ENGLAND) 9-11; 11-8; 11-3
RETIRED (44 MINS)
This match was a potential thriller and it certainly started off that way.
It became clear to those of us that know Eddie that something was not
right – he was slowing the game down a lot more that he usually does and
seemed lethargic. He sneaked the first and narrowly lost the second and
then it was all down hill. It later transpired that Eddie had been up most
of the night vomiting. Nothing should be taken away from Shawn though – he
looked strong and looked like he could stay on court all night!
Shawn Delierre:
Never nice to win like that but I felt food tonight and felt I could have
closed it out. Some of my A game was there tonight! Feeling really fit and
have been preparing well for each match. I have come here to do my best
and am really looking forward to the semis tomorrow”
Eddie Charlton:
“I was up all night vomiting and felt really weak going into the match (I
couldn’t even warm up properly). I sneaked the first by slowing the game
down and was close in the 2nd but then I was spent. I hate retiring from a
match as I believe that when you step on court, you should see it through
but I really had nothing left and didn’t want to make it worse. Credit to
Shawn though, he is looking good.
ANDREW WAGIH beat OLIVER PETT (ENGLAND) 9-11; 9-11; 11-7; 11-5; 11-8 (78
MINS)
This was a real crowd pleaser! The game was really played in 2 halves with
the first half belonging to Oli with his discipline squash. He really
closed the court down and forced Andrew into a number of unforced errors.
Andrew started to cut out his errors and played some scintillating squash,
full of “Egyptian flare”. Oli was definitely not out of it but lacks of
concentration let Andrew back in after having leads in both the 4th and
5th, and Andrew reeled of 4 or 5 points on the trot each time. Great game.
Andrew Wagih:
“I have done a lot of work on my fitness and feel like I can compete with
the better players now. My coach Hossam has done some great work with me
and I thank him for that. I felt I made far too many errors in the first 2
games but Oli played well and forced me to try things. I tried to cut the
errors out and be more patient and got more and more confident as the game
went on. Oli doesn’t play your typical English game, he plays more like us
(Egyptians). He moves the ball around well. Very happy and can’t wait for
tomorrow!”
Oli Pett:
“Very disappointed – let that one get away. I was 2-0 up and playing well
but then lost focus and started to open up the court and made errors – too
many! I still felt I could win – he looked tired but somehow he managed to
hang in there. My errors gave him momentum and confidence. Should have
kept the door closed. Disappointing.
JAN KOUKAL (CZECH REPUBLIC) beat ANDREW SCHNELL (CANADA) 11-9; 11-8; 11-8
(33 MINS)
This was the last game of the evening. At times the players looked like
they were doing training routines! They were good routines though! Andrew
is as quick as his name would suggest but Jan just had that little bit too
much at the end of each game. He won quite a few points with his hard low
cross court that died just before the front of the service box. The
rallies were good from both players.
Jan Koukal:
“I watched Andrew play in the world teams and he played well so I knew I
needed to be on my game tonight. It was tough and there were a lot of hard
rallies. There was not a great deal of difference between us tonight, I
just felt I played the big points better. Very happy to have won in 3!”
Andrew Schnell:
“I came here with high expectations after a great summer’s training and
the experience I gained at the world team championships with Canada. I was
in each game and was even 7-2 up in the 3rd, but each time I got close to
the finishing line, Jan made the rallies harder and played tighter. He
definitely played the big points better than I did. I have a lot of
respect for him, he is a class player"
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Nash Cup, London, Ontario, Canada
1st round:
[1] Martin Knight (NZL) bt Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 11-1 (56m)
[Q] David Letourneau (CAN) bt Charles Sharpes (ENG) 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 (57m)
[Q] Eddie Charlton (ENG) bt Zac Alexander (AUS) 11-9, 13-11, 20-18 (60m)
[3] Shawn Delierre (CAN) bt Yann Perrin (FRA) 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (62m)
Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) bt [4] Joe Lee (ENG) 5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-4 (45m)
Olivier Pett (ENG) bt Alfredo Avila (MEX) 7-11, 11-3, 11-6, 11-6 (38m)
Andrew Schnell (CAN) bt [Q] Stefan Casteleyn (BEL) 5-5 ret.
[2] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [Q] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) 11-6, 11-2, 9-11, 11-0 (39m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Martin Knight (NZL) bt [Q] David Letourneau (CAN) 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 (41m)
[3] Shawn Delierre (CAN) bt [Q] Eddie Charlton (ENG) 9-11, 11-8, 11-3 ret. (44m)
Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) bt Olivier Pett (ENG) 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (78m)
[2] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Andrew Schnell (CAN) 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (33m)
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Martin Knight (NZL) v [3] Shawn Delierre (CAN)
[2] Jan Koukal (CZE) v Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY)
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