Gaultier and Shabana To Meet in the NetSuite Open Final on Tuesday Night by Blake Rhodes September 30, 2014 - SAN FRANCISCO —
No. 1 seed Gregory Gaultier (France) continued his streak of perfection
on the shores of San Francisco Bay this year to earn his third
consecutive trip to the NetSuite Open finals, defeating fourth seed
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Colombia) in three games. No. 2 seed Amr
Shabana (Egypt) ousted third seed Peter Barker (England) to earn his
first berth in the finals the PSA World Tour International 70
Tournament in San Francisco.
The world’s top player
has not lost a game over three matches in this tournament and will look
to reclaim the NetSuite Open title he won in 2012. Last year, Gaultier
lost the crown to Ramy Ashour in a tough five-game championship match.
The 31-year-old will appear in his 60th PSA Tour final tomorrow night
and will attempt to win his 30th title after dispatching Rodriguez 3-0
(11-6, 11-5, 11-3) in 41 minutes. Gaultier now owns a 5-0 lifetime
record against Rodriguez.
A four-time world
champion, Shabana needed four games to get past Barker (6-11, 11-8,
11-5, 11-5) in 55 minutes and has now won eight consecutive matches
against the Englishman. The 35-year-old will look to avenge his lone
defeat at the NetSuite Open, when he lost to Gaultier 3-0 in the 2012
semifinals. With 33 career titles, he is appearing in his 47th final. A
NetSuite Open victory would be his third of 2014, alongside his
Tournament of Champions (New York) and Grasshopper Cup (Zurich)
triumphs.
Shabana owns a 13-11
advantage in head-to-head matchups with Gaultier on the PSA World Tour,
with the world’s current top player claiming three of the last four
meetings. The last time these two players competed for a championship,
Shabana came out on top three games to none at the Tournament of
Champions in this January.
The final match will be played at 7:45 p.m. PDT tomorrow night at the Glass Court on the South Lawn at Justin Herman Plaza.
Prior to the
championship match, Alex Kurth of Vox Pop will face Sam Clayman of
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in the final of the Corporate Squash Challenge
to benefit SquashDrive. They competed in round robin play with Jeff
Mayorga (NetSuite), Luke Evnin (Cascade Management Capital), Lauren
Patrizio (Vista Equity Partners) and Stuart Knight (SquashDrive) in a
round robin tournament on the Glass Court today to earn their berth in
tomorrow’s final. Following the match, the Corporate Squash
Challenge participants will donate $25,000 to SquashDrive, the
after-school youth development program in Oakland that blends squash
instruction with academics, tutoring, mentoring and community service.
Below is a listing of Monday’s semifinal results:
·
No. 2 Amr Shabana (Egypt) def. No. 3 Peter Barker (England) 3-1 (6-11,
11-8, 11-5, 11-5) 55 min.
·
No. 1 Gregory Gaultier (France) def. No. 4 Miguel Angel Rodriguez
(Colombia) 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-3) 41 min.
Tuesday, September 30 Final
· 7:45 p.m. PDT: No. 1 Gregory Gaultier (France) vs. No. 2 Amr Shabana (Egypt)
