US Open 2nd Half Quarters Predictions
from DailySquashReport.com

Wednesday October 10, 2012

Ramy Ashour v Peter Barker
The lefty world #6 from Shenfield has quietly put together an impressive 2012, reaching the semis of his last three events, the Canary Wharf, the British Open and the British Grand Prix. He hasn't dropped a game so far here. Ashour is starting to find the range though, taking care of tough fellow-Egyptian Tarek Momen in a 35-minute round-of-16. Too much racquet.
Ashour 3-1

Amr Shabana v Nick Matthew
A rematch of last year's final where former world #1 Shabana got the old magic working and closed out Matthew 2 and 4 in the last two games. At 33, Shabana is playing less; this is his first PSA event since losing to Ashour in five in the May British Open quarters. 2nd-ranked Matthew is in prime form, having captured the British Grand Prix last month. Amr is clearly comfortable in this setting, will have the crowd behind him, and can still wreak havoc all over the court. He won't quite be able to sustain it for the full five against Matthew though.
Matthew 3-2

Madeline Perry v Laura Massaro
Lost in the Alison Waters upset of Nicol David in the September Weymuller Open is Massaro's performance, where she dominated Waters in the semis and 3rd-ranked Raneem El Weleily in the final to win the event. 7th-ranked Perry hasn't lost a step at age 35 and looked sharp in beating Donna Urquhart 11-2 in the fourth in the first round. But Massaro is the defending champion here, and has the confidence to do it again.
Massaro 3-0

Kasey Brown v Raneem El Weleily
Kasey shocked Nicol David in the quarters here last year and got to the finals. She won a long 3-gamer against gritty Annie Au on Monday. You never know quite what you are going to get from the supremely talented El Weleily. Brown could win this if she keeps the ball tight and takes a few chances, but the matchup favors Raneem.
El Weleily 3-1