Gaultier Upends World #1 Willstrop To Reach US Open Men's Final; Ashour Stops Matthew In Four
from DailySquashReport.com
October 12, 2012 - Third-ranked Greg Gaultier of Aix-en-Provence continued his mastery of the stadium court at Drexel University last night, as he posted a 53-minute shut down win over world #1 James Willstrop to gain the $115,000 2012 US Open final.
The scoreboard read 11-7 11-2 11-8. Gaultier has only dropped one game en route to the finals.
In the nightcap semi, Ramy Ashour beat Nick Matthew 11-4 in the fourth in 74 minutes.
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Gaultier gallops into the final
“I felt really good right from the start,” said Gregory Gaultier after a comprehensive straight-game win over top seed and world number one James Willstrop in the first men’s semifinal. “I felt that James wasn’t quite there, a little slow ... or maybe I just played too well, I don’t know,” quipped the Frenchman.
And that just about summed up the match. Gaultier was always ahead, always seemed to be in charge of the rallies, and although many of them were long, Greg seemed to be the likely winner of them most of the time.
Three consecutive 80-minute plus matches can’t have helped Willstrop’s cause, but that’s not to detract from a fine performance from Gaultier, and a well-deserved 11-7, 11-2, 11-8 win and a place in the final
“He’s been playing so well and making all the finals,” added Gaultier, “and in the end it just takes its toll on your body, I’ve been there myself.
“I analysed my matches at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago,” explained the Frenchman, who lost a 118-minute semifinal against Willstrop there, “and adjusted a few things.
“It was fantastic to win a major event like this in 2006, and I’m pleased to be back in the final, it would be great if I could win it again, I just hope the next two play for five hours!”
Improved Ramy reaches the final
Ramy Ashour claimed the last remaining place in the finals with a display that very different from his showing last night when he beat Peter Barker by the skin of his teeth. Tonight he faced another Englishman in Nick Matthew, the second seed bidding to reach a second successive final.
It didn’t start too well for the Egyptian as Matthew took an early lead and increased it to 10-6. Ashour, seeming to be snapping his shots with mare angle and venom than last night, and skipping around court as well as ever, took the next five points and eventually took what proved to be a crucial lead 15-13 on his third game ball.
It was a fast-paced game with plenty of thrilling rallies and incident to keep the crowd well entertained, even if at times there seemed to be a bit of niggle between the players.
Matthew managed to contain his opponent in taking a second game he always led 11-8, but Ashour refused to be contained for the next two games in which he, this time, always led, taking the third narrowly 11-8 and the fourth more comfortably 11-4,
He finished it with a trademark volley drop that brought the appreciative crowd at Drexel University to its feet one final time.
“I’m happy with how I played tonight,” said Ramy,”I didn’t make the mistake I made yesterday of concentrating on what my opponent was doing. It’s always about how I deal with it mentally, and I was happy with that too tonight.
“I’ll need to make sure I can recover and be at 100% tomorrow, Greg looks to be on top form ...”
Matthew reflected on the match: “It’s not the first time I’ve lost a lead like I had in the first to Ramy, so he must be doing something right. I thought I’d won it on a video review - that didn’t go my way but I still had four more chances. I think I should have won the first and if I’d gone 2-0 up it might have been different.
“He played well though, he adapted to tonight’s slower conditions better than me, and my defence wasn’t as good as Pete’s last night and the work he made me do took its toll and I faded a bit in the fourth. In the end he got on top and deserved to win.”
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [1] James Willstrop (Eng) 11-7, 11-2, 11-8 (53m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [2] Nick Matthew (Eng) 15-13, 8-11, 11-8, 11-4 (74m)
Men's Draw
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