Serme Claims Historic 2016 US Open Crown As ElShorbagy Doubles Up by Nathan Clarke
photo squashpics.com
October 15, 2016
- Two years after becoming the first Frenchwoman ever to win the
historic British Open Camille Serme, the 27-year-old from Creteil,
wrote her name into the squash history books once again by defeating
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini in the final of the 2016 Delaware
Investments U.S. Open and become the first Frenchwoman ever to lift the
trophy.
Serme bowed out of her last tournament, September’s Al Ahram Open, with
a whimper in the first round as she struggled for form but has turned
her season around, producing a series of spellbinding performances to
defeat World No.2 Laura Massaro, World No.6 Amanda Sobhy and World
Champion El Sherbini to secure the win - in what was only her third
ever PSA World Series tournament final.
After sharing the opening two games it was Serme who came through a
crucial third game, coming from 0-4 down to take it in a tense
tie-break courtesy of some sublime dropshot winners, and she continued
to play with pinpoint precision and accuracy to come through in four
games and seal an unexpected triumph.
“I cannot believe it,” said Serme.
“Two weeks ago I lost in the first round of the Al Ahram Open and was
so far away from this. If someone had told me then I’d win the US Open
I’d have laughed - so to now be the champion is crazy. I’m so, so happy!
“Today was a very difficult test. She’s not No.1 for nothing - it’s
crazy because I felt like I was behind all the time. I just kept
pushing and telling myself that I can do it.
“I had to trust in myself and be attacking. I knew I had the right
tactics so I just had to keep believing. It’s one of the biggest
victories of my career without a doubt.”
Speaking after the match El Sherbini said: “I gave it my all but she was the better player today and she deserved to win.”
In the Men’s final World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy put his name on the
trophy for the second time in his career - adding to his 2014 triumph -
after injury once again brought a potentially epic encounter with Nick
Matthew to a premature end as the 36-year-old Englishman was forced to
retire in the fifth game of their title decider inside Philadelphia’s
Drexel University.
It marked the third time that Matthew has been forced to retire during
major encounters with ElShorbagy inside the past 18 months - with
injury also thwarting the Yorkshireman during the 2015 El Gouna
International and 2016 Windy City Open - bringing to an end what, for
50 minutes, was shaping up to be one of the best matches of the season.
Matthew started brighter and managed to control the play to open up a
2-0 lead after two punishing games but a hamstring injury suffered
during a lengthy exchange took its toll as the Wolf began to break
down, resulting with a handshake midway through the fifth game.
"I have great memories here, two years when I won it got me to the top
of the rankings and whenever I'm back I just feel really happy to be
here,” said ElShorbagy - who also goes top of the PSA Road To Dubai
Standings courtesy of the win.
“It gives me a lot of confidence and I'm really happy that I've found
my best squash this week. It's been a while since I played the way I
love to play and I'm really happy I've got it back again.
"I grew up watching Nick playing and he comes from a golden generation.
For me, he's the greatest out of all of them. He's raised the bar for
everyone and I've watched that and learned from that, and every time I
was coming close to that bar, he would push it even further.
"He's the greatest champion I've ever seen in my life, the greatest
athlete I've ever seen in my life and the amount I have learned from
him is unbelievable.”
After the match Matthew said: “This week was about more than squash for me.
“I haven’t won the tournament but I’ve won my squash back - on and off
court I’ve found a method to enjoy the game again and play with a smile
on my face.
“Ultimately my body just let me down at the end. My mind was in the
game and I was enjoying it. I love being on this stage and I was a
winner this week regardless of tonight.”
Result – Men’s 2016 Delaware Investments U.S. Open: Final
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [4] Nick Matthew (ENG) 10-12, 12-14, 11-1, 11-4, 3-0 retired (68m)
Result – Women’s 2016 Delaware Investments U.S. Open: Final
[6] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9 (54m)
