Matthew Wins AJ Bell British Grand Prix by Nathan Clarke
photo John Fryer
December 8, 2014
- England's Nick Matthew became just the ninth player ever to win 30
PSA World Tour titles after defeating French World No.15 Mathieu
Castagnet in the final of the 2014 AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix at
the National Squash Centre in Manchester today.
Matthew, a three-time World Champion and two-time Commonwealth Games
Gold Medal winner, earned his place in the final following a physically
draining 103-minute battle against French World No.2 Gregory Gaultier
in the semi-final but showed his tremendous stamina to back-up and see
off Castagnet 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 in 50-minutes.
Castagnet, conquerer of current World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy in the
quarter-finals, got off to a spirited start in the opening game and
opened up an early lead, but the ever relentless 34-year-old from
Sheffield showed all the attributes that have led him to capture every
major title in the sport as he went on to dominate the remainder of the
contest, imposing himself on Castagnet and controlling the court to
complete an impressive victory.
"I like it here in Manchester,” said Matthew. “I'm so comfortable here
and I think I've had more success on this court than anywhere else in
my whole career so I wish I could take it with me.
"It was a great match against Mathieu today - it's credit to him that
the crowd were cheering loudly for him at the end - I've never heard
French people get so much support in England!
"Winning the title feels great and is a great way to end the year."
Despite the defeat, 28-year-old Castagnet, currently occupying his
highest ever position in the PSA World Rankings, said that there were
many positives to take from the encounter.
“I didn't expect to reach a final this week and it was such a great pleasure for me to make it," he said.
"I did my best but he was too strong for me today and even when I was
pushing hard he was playing well and I want to congratulate him.”
Results - Final: AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix:
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 [50m]
