World’s Best Ready For Windy City Open by Nathan Clarke January 18, 2014 - Squash World No.1 Nick Matthew will top the draw when the 2014
METROsquash Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim and EquiTrust Life
Insurance Company gets underway in Chicago from February 26 – March 3.
The 33rd
annual Windy City Open will be making its World Series debut in 2014,
and the second PSA World Series event of the year will see World
Champion Matthew occupy the No.1 seeding in a star-studded field which
includes five men who have previously topped the world rankings.
Matthew, who won the Windy City Open in 2004 when the University Club
of Chicago hosted a glass court event for the first time, will begin
his campaign against a qualifier on February 26th
on the same day that World No.3 Ramy Ashour will look to get his 2014
World Series campaign off to a winning start against Australia’s
Cameron Pilley.
With the likes Gregory Gaultier (a 3 time Windy City Open finalist),
James Willstrop, Karim Darwish, Amr Shabana and Mohamed Elshorbagy
among the draw, squash fans in Chicago are in for a feast of world
class court action.
Tournament organiser and University Club Athletic Director John Flanigan said: “We
are thrilled to welcome the world’s best players to Chicago and host
the event on the glass court in the unique venue of Cathedral Hall at
the University Club. “Guggenheim’s support for the second consecutive year, along with
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company, make it possible for us to host this
world class professional event. The Chicago squash community is very
supportive of the event and is also pleased to be hosting a Women’s
Squash Association draw along with the PSA draw.”
EquiTrust Life Insurance Co. said on Tuesday it is opening new offices
in Illinois that will create 200 jobs in the coming year and could
employ hundreds more in years to come. The first office is planned in
Chicago, according to a statement by EquiTrust which also stated that
Earvin "Magic" Johnson is becoming a controlling shareholder in the
firm. Johnson is chairman and chief executive officer of Magic Johnson
Enterprises.
The 2014 METROsquash Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim and
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company takes place at the University Club of
Chicago from February 26 – March 3 with tickets for the event costing
from just $400 to $1,200 for a pass to all matches and available to
purchase by visiting http://www.windycityopen.com METROsquash Windy City Open – 1st Round Draw
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Qualifier
Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v Qualifier
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v Alister Walker (BOT)
Adrian Grant (ENG) v [8] Peter Barker (ENG)
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) v Qualifier
Amr Shabana (EGY) v Qualifier
Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY) v Tom Richards (ENG)
Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [3] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
[4] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Stephen Coppinger (RSA)
Omar Mossad (EGY) v Qualifier
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v [WC} Peter Creed (WAL)
Tarek Momen (EGY) v Karim Darwish (EGY)
[7] Borja Golan (ESP) v Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Simon Rosner (GER) v Qualifier
Karim Adbel Gawad (EGY) v Qualifier
Qualifier v [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
