Ashour Overcomes Willstrop In Windy City Thriller from PSA Media March 2, 2014 -
Egyptian two-time World Champion Ramy Ashour was back to his sublime
best at the 2014 METROsquash Windy City Open today, coming through an
enthralling 76 minute quarter-final encounter against England’s James
Willstrop 3-1.
Ashour was forced to
display his entire arsenal of world-class ability to get past the World
No.5 before eventually prevailing 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 in front of an
enthralled crowd at the University Club of Chicago.
“Playing James is
never easy,” said Ashour. “When you play such an accurate and sharp
player you have to be 100 per cent at your best and today James was
playing some immaculate squash.
“He really came out
firing and took the first game and I had to really dig in. I felt like
I started to find my rhythm in the second game and I’m very proud that
I was able to dig in and do what it took to win the match.”
The Cairo-based
player, who has been plagued by injury in recent months, will now face
WIllstrop’s long-time domestic rival and current World No.1 Nick
Matthew in the semi-finals in a repeat of the recent Swedish Open final.
“Playing Nick in the semi-final will be very tough,” he said.
“He’s an incredibly
tough player and you have to push yourself beyond your limits to beat
him. I have a lot of respect for his professionalism and he motivates
me a lot and it’s always great to play him so I’m really looking
forward to it.”
Sunday’s second
semi-final will see World No.4 Mohamed Elshorbagy take on French World
No.2 Gregory Gaultier after they came through their respective
quarter-finals against India’s Saurav Ghosal and Germany’s Simon Rosner.
Gaultier was given a
stern test by the German national champion, coming from one game down
to secure his victory and set up a repeat of January’s Tournament of
Champions semi-final when the Frenchman won an emotional encounter that
saw him move to No.1 in the World Rankings, a position he has since
vacated.
“In the first game
Simon was playing really well and at a really fast pace and I struggled
a little to find my length and he took advantage of that,” said
Gaultier.
“It was a really tough
match but I’m glad I have got through as I really had to up my play and
take the ball earlier and try to move him around the court more.
“I’m happy with how I
played and I’m feeling good at the moment. Mohamed is in great form and
I’m going to have to be at my best to beat him so it should be a good
match.”
2014 Windy City Open: Quarter-final Results:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [8] Peter Barker (ENG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 [44 mins]
[4] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) [3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [1] Nick Matthew (ENG)
The 2014 METROsquash
Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim and EquiTrust Life Insurance
takes place at the University Club of Chicago from February 26 to March.
