Matthew Wins KPMG Grand Slam Cup In Frankfurt by Howard Harding 8 May 2014
- England's world No2 Nick Matthew added a new trophy to his already
extensive collection when he beat defending champion Gregory Gaultier,
the world No1 from France, in the final of the KPMG Grand Slam Cup -
the unique "One Night Only" squash event staged on a stunning ASB
ShowGlassCourt at the iconic The Squaire in Frankfurt, Germany.
The KPMG Grand Slam
Cup, launched last year, featured five of the world's top players -
four of whom have topped the world rankings. Matches were played in an
innovative best-of-three-games "Shootout" format - with the third game,
if required, played to 1 or 3 points.
German number one
Simon Rösner (pictured above in quarter-final action) took home
interest into the semi-finals when the world No12 beat event newcomer
Amr Shabana, the four-time world champion from Egypt, 11-10, 11-8 in
the opening quarter-final play-off.
Matthew claimed his
place in the final after seeing off Egyptian rival Ramy Ashour, the
world No4, 11-7, 11-9. In the other semi, 2013 champion Gaultier
disappointed the partisan crowd with an 11-8, 8-11, 1-0 victory over
Rösner - the Frenchman quickly justifying his single-point shootout
choice when an early crosscourt shot went into the side-wall nick!
The final truly went
the full distance - world champion Matthew (pictured above with
Gaultier) taking the opener before the Frenchman fought back in the
second to force a decider. As winner of the first game, the Englishman
chose 'first to three points' as the format for the third - and soon
saw his decision rewarded when Gaultier won the opening rally.
Gaultier took the
second for match-ball - but Matthew battled on to save two before
contesting the final double-match-ball-point and ultimately clinching
the title 11-4, 3-11, 3-2!
Matthew's title
triumph came just 24 hours after a shock straight games defeat to
England team-mate Peter Barker, the world No8, in the English Premier
League final.
"It's consolation of
sorts," admitted Matthew afterwards when asked if it made up for his
previous night's loss. "But the main thing is to celebrate this great
event - a fantastic setting for the matches in this great building, and
a big and enthusiastic crowd.
"And having the chance
to play at the pace that Ramy and Greg play at in one night is good for
next week's British Open," added the 33-year-old who will be bidding
for a fourth title in Hull next week.
At the trophy
presentation, Matthew joked: "I'm pleased to go from last place last
year to first place in the space of a year - that's how much I've
improved!
"It's brilliant to
have played here - thanks for the support of KPMG and the Welldone
Agency. We haven't had enough squash in Germany recently so it's good
to have this excellent event here in Frankfurt."
KPMG head of Marketing
Janette Riley added: "People ask me, why KPMG? The players make it look
so simple - which is what we are all about, cutting through complexity
to make things simple!
"I hope I'll be standing here again in 2015."
John Nimick, President
of Event Engine, joint hosts of the event with the Welldone Agency
Group, was delighted with the 2014 KPMG Grand Slam Cup: "The event has
grown significantly since last year, with more than a 30% increase in
seating capacity.
"Our mandate has
always been to make squash events appeal to the non-squash sports fan -
we want them to feel that they have been to an exciting event, and I
think we are achieving this here at The Squaire in Frankfurt.
"We are just trying to win over hearts and minds.
"We want to take squash into an environment which stands on its own and satisfies customers.
"The best thing that squash has is its glass courts, which enable us to put on a show like this."
The event was staged
in The Squaire, an extraordinary structure adjacent to Frankfurt's
international airport which boasts unique architecture that has made it
a landmark building. With its innovative usage concept called "New Work
City", The Squaire creates a working environment facilitating
performance, motivation and creativity. Within around 146.000 sqm,
there are numerous offices, two Hilton Hotels, restaurants and various
services.
Live coverage of the action was streamed worldwide by SquashTV, presented by ROWE Motoroil.
Grand Slam Cup images courtesy of Jordan Mansfield
