Pace Reports

• FINAL • SEMIS • Quarters • Round TWO • Round ONE • QUALIFYING • Pace Reports •

10-Jan, Quarters: EGYPT REIGNS SUPREME Liz Shaughnessy reports Toronto, Ontario – In one of the most astonishing finals seen for years, Ramy Ashour of Egypt played brilliantly to steam roll over the world number two, David Palmer of Australia in the PACE Canadian Squash Classic. Ashour was armour-plated in his attacks and Palmer could find no chink in the armour. He tried slow balling him, he tried exchanging drop shots; he even tried slamming him off the court. Ashour had an answer for everything and most of those answers found the ball nestled in the nick for an outright winner. Although Palmer, who is the reigning world champion, led the first game 5-4, those were his only brief moments of glory. Ashour received two penalty strokes to lead 6-5 and from that moment on Palmer was a condemned man. Ashour’s reading of the game and his blinding speed were simply too much for the 29 year old Australian who has been in the world’s top ten for nearly seven years. The brilliant young Egyptian ran away to win the first game 11-7 in under ten minutes and then raced through the second 11-3 in under eight minutes. It was almost a humiliation for Palmer and he could do nothing to stem the tide as Ashour washed over him 11-4 in the third game to finish the 31 minute whitewash. “He picked me to pieces,” Palmer said of his opponent. “I thought I started well and then hit a couple of errors and lost it. I tried changing the game, but that didn’t work either.” Ramy was his usual bubbling self: “It was a good day for me – I always try to enjoy myself. I play every match as though it is the last match of my life,” he said.

10-Jan, Quarters: AUSSIE MEETS EGYPT’S NEW SECRET WEAPON FOR FINAL BATTLE Liz Shaughnessy reports Toronto, Ontario -. Ramy Ashour, the 19 -year old wonder boy from Egypt, continued to scythe his way through the top players during the PACE Canadian Squash Classic semi-finals when he beat Australia’s Anthony Ricketts in four action-packed games that had the capacity audience in the 1000 seat John Bassett Theatre roaring and gasping in turns. Ashour, ranked sixth in the world, started in over-drive and was 7-1 before Ricketts had settled into the game. Although Ricketts fought back he was unable to close the gap as Ashour ran away to an 11-7 win. In the second game Ricketts was fully warmed up and kept the rallies going, waiting for Ashour’s youthful exuberance to go for bad shots. It worked beautifully and it was Ricketts turn to win 11-6. Although Ricketts lead the third game 6-2, he forgot his game plan and made three crucial unforced errors to give Ashour the game 11-7. Ricketts was getting increasingly irritated with the officials which may have spoiled his concentration and he was unable to regain the control he had established in the second game. He was finally defeated by Ashour’s lightning speed of shot and instantaneous reaction. Ashour took the final game 11-7 to earn a place in the final and give the visiting Egyptian Ambassador to Canada, his Excellency Dr. Mahmoud El-Saeed, something to smile about. “He went faster than me and I tried to hit too many winners,” Ashour said, explaining his loss in the second game. “Anthony is an explosive player, but I like to play fast. That was always my game, but now I have to slow it down – I’m playing the big guys now,” said squash’s charming young sport ambassador. The second semi-final was another Egyptian/Australian confrontation, but played with a very different style. Fifteenth ranked Wael El Hindi did not let the difference in ranking (Palmer is world number two) worry him as he attacked from the outset, catching Palmer a foot off the pace and taking the first game with ease 11-5. Palmer took control of the second game striking the ball with all his power, mixing his shots well. He won 11-7, but failed to continue his dominance in the ten minute third game as the fearless, always smiling, el Hindi once again used his shots to win 11-7 and take a 2/1 lead. Palmer came back in the fourth game, and leading from the start, tied the match by winning the game 11-6. The fifth game was a comedy of errors with arguments, counter-arguments and El Hindi taking a three minute injury break, after completing a full rally after he had twisted his leg. Palmer objected, and the subsequent debates with the referee began to turn the match into a minor United Nations. El Hindi, all smiles, came back to the court late and still had a sock and shoe to put on. Palmer was far from amused by the extended delay, but maintained his cool, taking the game to 10-6. El Hindi hit two more wonderful winners to get to 10-8, but Palmer secured the match when El Hindi flew flat on his back during a futile dive to get to the ball. Members of both the Australian Consulate & Trade Commission offices were in attendance for the Palmer victory. Palmer will now face Ramy Ashour in the final and will have to find ways to suppress the young Egyptians incredible talent.

10-Jan, Quarters: EL HINDI WINS BATTLE OF THE NILE Liz Shaughnessy reports Toronto, Ontario - The first match in the quarter-finals featured more appeals than the Supreme Court. In an all-Egyptian battle, Wael El Hindi took an upset 3/2 victory over the higher ranked Karim Darwish for a well-deserved semi-final berth at the John Bassett Theatre, home of Canadian Idol, in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It was not the usual Egyptian squash of scintillating shot making and winning kills. El Hindi obviously decided to slow the pace down and invite Darwish to go for winners. While it wasn’t an overpowering strategy, it may have well tipped the balance in a match that featured constant appeals for lets and accusations of double bounces. The 80 minute match was a real see-saw affair with Darwish taking the first game with confidence, El Hindi upping his game to win the next two only to lose the fourth game, forcing deciding fifth. The drama continued as El Hindi’s early lead disappeared and they fought hard to 10-all. Darwish lost the next two points to a penalty stroke and on the final point was denied a let, sending El Hindi’s arms high into the air in triumph. He will now face a Australian David Palmer in the semi-finals tomorrow night. RAMY ASHOUR GETS REVENGE In the second quarter-final, the sport’s new wonder boy, Ramy Ashour (dubbed the Tiger Woods of squash) showed immense maturity, well beyond his 19 years, to defeat Mohd Azlan Iskandar, the brilliant Malaysian who yesterday knocked out Ashour’s Egyptian countryman and world #1 Amr Shabana. It was a match of brilliant, intelligent squash that roused the full house of the 1000 seat John Bassett Theatre, producing gasps of astonishment between the prolonged applause for the superb rallies that these two youngsters performed for most of the 63 minutes that it took Ashour to earn his place in the semi-finals. Showing absolutely no fear, Ashour twice came from behind to tie the game score at 2/2, always maintaining his composure as a tiring Iskandar failed to keep his challenge at the same level as the first four games. An exuberant Ashour left the court nine minutes later. “I have been training very hard for the last six months and my fitness is very good,” he said. “I was not tired at the end, and still had my breath.” When asked if he was after revenge for his country, he smiled and said: “I was unhappy when Shabana lost, but when I went on court I did not think about my number six ranking. I remembered that it is so easy to underestimate your opponent. Iskandar played very well and cut the ball all the time. I had no game plan. I never go on court with a game plan. It’s just instinct,” said squash’s most impressive international rising star. PALMER – aka “THE TERMINATOR” The all-Australian quarter final matched world number two David Palmer against Stewart Boswell, a player he has beaten in nine of their ten meetings. Tonight Boswell was not the player who brilliantly defeated England’s James Willstrop on the second day of the Classic. The first two games failed to catch light; Palmer was simply too good and too composed for Boswell, winning 11-7 and 11-3 in 22 minutes of play. The third game was a little more compelling, but Boswell was making errors, allowing Palmer to reach 10-6, match point in effortless time. Suddenly Boswell found a surge of power, saving four match balls to force a tie break at 10-10. The confident Palmer finessed two brilliant points to finish the match in a very conclusive 50 minutes RICKETTS ROCK SOLID IN BEATING GAULTIER Australian Anthony Ricketts cured a run of lacklustre results when he completely dominated world number three Gregory Gaultier of France in the final match of the day. His obvious determination and patience in every rally finally wore down the 24 year old Frenchman who has just completed the best year of his professional life by rising to world number three. Ricketts had an answer to everything that Gaultier threw at him – which is a vast array of shots. After winning the first game 11-5, Ricketts battled back from 1-6 in the second and kept his composure through a long dramatic tiebreak to finally emerge the 16-14 winner after 25 tense minutes. It was a game that affected Gaultier’s determination and undermined his confidence as he allowed Ricketts a handful of easy points in the third game. Although he managed to put together a run of five points to narrow the gap, Ricketts would not be denied and won the game 11-9 to earn the right to face Ramy Ashour in the semi-final.

09-Jan, Round Two: AZLAN DOWNS WORLD NUMBER ONE Liz Shaughnessy reports Toronto, Ontario –In the biggest upset of the PACE Canadian Squash Classic to date Mohd Azland Iskandar, the world ranked number 18 from Malaysia, knocked out world number one Amr Shabana from Egypt in four games, playing superbly to dominate the talented Shabana for most of the match. Iskandar has been working with Peter Nicol, the former world champion, for the last year and the determination he showed in sticking with Shabana is evidence of the effect Nicol is having on his game. The first game found Iskandar fast and focused, while Shabana seemed a little slow and sluggish. Shabana’s usually sharp shooting was not working and errors at crucial times gave Iskandar the psychological edge in taking the first two games - the second 11-5 in just six minutes. After losing the first two points of the third game, Shabana finally settled down and took the next eight points in a row to lead 8-2. Iskandar tried to stage a mini comeback, but crashed the ball into the tin at 4-8 to put Shabana back in charge and the Egyptian made no mistake finishing the game 11-6. The Egyptian appeared to be very much in contention. But Shabana’s ascendancy and the anticipated crumbling of Iskandar failed to happen. And the Malaysian was determined, returning from 5-8 down in the fourth game to an 11-8 victory, helped by four unforced errors from Shabana. It was by far Iskandar’s best victory since he unseated Ong Beng Hee as Malaysia’s national champion. Iskandar will face Egypt’s 19 year old superstar Ramy Ashour in tomorrow’s quarter finals. GAULTIER PLAYS AND TALKS HIS WAY TO VICTORY For the final match of the evening on day two of the PACE Canadian Squash Classic, Gregory Gaultier had few problems in continuing his winning run as he beat England’s Lee Beachill in straight games in 40 minutes. Gaultier, who has climbed to number three in the world, still argued most decisions with the referees, but he was little troubled by Beachill who seemed to have lost the seething drive he had two years ago when he owned the number one spot for three months. WORLD #TWO TAKES OUT TOP CANADIAN Cheers rang out for the first time in the John Bassett Theatre tonight when Graham Ryding, the Canadian number one ranked 23rd in the world, took the long third difficult game from world number two David Palmer of Australia. The spectators reclining in their plush theatre seats had been relatively passive during the first two games which Palmer, who has been in the world top ten for six plus years, took with his usual faultless playing, using his strength and reach to nullify Ryding’s best shots. But in the third game Ryding swapped point for point and the lead changed hands four times up to 10-10 which is when the crowd started to urge him on. With their encouragement, Ryding saved two game points and went on to win the 23 minute game 14-12, finishing with a pistol reaction shot that left Palmer staring at the front of the court. Ryding left the court to huge cheers, but could not continue the challenge into the fourth game which Palmer handily won 11-6 to finish the 64 minute match. Ryding, 31, who now spends more time studying for his Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Toronto than playing, said he was happy with his performance. “I think I played well. I took the third game by playing tighter and straighter. It may have been a matter of inches, but it felt good. My plan was to keep away from his strong forehand, but I was comfortable taking him short at the front,” Ryding said afterwards. RAMY ASHOUR – REALLY ASSURED He’s only 19 and totally fearless, but he’s cutting his way through the senior ranks like no other player since the great Jansher Khan in the eighties. Ramy Ashour, (Cairo, Egypt) is the talk of the squash world. Just months after he won the world junior title for the second time, he was ranked sixth in the world among the seniors. Tonight he flashed his incomparable speed and agility, a deadly combination that few other players can match. His countryman Mohammed Abbas, a vastly more experienced player, could take only one game before going down 3/1 in the 42 minute contest. Ashour won the first two games handily in just 17 minutes of play, and then seemed to get a little careless, allowing Abbas to take control and win the third game 11-7 in just eight minutes. Ashour refocused in the fourth game, allowing his speed and incredible shot selection to force a number of errors from Abbas. The 11-6 final score line reflected the play perfectly. Ashour will now move into the quarter finals of the PACE Canadian Squash Classic to face Mohd Azlan Iskandar of Malaysia. EGYPTANS CONTINUE DOMINATION AS BOSWELL BEATS WILLSTROP Stewart Boswell, the skinny Australian who almost left the sport because of injury, showed today that he is not only back again, but a better squash player than when he was forced to stop playing nearly three years ago. The 28 year old Boswell, who hails from Canberra, played England’s great 23 year old prospect James Willstrop on day two of the PACE Canadian Squash Classic at the John Bassett Theatre, Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Ranked as high as 4th in the world last year, injury hampered Willstrop’s progress later in the season. While he is now fully fit, he could not have forecast the quality of Boswell’s play. As a youngster Boswell was all fitness and no guile, but today he showed he has it all and between the two of them, they produced a super match that kept the spectators enthralled for 91 minutes, easily the longest match of the tournament so far. The 6’ 5” Willstrop is a superb attacking player, but Boswell answered attack with attack – indeed he seemed intent on keeping Willstrop bent double to pick up his stream of drop shots. The first game lasted 21 minutes with Willstrop just managing to shade it 15-13 in the tiebreak. Boswell came storming back to win the second 11-4 and take the third, also in a tiebreak. The game was played at a furious pace with each player forcing the other to the four corners of the court. Willstrop finally gained ascendancy in the fourth game to win 11-8 and force a fifth game. Boswell sharpened the edge to win the 16 minute final game 11-8, for a well deserved victory. Karim Darwish (Egypt) and John White (Scotland), ranked 8 and 9 in the world, also needed five games to get to a decision with Darwish coming back from 2/1 down to win the fourth game 11-5 and the fifth 11-9 after 69 minutes of impressive racquet work. The third match was another five game offering from a pair of brilliant Egyptians, Wael El Hindi and Hisham Ashour. Although Ashour - a fine shotmaker – won the first two games, he was unable to stop the charge of El Hindi, (ranked 12 places above Ashour), who took the final three games to earn a place in the quarter-finals. Ashour will remain in town to “advise” his 19 year old younger brother Ramy for the rest of the tournament. Ramy will be playing another Egyptian Mohammed Abbas later in the day, which suggests there could be four Egyptians in the final eight.

08-Jan, Round:
RAZIK GOES DOWN FIGHTING
Liz Shaughnessy reports

Toronto, Ontario – This first round match of the Pace Canadian Squash Classic was a dream for Canadian squash fans as the Canadian number two Shahier Razik met the world number one, Amr Shabana of Egypt.

The two players actually grew up and competed together as children in Cairo. Fifteen years ago Razik’s family moved to Toronto and since then he has played under the maple leaf flag.

While 29 year old Razik has fought to get into the top echelon – he is now world number 26, Amr Shabana has brought discipline to his naturally scintillating shots to create a world beating deadly combination. The 27 year old has twice won the world title and has been world number one most of 2006.

Despite the disparity in rankings, Shabana did not have it all his own way and Razik gave as good as he got, pushing Shabana in the first game which Shabana won 11-8. Game two was a similar story, with both players marshalling their best efforts for game three.

Shabana was up 10-9 and ready to close out the match, but Razik had other ideas, forcing an error out of Shabana to tie the game at 10-10, sending it into a tie-break. The excitement built as the two players doggedly swapped point for point with Shabana unable to get the vital two point lead for victory. In fact the game went for another ten rallies before Razik’s determination was rewarded with a penalty stroke to win 16-14 and give hope for a Canadian victory.

During the fourth game Shabana upped the pace, ran to a 7-2 lead with the help of some lucky nicks. He stifled a come-back run by Razik at 9-6 and went on to take the eight minute game 11-6 and win the 63 minute match 3/1.

Canada’s number one Graham Ryding had a better finish, but had to fight surprisingly hard to beat Julian Illingworth, the most promising player to come out of the USA for a decade. Illingworth is currently ranked 91 in the world compared to Ryding’s lofty 23, but Illingworth is a rapidly improving player and Ryding had a tough fight at home 3/2 after 71 minutes, the longest match of the day.

Matthew Guiffre (Edmonton) and Shawn Delierre (Montreal) were the other two Canadians in the main draw and both were defeated 3/0 by far more experienced players. Delierre went down to the very talented Egyptian Karim Darwish, presently ranked 9th in the world, while Guiffre simply did not have the experience to handle the former Malaysian champion and world number 18 Azlan Iskandar.

Two matches finished with players hobbling off with injuries. Nick Matthew, the world number five was being upset by Hisham Ashour 2/1 and was 6-8 down in the fourth when he tripped over Ashour’s foot and twisted his ankle so badly, he was taken to hospital and wisely decided to retire even before the x-rays were taken.

South American Bernardo Samper twisted his back when playing England’s Lee Beachill and retired at the beginning of the second game.

Squash must be the new national sport of Egypt, as six of its native sons advanced to day two of the $75,000USD PACE Canadian Squash Classic: Shabana, Mohammed Ababas, Karim Darwish, Wael El Hindi and the Ashour brothers Ramy and Hisham.