08-Dec, FINAL:

[3] Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-0 [8] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)
                                   11/7, 11/6, 11/5

08-Dec, Final:
Matthew takes Grand Prix title

England's Nick Matthew became 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 Grand Prix at the National Squash Centre in Manchester today.

Matthew, a three-time World Champion and two-time Commonwealth Games Gold Medal winner [and a serial winner of events in Manchester], 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 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.”
 

11/7, 10/12, 15/13, 9/11, 11/5 (103m)

[3] Nick Matthew

 11/7, 11/6, 11/5

[8] Mathieu Castagnet

11/2, 16/14, 13/11 (74m)

[8] Mathieu Castagnet

04-DEc, Qualifying Finals:

Mazen Hesham (Egy) 3-0 Olli Tuominen (Fin)             11/9, 14/12, 12/10 (45m)
Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-0 Henrik Mustonen (Fin)                   11/3, 11/8, 11/6 (45m)
Cesar Salazar (Mex) 3-1 Lucas Serme (Fra)        12/10, 11/6, 6/11, 11/5 (60m)
Greg Lobban (Sco) 3-0 Shaun le Roux (Rsa)                  w/d injured
 
03-Dec, Qualifying Round One :

Olli Tuominen (Fin) 3-0 Eddie Charlton (Eng)                      11/5, 11/4, 12/10 (40m)
Mazen Hesham (Egy) 3-2 Tom Ford (Eng)         10/12, 11/7, 11/5, 8/11, 11/5 (54m)
Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-0 Alex Noakes (Eng)                                11/2, 11/1, 11/8 (25m)
Henrik Mustonen (Fin) 3-2 Ashley Davies (Eng)  11/3, 4/11, 11/8, 11/13, 11/9 (56m)
Lucas Serme (Fra) 3-0 Joe Lee (Eng)                                    11/4, 11/3, 11/3 (36m)
Cesar Salazar (Mex) 3-0 Jaymie Haycocks (Eng)                   11/7, 11/5, 11/2 (22m)
Shaun Le Roux (Rsa) 3-0 Julian Tomlinson (Eng)                   11/5, 11/5, 11/6 (30m)
Greg Lobban (Sco) 3-1 Tom Richards (Eng)                            11-8, 6-11, 7-4 rtd

07-Dec, Semis:
Matthew and Castagnet to contest Final

The final of the 2014 AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix will see England's three-time World Champion Nick Matthew take on Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

34-year-old Matthew from Sheffield booked his place with an epic victory over French World No.2 Gregory Gaultier in a marathon 103-minute battle in front of a vocal home crowd to consign Gaultier to defeat in Manchester once again, just over 12 months after he beat the Frenchman to claim his third World Championship title in the same city.

He will now face the French National No.2 Castagnet, who saw off the challenge of Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez 3-0, when both men will be hoping to pick up the trophy as an early Christmas present.

"When you get to my age you have a few rivals on tour and Greg and I have been playing for a very long time against each other on tour," said Matthew.

"It never gets any easier against him, today he made a few errors in crucial points and at this level it comes down to such fine margins - it could have gone his way in a few of those close points.

"I felt like I was due a big win like that this season so I'm really pleased and I'm ready to give it one more big push tomorrow to try and end the year on a high."

Castagnet goes into the final in the best form of his career having scalped current World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy in the quarter-final stage, following his biggest ever career title triumph in Montreal in October, and he's hoping to end his year on the biggest high yet.

"Beating Mohamed yesterday was great for me but it was very important for me to refocus on today's match and to try and do everything I could to reach another final," said Castagnet.

"I'm very happy to be in the final and I'm looking forward to playing again tomorrow." 
 

06-Dec, Quarters:
Castagnet Conquers World No.1

French World No.15 Mathieu Castagnet pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career, and the biggest upset of recent times, to defeat World No.1 and 2014 World Championship runner-up Mohamed Elshorbagy in the quarter-finals of the AJ Bell British Grand Prix in Manchester today.

Castagnet, the 28-year-old from Aix-en-Provence, stunned the 23-year-old Bristol-based Egyptian with a dogged performance, coming from a game down to complete an impressive 3-1 victory which delighted the capacity crowd at the national squash centre.

"That is the best win of my career so far without doubt," said Castagnet.

"Always during my career I have had people telling me that I'd never make it and that I wasn't good enough and today I just beat the World No.1 so I am really delighted with the result.

"He didn't play his best tonight but this win proves to me that I can maybe be a top ten player and I am looking forward to playing again tomorrow."

Castagnet will now face Colombian Miguel Rodriguez, the highest ranked South American player of all time, in the semi-finals and the victor will face either England's three-time World Champion Nick Matthew or French World No.2 Gregory Gaultier, the man Matthew beat to glory in two of those finals.

"Against Greg it's safe to say you have to play at the very top of your game," said Matthew.

"He's number two in the world and he's hungry to end the season with a title, as am I, so I'm looking forward to the match."

05-Dec, Round ONE:
English Quartet march into
Manchester Grand Prix quarters

Sheffield's three-time World Champion Nick Matthew led a quartet of home hopes, including surprise victor Adrian Waller, into the quarter-finals of the AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix at the National Squash Centre in Manchester today.

2014 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal winner Matthew easily saw off the challenge of rising Scottish talent Greg Lobban while Enfield-based 26-year-old Waller pulled off the biggest win of the day to get past World No.7 Borja Golan from Spain.

Just two months after defeating Golan in the opening round of the Delaware Investments US Open, Waller pulled off a repeat 3-2 performance, using all his skill, strength and stamina to complete a dramatic 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6 victory after a mammoth 95-minutes on court.

"I knew what to expect from Borja today but he knew what to expect from me as well and it meant that it took something different to win the match," said Waller.

"It was another long and tough match and it was even closer than at the US Open so it took everything I had to keep in the rallies. I definitely had more belief in my game after beating him in the US and that played a part, because sometimes against the top players that belief can be key.

"I had to re-group towards the end of the fourth game when he came back to level it up and I just managed to keep in there to win it and I'm really pleased to come through, especially here in Manchester as this is a place the English guys all know well and feel comfortable at."

Elsewhere Essex duo Daryl Selby and Peter Barker also progressed to the quarter-finals with impressive victories over dangerous Egyptian Fares Dessouki and fellow Englishman Chris Simpson, respectively, to complete the quartet while World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy and World No.2 Gregory Gaultier came through their opening encounters along with Colombian Miguel Rodriguez and Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet of France.
 

28-Nov:
AJ Bell British Grand Prix
to be shown Live on BT Sport

Mohamed Elshorbagy, Gregory Gaultier and England’s Nick Matthew, the world’s three highest ranked players, will be playing to a brand new audience at the AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix after it has been confirmed today that one of the most eagerly contested events on the PSA Tour will be broadcast live in the UK by BT Sport.

The pioneering agreement will deliver a comprehensive live and highlights package from the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, and is a further endorsement of the sport's growing appeal following the unprecedented success of the AJ Bell World Squash Championship staged in Manchester last year.

“Having BT Sport on board is a major boost for the AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix and the sport in general," said Paul Walters of event promoters internationalSPORTgroup.

“Alongside title sponsor AJ Bell and Manchester City Council we have invested considerable resource and time over the past year in pulling together the right package of domestic TV which will help enhance the status of the event. We are grateful for the help and support of recently formed FozMuz agency for their considerable help in finalising this agreement."

Billy Mackay, Marketing Director for investment platform provider AJ Bell, added: "“Squash continues to grow in popularity on the back of a successful 2013 World Championship and the recent Commonwealth Games. The people involved in the sport have worked hard to make it a great experience for all viewers watching live at the event or on TV.

"We are delighted to once again work with Manchester City Council and internationalSPORTgroup to put on what we know will be a fantastic event for all sports fans.”

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25-Nov:
AJ Bell British Grand Prix draw revealed

The draw for the AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix – Manchester 2014 has been made and will see a series of mouth-watering encounters take place when the main draw action gets underway at the National Squash Centre on Friday 5th December.

English duo Peter Barker and Daryl Selby, the World No.8 and No.11, face dangerous first round encounters against Chris Simpson and Mathieu Castagnet, respectively, while three-time World Champion Nick Matthew, winner of the British Grand Prix in 2006 and 2012, will begin his campaign against a qualifier.

Matthew is seeded to meet the winner of the Selby - Castagnet encounter in the quarter-finals with a potential re-match with Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, the man he beat to the 2013 World crown, likely to await in the semi-final stage.

Gaultier will open his campaign against wild card Richie Fallows.

World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy from Egypt is seeded to meet fellow countryman Tarek Momen in the quarter-finals with the winner likely to face Borja Golan, Adrian Waller or Miguel Rodriguez, who all feature prominently on the same half of the draw.

"I'm really looking forward to playing in the British Grand Prix this year as it will be my first ever time competing in that event," said Elshorbagy.

"I'm excited to compete and I have heard a lot of good things about the tournament from other players. There's a very strong line-up with the likes of Greg and Nick so it's going to be an exciting competition.

"The 2013 PSA World Championship in Manchester was an amazing event and I'm sure we will be involved in a similar type of event this year so I'm very excited about it," added the 23-year-old.

34-year-old Matthew said: "Manchester is the home of squash in England and the English players all have a lot of experience playing in the city with national squads so we will have no excuse not to be on top of our game.

"My wife has also pencilled in to bring our new arrival along to the event which will be the first time she's seen her day play, which will be a nice moment for us, so I'm definitely looking forward to the competition."

full coverage of the 2010/11/12 Events

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2013 World Champion and current World No.3 Matthew will lead hopes of a home-victory, competing in the same city where he won an emotional third world crown in November 2013, and he'll be joined by fellow English Commonwealth Games competitors Peter Barker and Daryl Selby in the strong-looking field.

"I always love playing in Manchester and I'm really looking forward to being back there for the AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix in December," said Matthew.

"It's a sign of how good last year’s World Championship was that it was recently voted Major Sporting Event of the year at the recent Manchester Sports Awards which is a great reward for AJ Bell the sponsors, Manchester City Council and internationalSPORTgroup. It's great to see them continuing to work together and supporting the sport.

“Manchester has proven itself to be the home of squash in England and the AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix will continue to build on that reputation. I’m really looking forward to the event."

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Frenchman Gaultier, who took the World No.1 ranking from Matthew in April, will provide the biggest test for the English hopefuls but Bristol-based Egyptian Elshorbagy, who beat Gaultier to the Hong Kong Squash Open title in August and recently added the US Open to his collection, will be aiming to continue his impressive run of form in 2014 which saw him eclipse Gaultier to be World No.1 in the November PSA World Rankings.

But with the likes of Spanish National Champion Borja Golan and Colombian National Champion Miguel Rodriguez also joining the ranks alongside Tarek Momen, Mathieu Castagnet, Chris Simpson, Adrian Waller and wildcard Richie Fallows, the favourites will have their work cut out to ensure their place in the latter stages.