Day Three, Final:
Ramy Ashour bt Hisham Ashour                          12-10, 11-9, 11-8

3/4 Playoff:
James Willstrop bt Wael El Hindi                  11-9, 11-2, 8-11, 11-7

5/6 Playoffs:
Mohamed Abbas bt David Palmer                           11-7, 9-11, 13-11

Both players came out of the ready to move, shoot and attack the ball. Mohammed Abbas took the first game, keeping Palmer at bay with his deception.

David Palmer came back strong in the second game, showing off his touch game and blasting his power forehand…taking it 11-9. The tie-breaker was anything but boring. The prowess of both players was fully displayed, with Abbas edging out Palmer in extra point to win 13-11.

Although the crowd wanted to see more of this high level squash, they were thankful for the showmanship and shot making ability of both world class players.

Another Full house at the TAC witnessed one of the best matches of the year. Willtrop’s ability to take everything extremely early coupled with his signature short game proved too much for Wael who’s new sleek figure seem to glide around the court more efficiently than in the past.

The rally’s were more highly contested than the score would show as positioning was the order of the day. James would continually cut off the court ,not allowing many cross courts to pass him making it difficult for the Egyptian to play from behind most of the match…

The players participated in a much appreciated Q&A after the match , covering everything from Nutrition, training, and Egyptian programming at the child level…

The giant killer known as Hisham Ashour having beaten the mighty Englishman, James Willstrop, in the semis came up a little short in the final of the Cambridge Club Singles Tournament .

The pace was unbelievable with both players attacking any loose balls. But, Ramy was just a little too strong and on occasion wrong footed his older sibling. When asked about his performance, Hisham felt the tough 5 game match against Willstrop may have taken a little bit out of him.

As for Ramy, he gave full marks to his brother and said it will only be a few short months before Hisham appears in the top five on the PSA Tour rankings.
 

Day Two, Semis:
Ramy Ashour bt Wael El Hindi             9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7
Hisham Ashour bt James Willstrop       11-5, 8-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-8

Playoffs:
Mohammed Abbas bt LJ Anjema           11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 13-11
David Palmer bt Shahier Razik              11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 14-12

Wael El Hindi v Ramy Ashour

Forget about the up and down the left wall game of yesteryear.

These two magicians put on an unbelievable display of attacking squash. The sold out crowd was in awe watching El Hindi and Ashour battle for position on the T, find the opening, and deliver sweetness to the nick. Gone was the robotic nature of squash played in the 80's and 90's. In it's place was full on shot making. Both players interviewed after the match said that the reason why Egypt has so many great players is that they look to end the point by going short rather than extend the rally through the use of the back corners.

El Hindi won the opener 11-9 as a result of a few tins by Ashour. But, the legend, at the ripe old age of 23 was able to reduce his errors and with increased confidence, attack the front left and right nick with his usual brilliance.

At the end, with El Hindi looking to turn the match to his favour, Ashour's defence was a little better which turned the tide in this battle of two supreme shotmakers.

Randy Klien

Hisham Ashour v James Willstrop

The writer asked Hisham as to the reason of his recent meteoric climb up the PSA Tour Rankings to now hold the #18 spot.

The answer " I am hungry for success and finally fitness is not an issue "

Fitting response from the man from Cairo that took down superstar Australian, David Palmer, in the 1/4 final match on Monday.

Last night, the giant killer took down another superstar in the form of Englishman, James Willstrop, current World #4.

First game went to Ashour as Willstrop was still getting used to the court and did not seem to move very well. Things heated up in the next three games with Ashour dishing out winner after winner but then losing the advantage by finding the tin.

All of a sudden after 48 minutes, it is now game 5. The big Engishman saves 2 match points but cannot handle the shotmaking delivered from the racquet of the Mr. Ashour.

Randy Klien

Mohammed Abbas v LJ Anjema

This was a great match right from the opening rally which took at least 40 balls to finish. First game definitely belonged to Abbas, both players making incredible gets and finally settling in to the speed of the court.

LJ came back with a much stronger game in the second and dominated right from the start, making fewer errors than in the first. The last two games were very close and could have gone either way. The rallies were long with both players refusing to let the other get more than 2 points ahead.

With both players retrieving practically everything it seemed that the only way to win a point was with a dead nick or an unforced error. In the end it was a couple of tins by LJ that decided the match after 72 minutes of play .

Paul Ryan

Battle of the Veterans!

A thrilling match in front of a sold out crowd!! Both veterans of game extending one another to all four corners!! Palmer applying tremendous pressure, Razik absorbing in his usual smooth footing around the court; in the end it was Palmer to come thru with punishing forehand kills in a 4th game that lasted over 20min!!

Thanks to the players, the Mayfair club and members for coming out to join us…

Willie Hosey

Day One:
Ramy Ashour bt Mohammed Abbas  3-1
Wael El Hindi bt LJ Anjema  10-12, 11-8, 13-11, 11-9
James Willstrop bt Shahier Razik  12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-8
Hisham Ashour bt David Palmer  9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-3

Not an empty seat
Dennis Goodfellow reports

There was a full house last night at the Toronto Athletic Club to receive a Magnificent Egyptian contingent of squash in the 2nd annual Cambridge Cup. Ramy Ashour world #2 and Mohammed Abbas currently ranked 31 treated the crowd to an hour of some of the most creative array of shots and retrieving that we have seen in years..

Ramy , showing why he is back on his way to #1 and duplicating the attack that brought his recent decisive win at the Tournament of Champions in New York kept Mohammed on the move the whole evening.

A clever Abbas fought back hard to take the 3rd game but ultimately succumbed to Ramy’s unique and recently developed style of play. The capacity crowd showed their appreciation for a match well fought in the Ashour 3/1 result (11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 6-11).

Ashours progress in Toronto
Jamie Bentley reports

There was a full house last night at the Toronto Athletic Club to receive a Magnificent Egyptian contingent of squash in the 2nd annual Cambridge Cup.

Ramy Ashour world #2 and Mohammed Abbas currently ranked 31 treated the crowd to an hour of some of the most creative array of shots and retrieving that we have seen in years.

Ramy, showing why he is back on his way to #1 and duplicating the attack that brought his recent decisive win at the Tournament of Champions in New York kept Mohammed on the move the whole evening. A clever Abbas fought back hard to take the 3rd game but ultimately succumbed to Ramy’s unique and recently developed style of play. The capacity crowd showed their appreciation for a match well fought in the Ashour 3/1 result.

As indicated by his meteoric rise to World #18 on the latest PSA Tour Rankings one would have to assume Hisham Ashour's fitness played a significant role in his 3-1 triumph over 34 year old David Palmer.

Ramy's older brother, ever so sweet with his shot selection, applied constant pressure to the former World #1 from Australia.

The match started with Palmer dictating play along the left wall. A few tins from Hisham and the first game went to Palmer.

Perspiring heavily, Palmer was on the defensive for the rest of the match. Hisham played an attacking boast game to move his opponent to the front right. Even with some tremendous gets by the superstar Australian he looked to run out of gas. Perhaps his tough semi-final in Detroit?

Indeed, there were moments of brilliance from the Aussie. The patented backhand volley drop was used to effectiveness and there were some scintillating forehand drives that found the nick. But, Hisham was constantly moving the big Aussie around the court and was not to be denied a spot in the semi finals.

Hisham will play James Willstrop tonight. Will it be an Ashour vs Ashour final?

Willstrop ousts Razik
Patrick Ryding reports

The Toronto Cricket Club was treated to a veritable show of grace and athleticism last night when James Willstrop of England and Shahier Razik of Canada met in the first round.

At 6'4" it is difficult to believe the Englishman is suited for the game but his incredible wing-span and explosive speed won't permit any ball past the mid-court other than when Razik hits paint-scraping drives to the back of the court. Willstrop's physicality on the court eventually proved too much for Razik, winning 13-11, 9-11, 11-6, 12-10.

Indeed the final point was determined when a mighty collision in the back left corner sent Razik sprawling at the same time that Willstrop muscled his racquet onto the ball to hit a deft drop to the front for a winner. To reach this point both players used their speed and agility to recover the accurate attacks from their opponents. Willstrop is known to do 2-3 solo practices when training, and his consistent accuracy is testament to this discipline.

The members of the Toronto Cricket Club saw first-hand why Willstrop reached the finals of the 2010 Saudi World Open Championships last December, and why Razik has 20 PSA titles under his belt.

Both players are consummate professionals, and inspired a generation of young juniors with patient coaching and laughs on the court during the Junior Jam they offered immediately prior to their match.

El Hindi edges past Anjema
Andrew Thompson reports

The quarterfinals of the Ludwig Financial Cambridge Cup saw Egypt’s world ranked #11 Wael El Hindi, narrowly edge past the world # 12 and Dutch National Champion, LJ Anjema, 3 games to 1 in front of a sold out crowd at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club.

In a match that was truly a tribute to just how far squash has evolved as a sport over the last 20 years, the two clearly showed why squash players are increasingly becoming recognized as being amongst the most dynamic athletes on the planet.

The start of the match saw both players came out “all guns blazing” from the first rally onwards and neither held anything back as they went point for point all the way up to 10 all. Anjema looked relieved as he closed out the first game 12-10 with a stunning forehand kill which saw both players breathing heavily as they left the court for their between game break.

Although El Hindi looked as though he was getting tired, he continued to hang in well to take the second despite the fact that Anjema looked fresher and more in control throughout large parts of the game. With games tied at 1-all, the critical third game saw both players leave absolutely everything they had on the court with some spectacular shot-making and jaw-dropping retrieving throughout.

Although El Hindi often looked like he wasn’t going to have enough gas in the tank to get the job done, he found the big shots at the right moments and closed this all important middle game, 13-11 in extra points.

LJ wasn’t about to go down without a fight in the 4th and despite holding an 8-5 lead and it looking like a sure thing that he would force a 5th and deciding game, it wasn’t meant to be and El Hindi clawed his way back to take the game 11-9 in front of a highly entertained and appreciative crowd.