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 Motor
City Open 2013
24-29 Jan, Detroit, $70k |
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29-Jan,
Final
[4] Amr Shabana 1/0
[2] Karim Darwish 11/4, 2/6 rtd (26m)
Darwish injury gives Shabana Motor City title
James Hawkins reports
In an anticlimactic end to a thrilling 2013 Motor City Open
presented by the Suburban Collection, Egypt’s Amr Shabana engraved
his name on the coveted MCO trophy after fellow Egyptian Karim
Darwish retired midway through the second game of Tuesday’s final.
After beating World #21 Nicolas Mueller in the first round, World
#25 Miguel Angel Rodriguez in the quarterfinals, and top-seeded
World #5 Mohamed El Shorbagy in the semis, World #8 Shabana appeared
set for his toughest challenge: World #6 and 2010 MCO winner Darwish
in a championship match of two former World #1s.
But Shabana, who had dropped only one game in his first three
matches at the host Birmingham Athletic Club, jumped out to an early
6-2 lead. After cutting the deficit to 4-6, Darwish tinned three of
his next four shots as Shabana closed out Game One, 11-4, in just
nine minutes. Darwish came out firing in Game Two, nabbing a quick
6-1 lead. But in the ensuing rally, he grabbed his calf in apparent
discomfort.
“It was very sore before the match. I thought when I warmed up it
was going to get better, but after lunging a few times in the second
game I think I pulled a calf muscle,” 31-year-old Darwish said
afterwards.
After trying to stretch it out, Darwish decided not to risk further
injury. He retired 25 minutes into the match, handing Shabana his
first MCO title, 11-4, 2-6 ret.
Shabana holds up the MCO trophy given by tourney title sponsor David
Fischer of the Suburban Collection (Motor City Open photo).
“I knew he had a tough, physical game yesterday against Omar Mosaad.
And I knew if I had a good start it would help me a lot,” Shabana
said.
“More credit to him because he came back and managed to get ahead. I
think he pushed himself on a lunge and it’s a shame, but it’s part
of the sport.”Yet, the standing-room-only crowd didn’t go home
disappointed. Good-sport Shabana beckoned local BAC pro Julian
Wellings, a former World #46, to suit up for a friendly
two-out-of-three. Like every match in the tournament, Shabana won
the exhibition, too: 12-10, 11-4.
For his week’s work, Shabana walked away with a check for $13,300
and a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Chronometer watch worth $6,000 –
courtesy of Greenstone’s Jewelers.
“I love coming here,” 33-year-old Shabana said. “Unfortunately the
last two times I came here, I pulled out. But I was just dying to
get my name on that championship banner with all those great names.”
The title was Shabana’s second PSA World Tour victory of the month
and 31st of his career.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year. After a few
years with injuries and motivational problems, to be able to win two
out of three tournaments, I’m very happy,” he said.
Darwish, who was looking to win his second MCO crown, took home the
runners-up check of $11,200.“This tournament is one of the best
events in the United States and I always enjoy playing here. I
wanted to play a good match today but unfortunately couldn’t,” he
said. “Hopefully I can come back next year and win it.”
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  Motor
City Open 2012
24-29 Jan, Detroit, $70k |
Round One
26 Jan from 15.30 |
Quarters
27 Jan |
Semis
28 Jan |
Final
29 Jan |
[1] Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy)
11/9, 11/6, 11/5
[Q] Abdullah Al Mezayen (Kuw) |
[1] Mohamed El Shorbagy
5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 14-12 (75m)
Ong Beng Hee |
[1] Mohamed El Shorbagy
13/11, 11/5, 6/11, 11/7 (65m)
[4] Amr Shabana |
[4] Amr Shabana
11/4, 2/6 rtd (26m)
[2] Karim Darwish |
Ong Beng Hee (Mas)
6/11, 14/12, 11/7, 12/10
[Q[ Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) |
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col)
12/14, 11/0, 11/6, 14/12
[Q] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) |
Miguel Angel Rodriguez
11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (39m)
[4] Amr Shabana |
Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
11/9, 11/8, 11/7
[4] Amr Shabana (Egy) |
[3] Omar Mosaad (Egy)
15/13, 11/3, 11/7
[Q] Marwan El Shorbagy (Egy) |
[3] Omar Mosaad
11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (56m
Saurav Ghosal |
[3] Omar Mosaad
14/12, 8/11, 8/11, 11/6, 11/5 (97m)
[2] Karim Darwish |
Alan Clyne (Sco)
6/11, 11/7, 11/2, 11/3
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) |
Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11/3, 11/7, 11/2
Steve Coppinger (Rsa) |
Steve Coppinger
11-5, 11-4, 6-11, 11-3 (53m)
[2] Karim Darwish |
Olli Tuominen (Fin)
11/3, 11/3, 11/7
[2] Karim Darwish (Egy) |
24-Jan, Qualifying Round One:
Marwan El Shorbagy bt Grégoire Marche (Fra)
6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-1
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) bt Shahier Razik (Can)
9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-2
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) bt
Max Lee (Hkg)
11-6, 11-4, 11-2
Abdullah Al Mezayen (Kuw) bt Siddharth Suchde (Ind)
11-13, 11-9, 12-10, 11-4
24-Jan, Qualifying Round One:
Marwan El Shorbagy (Egy) bye
Grégoire Marche (Fra) 3-1 Chris Gordon (Usa)
11-9, 11-5, 7-11, 11-7
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) 3-0 Yasir Butt (Pak)
11-6, 11-6, 14-12
Shahier Razik (Can) 3-2 Zac Alexander (Aus)
11-7, 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-3
Max Lee (Hkg) 3-0 Ibrahim Nyanzi (Uga)
11-3, 11-3, 11-7
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) 3-0 Shahjahan Khan (Pak)
11-2, 11-8, 11-8
Abdullah Al Mezayen (Kuw) 3-0nMartin Knight (Nzl)
12-10, 11-3, 17-15
Siddharth Suchde (Ind) 3-0 Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)
14-12, 11-4, 11-8
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Veterans despatch
youngsters
in Detroit
semis
James Hawkins reports
In a clash of Egypt’s up-and-coming
stars vs Egypt’s decorated veterans, youth gave way to experience in
Monday’s semifinals at the Motor City Open presented by The Suburban
Collection.
World #8 Amr Shabana took out World #5 Mohamed El Shorbagy
and World #6 Karim Darwish held off World #9 Omar Mosaad to
set up a championship match between two former World #1s.
In the first semi at the host Birmingham Athletic Club, 33-year-old
Shabana got off to a quick 7-2 start as 22-year-old El Shorbagy
struggled to find his shot. But in the blink of an eye, El Shorbagy
stormed back to take a 9-7 lead.
“When you think you’re cruising, that’s when you lose it,” Shabana
said afterwards about his blown lead. The number four-seed then
staved off two game balls and rescued a 13-11 first game win.
“If I would’ve lost that game, it would’ve been devastating
mentally,” Shabana continued.
Top-seed El Shorbagy made several unforced errors to drop Game Two,
11-5. He took Game Three as his shots finally began to find their
mark, but then fell into a 6-1 hole in Game Four that he was never
able to recover from as Shabana went on to win, 13-11, 11-5, 6-11,
11-7.
“Every time we play, regardless of the score, it’s always a tip-toe
game,” said Shabana, who improved to 9-0 versus El Shorbagy in his
career. “Right now, I might have a slight advantage but Mohamed is
still young and he’s going to catch up sooner or later.”
Making his first return to the MCO after mowing down the competition
in 2010, 31-year-old Darwish advanced to his second MCO final after
ousting 24-year-old Omar Mosaad in a physical – and often chippy –
match.
In Game One, Darwish benefited after a pair of crucial mistakes by
his larger opponent. Leading 12-11 with game ball, Mosaad hit
back-to-back shots into the bottom of the tin before Darwish hit a
forehand nick shot winner to seal it, 14-12.Mosaad bounced back in
Games Two and Three, taking both 11-8. Despite being down 1-2,
Darwish stuck to his game plan and stretched the floor, relentlessly
pounding balls into the back corners and softly flicking balls into
the front corners to win Game Four, 11-6 – and tie the match at
two-all.
Darwish cruised in Game Five as fatigue became a factor and Mosaad
made five unforced errors to drop the match, 14-12, 8-11, 8-11,
11-6, 11-5.
“It’s always a physical match against Omar. He’s a big guy and it’s
hard to pass him because he takes the ball early,” Darwish said.
“But I tried to pass as much as I can and I think the last two games
he lost a little bit of energy.”
Shabana and Darwish will face each another for the 17th time. The
duo most recently met in the final of the 2010 Qatar Classic with
Darwish prevailing 8-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-6.
“Shabana is a great player. I think people will enjoy tomorrow,”
Darwish said.
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27-Jan, Quarters:
Egypt 4
Rest of World 0 in Detroit
James Hawkins reports
Coming into the 2013 Motor City Open
presented by the Suburban Collection, top seed Mohamed El
Shorbagy of Egypt knew there was a chance that he and his fellow
seeded Egyptians could claim all four semifinal spots. After
Sunday’s quarterfinals at the host Birmingham Athletic Club, that
possibility became a reality.
For the first time in the MCO’s 14-year history, there will be a
one-nationality semifinal round as El Shorbagy, Amr Shabana,
Karim Darwish, and Omar Mosaad all advanced out of the
quarterfinals.
“To have four Egyptians in the semis, you never know who’s going to
win. When you play someone from the same country as yours, you have
to completely forget about rankings because these matches are always
different,” El Shorbagy said. “We all know each other really well
and we’re all good friends.”
World #8 and fourth seed Shabana was the first to take a semis spot
as he wasted no time upending World #25 Miguel Angel Rodriguez –
11-9, 11-7, 11-3 – in just 39 minutes.
“Rodriguez is one of the best athletes around. He moves very quickly
and smoothly so I had to play smartly,” said Shabana, a four-time
World Open Champ. “If he gets you moving around it makes the court
feel very big and when you try to finish a ball off he comes so fast
it makes the court very small. I just had to choose my moments and
pace myself.”
Shabana’s semis opponent will be El Shorbagy who avenged his loss in
last year’s MCO semifinals to World #20 and reigning MCO champ Ong
Beng Hee by rolling to a 5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 14-12 victory. El
Shorbagy teetered on the brink of falling behind 0-2 to Beng Hee as
he trailed 9-6 in Game Two, But was able to rattle off five-straight
points and even the match at one-all.
“It’s so hard to play Beng Hee in that bouncy court cause he keeps
slowing down the pace. I found myself down, but I just had to keep
digging in ’til he lost focus. That’s what happened in the second
game and the match completely went my way after that,” said El
Shorbagy who has reached the MCO semifinals all three years he has
played here. The top seed added that he’s excited for the
opportunity to go toe-to-toe with 33-year-old squash legend Shabana.
“It’s good to be able to play Shabana one more time. He’s a player I
won’t be playing that often since he only has a few years left in
his career. But every time I play him I learn something new,” El
Shorbagy said.
In a David versus Goliath quarterfinal, World #9 and third seed Omar
Mosaad (6’4”, 200 pounds) played a tight game to contain speedy
World #22 Saurav Ghosal (5’6”, 145 pounds) and win in straight
games: 11-6, 11-8, 11-8.
Mosaad will face World #6 and second seed Karim Darwish, who
disposed of World #23 Stephen Coppinger in the duo’s first career
match-up: 11-5, 11-4, 6-11, 11-3.
“It’s good and tough at the same time,” Mosaad said of having to
play Darwish in the semifinal. “We train all the time together so we
know the other player’s game. I’ll try to play well and hope I can
win.”
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26-Jan, Round One:
Egyptians
on a roll in Detroit
James Hawkins reports
Four former Motor City Open champions.
A pair of former World number ones Twelve of the world’s Top 25
squash players. Four of them in the Top 10.
A historic field took to the courts Saturday in the First Round of
the Motor City Open presented by The Suburban Collection. They
didn’t disappoint.
In the day’s opening match at the host Birmingham Athletic Club,
2012 MCO winner Ong Beng Hee’s title defense looked to be in
jeopardy as qualifier Ryan Cuskelly of Australia took Game One and
was on the verge of commanding 2-0 lead in Game Two. But World #20
Beng Hee fought off four game balls and evened the match at 1-1. He
took Game Three, then fended off three more game balls against to
win Game Four and the match: 6-11, 14-12, 11-7, 12-10.
“Winning the second game changed the whole match,” Beng Hee said
after the match. “I’m a little bit tense because it’s the first
match of a very big tournament and I won it last year so the
pressure is on. Ryan actually played really well and didn’t make
many mistakes. It was just maybe my day today.”
In other matches, all four seeded Egyptians won convincingly in
straight games. Top seed and 2011 MCO winner Mohamed El Shorbagy
needed just 30 minutes to defeat qualifier and World #41 Abdullah Al
Mezayen of Kuwait, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5.
Then in a battle of former MCO champions, 2010 winner and former
World #1 Karim Darwish looked in top form as he dominated 2007
winner Olli Tuominen of Finland, 11-2, 11-3, 11-7.
Qualifier Marwan El Shorbagy – Moahamed’s younger brother – lost to
fellow Egyptian and third-seed Omar Mosaad, 15-13, 11-3, 11-7. And
former World #1 and fourth-seeded Amr Shabana buried drop shot after
drop shot against World # 21 Nicolas Muller of Switzerland en route
to a 11-9, 11-4, 11-9 win.
“Karim, Omar, and Amr are all great players and I’ve learned a lot
from them. They’re like big brothers for me and they’ve helped me
all through my career,” Mohamed El Shorbagy said after his match.
“To be able to compete with them and try to beat them is an honour
for me. Hopefully we all reach the semifinals together and it’ll be
like an All-Egyptian tournament.
”In the last match of the day, World #23 Stephen Coppinger of South
Africa met World #19 Hisham Ashour of Egypt in a highly-anticipated
rematch of last year’s four-game semifinal match – won by Ashour.
This time Ashour struggled with his consistency and Coppinger rolled
: 11-3, 11-7, 11-2.
“The score line is convincing but I never felt comfortable,”
Coppinger said afterwards. ” Hisham’s always got something different
to hit you with, but I felt like it was all up to him whether he’d
hit a winner or give me a free point.”
Also advancing to the quarterfinals is World #25 Miguel Angel
Rodriguez of Colombia and World #22 Saurav Ghosal of India.
Quarterfinals will begin Sunday at 4 p.m.
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Qualifying complete in Detroit
Egyptian teenager Marwan El Shorbagy joined his top-seeded
brother Mohamed in the main draw of the Motor City Open after coming
through the qualifying finals at Birmingham Athletic Club in
Detroi.
Marwan, the 2012 PSA Young Player of the Year and two-time world
junior champion, recovered from a game down to beat Frenchman
Grégoire Marche 6-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-1.
"In the first game I didn't find my game," said the 19-year-old
world No27. "The court is very bouncy, which suits his game more
than mine. I was just waiting for the opportunity to come so I could
slow down the game and play at my pace.
"I thought it was working well in the second and third game. I think
I played the right game for this court against Marche."
Next up for Marwan is an all-Egyptian matchup with third seed Omar
Mosaad.
Ryan Cuskelly produced the most dramatic win on the eve of
the event's first round. After dropping the first two games to
veteran Canadian Shahier Razik, the 25-year-old Australian mounted
an extraordinary comeback taking the next three games and prevailing
9-11, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-2 in a draining, two-hour, eight minute
match!
"Playing a player like Razik, he just gets so many balls back that
you have to hit four or five winners just to win a rally," said the
New York-based world No32. "That's his goal. Just to make the game
as long as possible and frustrate you. I got sucked into his game
the first two games instead of playing my game of attacking and
getting to the ball faster."
Cuskelly switched tactics and began picking up the pace in game
three. Things took a turn for the worse early in the decider when
Razik dropped to the floor in agonizing pain.
"I had a bruised toe and Ryan had a good step on it," said the
35-year-old from Toronto. "It irritated and started swelling on me.
I was struggling to get my shoe on. After game two, it just turned
into a physical match. We both got a little tired and we weren't
clearing as smoothly."
For Cuskelly, the marathon win is one of his greatest memories in
his many years at the MCO.
"It was the longest match of my career by far and it's one of my
best wins here, especially coming from down 2/0 against a player
like Razik," he said. "He's pretty hard to beat on a traditional
court."
Cuskelly's reward is a match against defending champion Ong Beng Hee.
Mathieu Castagnet ensured French interest in the main draw
with a 3/0 win over Max Lee while Kuwait's Abdullah Al Mezayen
came from a game down to beat Siddarth Suchde.
Castagnet now meets Miguel Angel Rodriguez while Al Mezayen draws
top seed and former champion Mohamed El Shorbagy.
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Detroit set for biggest yet
Four of the world’s top 10 professional
squash players and 12 of the 25 top players will compete January
24-29 when the Birmingham Athletic Club hosts the USA's fourth
largest professional squash tournament and the Midwest’s largest.
The competition will draw 26 of the world’s top-ranked players –
including two former World #1s – to vie for a $70,000 purse in The
Motor City Open, a PSA tournament presented by The Suburban
Collection.
Confirmed players include World #6 Karim Darwish and World #8
Amr Shabana, both of Egypt and former World #1s. Squash
legend Shabana is a four-time world champion – one of only four
players ever to achieve that feat. Other players hail from
Australia, Botswana, Colombia, Finland, France, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and elsewhere.
Now the second-longest running professional squash tournament in the
United States, the MCO has grown during its 14-year history into one
of PSA’s premier tournaments behind only the Tournament of
Champions, U.S. Open and North American Open.
The six-day tournament
typically attracts more than 1,500 spectators, and is co-sponsored
by TRW, Grid4, Merrill Lynch, Visteon, Wynnchurch, Huron Capital,
Conway-MacKenzie and others.
The winning player earns a cash prize, a Rolex watch donated by
Greenstone’s Fine Jewelry and a place on the MCO’s trophy.
The MCO includes a silent auction that will benefit The Karmanos
Cancer Institute and Racquet Up Detroit, a youth development program
that combines squash, mentoring, tutoring and community service.
During its 14-year history, the MCO has raised more than $120,000
for local charities.
Another popular feature of the annual event is the Junior Clinic,
sponsored by the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation. Professionals in the
tournament play and coach junior squash players from the
greater-Detroit area and Windsor. The BAC has the Midwest’s largest
junior squash program, and several of the BAC’s junior players are
nationally ranked.
The BAC has a decades-long history of sending
squash players to some of the nation’s best universities and
colleges. Juniors enrolled in Racquet Up Detroit also will
participate in this year’s Junior Clinic.
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