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 Sky
Open 2010
Sky Petrosport Club, 15-22 May, $150k |
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22-May,
Final:
[2] Nick Matthew
(Eng) bt [4] Karim Darwish (Egy)
6/11, 11/7, 12/10, 13/11 (61m)
Matthew makes sure
If there were any doubts that Nick Matthew would be
the new world number one in the June rankings - the
calculations were quite close - he dismissed all speculation
with a four-game victory over defending champion Karim
Darwish in the Sky Open final.
The Englishman fought back from a game down, winning the
last two games on extra points to secure his second Super
Series title in a row, move to the top of the Super Series
rankings, make absolutely sure of his position as new world
number one, and extend his unbeaten run of matches to 28 ...
all in all not a bad day for the Yorkshireman as he heads
off for a well-deserved holiday!
"A surreal
feeling - it will probably sink in when I get home and in
the company of my family, friends and my team. I was
inspired tonight by what Karim did in Saudi and that drove
me to play as though my life was on it.
"Now I am looking for a break away from the game - a trip to
Mexico and then home to work on staying in this position.
World No. 1 sounds great."
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Updated PSA
Super Series Rankings:
1 (1) Nick Matthew (ENG)
240
2 (3) Ramy Ashour (EGY) 170
3 (1) James Willstrop (ENG)
165
4 (5) Karim Darwish (EGY) 120
5 (4) Amr Shabana (EGY) 80
6 (6) Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
75
7 (11) Thierry Lincou (FRA) 65
7 (7) Wael El Hindi (EGY) 65
9 (7) David Palmer (AUS) 55
10 (10) Alister Walker (ENG) 45
11 (11) Adrian Grant (ENG) 40
11 (20) Peter Barker (ENG) 40
13 (9) Olli Tuominen (FIN) 35
14 (20) Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 30
14 (15) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 30
16 (20) Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 25
16 (20) Hisham Ashour (EGY) 25
16 (20) Joey Barrington (ENG) 25
16 (11) Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 25
16 (11) Simon Rosner (GER) 25 |
Sky
Open 2010
Sky Petrosport Club, 15-22 May, $150k |
Round One
17 May |
Round Two
18/19 May |
Quarters
20 May |
Semis
21 May |
Final
22 May |
[1] Ramy Ashour (Egy)
11/5, 11/6, 11/7 (37m)
Joey Barrington (Eng) |
[1]
Ramy Ashour
11/5, 11/5, 11/7 (35m)
Saurav Ghosal |
[1] Ramy Ashour
11/6, 11/9, 13/11 (39m)
[5] James
Willstrop |
[1] Ramy Ashour
11/8, 11/5, 11/7 (33m)
[4] Karim Darwish |
[4] Karim Darwish
6/11, 11/7, 12/10, 13/11 (61m)
[2] Nick Matthew |
[16] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
11/9, 4/11, 11/8, 11/2 (52m)
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) |
[5] James Willstrop
(Eng)
12/10, 12/10, 11/3 (34m)
Hisham Ashour (Egy) |
[5] James
Willstrop
11/8, 11/5, 11/5 (43m)
Ali Anwar Reda |
[9] Daryl Selby (Eng)
5/11, 11/7, 11/2, 9/11, 11/4 (97m)
Ali Anwar Reda (Egy) |
[4] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/9, 11/8, 11/7 (35m)
[Q] Dylan Bennett (Ned) |
[4]
Karim Darwish
11/8, 12/10, 13/11 (57m)
[10] David Palmer |
[4] Karim Darwish
11/5, 11/9, 11/4 (33m)
[6]
Gregory Gaultier |
[10] David Palmer
(Aus)
11/7, 11/5, 11/2 (34m)
[Q] Tom Richards (Eng) |
[6] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
11/3, 11/9, 12/10 (54m)
Ong Beng Hee (Mas) |
[6]
Gregory Gaultier
11/8, 2/11, 11/5, 11/4 (71m)
[15] Cameron Pilley |
[15] Cameron Pilley
(Aus)
9/11, 11/2, 11/1, 11/6 (32m)
Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak) |
[Q] Karim Abdel Gawad
(Egy)
11/9, 11/7, 11/8 (53m)
[14] Alister Walker (Eng) |
[14]
Alister Walker
8/11, 11/5, 11/7, 11/4 (65m)
[7] Thierry Lincou |
[7] Thierry Lincou
7/11, 11/7, 11/4, 11/4 (54m)
[12] Wael
El Hindi |
[7] Thierry Lincou
11/8, 7/11, 11/9, 11/5 (60m)
[2] Nick Matthew |
Omar Mosaad (Egy)
11/3, 11/7, 9/11, 11/4 (59m)
[7] Thierry Lincou (Fra) |
[Q] Ryan Cuskelly
(Aus)
11/8, 11/9, 11/9 (59m)
[12] Wael El Hindi (Egy) |
[12] Wael
El Hindi
w/o
[3] Amr Shabana |
Karim AGA Samy (Egy)
11/9, 11/7, 7/11, 11/7 (31m)
[3] Amr Shabana (Egy) |
[Q] Ali Farag (Egy)
6/11, 11/8, 11/4, 11/4 (55m)
[13] Adrian Grant (Eng) |
[13] Adrian Grant
14/12, 11/9, 11/5 (89m)
[8] Peter Barker |
[8] Peter Barker
12/10, 11/4, 11/6 (44m)
[2] Nick Matthew |
[Q] Steve Coppinger (Rsa)
11/6, 11/6, 11/7 (43m)
[8] Peter Barker (Eng) |
[Q] Mathieu Castagnet
(Fra)
11/8, 6/11, 11/5, 11/3 (54m)
[11] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) |
[11]
Laurens Jan Anjema
11/4, 11/2, 11/5 (30m)
[2] Nick Matthew |
[Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11/5, 11/6, 11/9 (47m)
[2] Nick Matthew (Eng) |
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21-May, Semis:
[4] Karim Darwish bt [1] Ramy Ashour 11/8,11/5,11/7
(33m)
[2] Nick Matthew bt [7] Thierry Lincou 11/8,7/11,11/9,11/5
(60m)
Darwish ousts Ashour as
Matthew takes pole ...
Defending champion Karim Darwish beat world number
one and top seed Ramy Ashour in the Sky Open semi-finals to
move into a final against Nick Matthew, who will be
the new world number one at the end of the month.
Darwish made it three Sky finals in a row with a
straight-games win over compatriot Ashour, while Matthew
overcame experienced Frenchman Thierry Lincou in four games.
The victory means that the Englishman will not only be top
of the Super Series rankings at the end of this third event
of the year, but also that he will overtake Ashour in the
PSA world rankings to become the first English world number
one since fellow Yorkshireman Lee Beachill held the spot at
the end of 2004.
The pre-event calculations told us that whoever did better
of the world's top two here would assume the number one
ranking, so when Ashour lost to Darwish in the first match,
Matthew went on knowing that 'all' he needed to do was win
to assume pole position ...
 "That
was the hardest squash match I've ever played - I now know
what it feels like to play with a glass arm! Tomorrow I can
relax and enjoy the squash.
"How strange a feeling to be number one in the world and
still have a job to do tomorrow. One more push then
celebration time!"
"It's a weird feeling right now because I still have a final
to play tomorrow. Hopefully I can take a leaf out of Karim's
book when he won Saudi after becoming the world number one a
few days earlier.
"It obviously hasn't sunk in yet, writing it down feels
weird, but I'm very emotional for the people back home, the
people who I couldn't have done it without.
"I go on holiday to Mexico next week and it's going to be a
fantastic holiday now!!!"
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Final head to head
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21-May, Semis:
[4] Karim Darwish bt [1] Ramy Ashour 11/8,11/5,11/7
(33m)
[2] Nick Matthew bt [7] Thierry Lincou 11/8,7/11,11/9,11/5
(60m)
20-May, Quarters:
Quarters in Cairo
Seven of the top eight seeds
contested the quarter-finals of the third Super Series event
of the year, in the third edition of the Sky Open.
The problematical glass court floor was sanded this morning,
was
cleaned and hoovered, and was declared fit for play tonight,
and the higher-seeded players all won through on the night.
Lincou Battles Through To Sky Open Semis
Veteran Frenchman Thierry Lincou claimed his first
semi-final berth in a Super Series event since November 2008
when he beat Wael El Hindi in the quarter-finals. The
seventh seed went into the match boasting a 4/1 career
head-to-head lead over No12 seed El Hindi - but the
Egyptian's one win was achieved at last year's Sky Open
after a bruising 110-minute second round encounter.
Former world champion Lincou - at 34, the oldest competitor
in the tournament - dropped the opening game against his
Cairo-born opponent, but battled back to take the next three
to earn an impressive 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 victory after
54 minutes.
In an all-European semi-final at the bottom of the draw, the
Marseille man will take on England's Nick Matthew,
the second seed.
Winner of the previous Super Series event, the North
American Open in Virginia in February, world number two
Matthew has his sights on the world number one ranking - and
knows that a better finish in Cairo than Egyptian rival
Ramy Ashour, his opponent in the US final, could achieve
this.
The 29-year-old from Sheffield despatched England team-mate
Peter Barker, the No8 seed, 12-10, 11-4, 11-6 in 44 minutes
- extending his straight-games-match-winning-run in the
event.
The other semi-final will be an all-Egyptian affair - and a
repeat of last month's Egyptian National Championship final
- between top seed Ramy Ashour and fourth seed Karim
Darwish, both from Cairo.
Ashour, the world number one, beat his quarter-final
opponent James Willstrop at the same stage in the event last
year - since when the Englishman gained his revenge in the
final of the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York
to win the first Super Series event of the year.
But Ashour was on top on the all-glass court in front of his
home crowd, beating fifth seed Willstrop 11-6, 11-9, 13-11
in 39 minutes - a defeat which sees the Englishman lose his
position at the top of the Super Series Rankings.
Defending champion Darwish's battle against sixth seed
Gregory Gaultier was a repeat of last year's Sky Open final.
And again the Egyptian had the measure of the Frenchman -
but this time was able to progress in straight games,
winning 11-5, 11-9, 11-4 in 33 minutes.
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Semis head to heads
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19-May, Round Two, Part Two:
Down to last eight
as Shabana pulls out
The tournament was due to get
back onto the glass court tonight, after the floor was
sanded, repainted, and tested by the players, but soon after
the first match started it was clear the court was
unplayable and the matches were moved back onto the inside
courts.
There were only three matches, after third seed Amr
Shabana pulled out with injury. "I felt something go in
my lower back on the first point of the knock up on Monday.
I managed to finish the match but when I returned home and
stretched I felt a lot of pain and my movement was
restricted.
"I'm very sorry to withdraw, for the tournament and the
spectators," added the four-time and reigning world
champion, who has yet to win the Sky Open in his hometown.
The withdrawal puts the 2008 champion Wael El Hindi
through to the quarters.
Thierry Lincou recovered from losing the first game to
overcome Alister Walker in four games, Peter Barker
took well over an hour to win the first two games against
fellow left-handed Englishman Adrian Grant before completing
a straight-games win in 89 minutes.
Nick Matthew wrapped up the second round with a 3/0 win
over Laurens Jan Anjema to make it three Englishmen, three
Egyptians and two Frenchmen in the quarter-finals.
18-May, Round Two, part one:
Seeds safely through inside in Sky
The first part of the Sky Open second round, played on the
inside courts at Cairo's Sky complex due to floor problems
on the glass court, saw the seeded players safely progress
to the quarter-finals.
World number one Ramy Ashour despatched Saurav Ghosal
safely enough, and he will meet James Willstrop for a
place in the semi-finals after the Englishman also won in
straight games against Ali Anwar Reda.
Fourth and sixth seeds Karim Darwish and Gregory
Gaultier were both tested in their matches, defending
champion Darwish winning three close games against David
Palmer, Gaultier taking well over an hour to see off Cameron
Pilley in four games.
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17-May, Round One:
Ghosal and Reda in round one upsets
The opening day of main draw action in the Sky Open in Cairo
saw twelve first round matches on the complex courts, with
the top four seeds scheduled to play on the glass court in
the evening.
Two of the seeded players failed to progress as India's
Saurav Ghosal beat Malaysia's 16th seed Azlan Iskandar
in four games while Egypt's Ali Anwar Reda outlasted
ninth seed Daryl Selby in a 97-minute marathon.
Action started on the glass court, but due to problems with
the court floor the matches had to be moved to the indoor courts.
"The court floor was very slippery despite a day of
cleaning," explained tournament director Robert Edwards.
"The first match between Amr Shabana and Karim Samy
saw them slipping, but they decided to finish their match.
"The floor was cleaned again at the end of their match, but
we agreed that if the next two players complained about the
floor and requested a move, we would move them to the glass
backs to finish. They did request a move during the first
game and were promptly moved to the other court."
Once inside there were no problems for the other top seeds
as Ramy Ashour, Nick Matthew, and Karim Darwish all
claimed their places in the second round. |
16-May, Qualifying Finals:
Ramy In 'Third Time Lucky' Hometown Bid
Egypt's world number one Ramy Ashour will be hoping that it
will be 'third time lucky' this year when the third and
biggest PSA Super Series 2010 event of the year to date, the
Sky Open, gets underway in his home town Cairo on Monday.
Runner-up in the year's two previous Super Series events in
the USA, 22-year-old Ashour is top seed for the $150k Sky
Open which is in its third year at the Sky Petrosport Club.
The event has attracted a world-class field, including 18 of
the top 20 players in the world and led by Cairo King
Ashour, but it is Englishmen James Willstrop and Nick
Matthew - winners of the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions
in New York and North American Open, respectively - who
arrive in Egypt jointly leading the 2010 PSA Super Series
Rankings, ahead of Ashour, in third place.
World number two Nick Matthew is the event's second seed -
and the only non-Egyptian amongst the top four seeds.
Indeed, following the conclusion of today's final qualifying
round, a total of 11 Egyptians will compete in the main draw
- all of whom are from Cairo.
Ashour is expected meet former world number one Karim
Darwish, the fourth seed, in the semi-final in the top half
of the draw - while Matthew is predicted to line up against
legendary left-hander Amr Shabana, the four-time world
champion who is the third seed.
Cairo teenagers Ali Farag and Karim Abdel Gawad were the
youngest players to qualify - in both cases earning their
first appearances in a Super Series event. Farag, ranked 174
in the world, pulled off his second successive upset by
beating USA's Gilly Lane while Gawad, also 18, defeated
Englishman Joe Lee. |
 
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Qualifying Draw & Results:
16 May, Qualifying Finals:
Tom Richards (Eng) bt Kamran Khan (Mas)
11/4, 11/5, 12/10 (42m)
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) bt Yann Perrin (Fra)
11/9, 11/8, 11/7 (62m)
Ali Farag (Egy) bt Gilly Lane (Usa)
11/9, 11/6, 9/11, 11/6 (61m)
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) bt Wael Farag (Egy)
11/9, 11/9, 11/9 (47m)
Steve Coppinger (Rsa) bt Mohammed Abbas (Egy) 11/9, 11/7, 7/3
rtd (37m)
Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt Robbie Temple (Eng)
11/7, 6/11, 11/5, 11/5 (62m)
Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) bt Joe Lee (Eng)
7/11, 111/7, 11/7, 11/7 (65m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Adrian Waller (Eng)
11/9, 11/4, 9/11, 7/11, 11/6 (82m)
15 May,
Qualifying Round One:
Tom Richards (Eng) bt Basem
Makram (Egy) 11/4, 11/9, 11/5 (28m)
Kamran Khan (Mas)
bt
Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) 11/8, 5/11, 15/13, 4/11, 12/10
(91m)
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) bt Islam El Fiky (Egy)
11/8, 11/8, 11/4 (60m)
Yann Perrin (Fra) bt Mostafa Bayoumi (Egy)
11/2, 11/6, 11/7 (28m)
Ali Farag (Egy) bt
Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
12/10, 15/13, 3/11, 11/9 (48m)
Gilly Lane (Usa) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy)
11/7, 11/4, 11/9 (27m)
Wael Farag (Egy)
bt Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
11/8, 11/3, 4/11, 11/8 (38m)
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) bt Amr Khalifa (Egy)
12/14 , 11/5 , 11/9 , 11/6 (56m)
Mohammed Abbas (Egy) bt Amr Mansi (Egy)
11/7, 11/7, 6/11, 12/10 (43m)
Steve Coppinger (Rsa) bt Andrew Wagih (Egy) 12/10,
12/10, 11/9, 11/9 (60m)
Robbie Temple (Eng) bt Ahmed Hawas (Egy)
11/8, 11/7, 11/9 (32m)
Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt
Julian Illingworth (Usa)
9/11, 11/8, 9/11, 11/1, 11/8 (71m)
Joe Lee (Eng) bt
Chris Simpson (Eng)
11/9, 9/11, 6/11, 11/9, 11/6 (92m)
Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) bt
Amr Swelim (Ita)
11/4, 10/12, 11/8, 11/9 (78m)
Adrian Waller (Eng) bt Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy) 11/1, 9/11,
11/5, 11/8 (46m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Mazen Gamal (Egy)
11/7, 11/6, 11/5 (25m)
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2008 & 2009 Events |
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