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World Stars in Toronto,
16-18 Feb 2010
Macquarie
Private Wealth Cambridge Pro Singles Championships |
Final round - Feb 18:
Final:
Shabana bt Gaultier 12-10, 10-12,
11-9, 8-11, 12-10
3rd/4th:
Razik bt Power 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-7 (52min)
Round 2 - Feb 17
Shabana bt Razik
8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 13-11 (65min)
Gaultier bt Power 5-11, 11-8, 12-10, 6-11, 11-9
(85min)
Round 1 - Feb 16:
Shabana bt Power
11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10 (70min)
Gaultier bt Razik
7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10 (55min)
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Shabana Wins in Five
Chris Hollow reports
After over 60 minutes of amazing squash, Amr Shabana,
currently World Number 3 in the PSA Rankings, emerged
victorious over Gregory Gaultier to claim First
Annual Cambridge Club Pro Singles Squash title.
A standing-room only crowd of over 100 squash enthusiasts
from the Cambridge Group of Clubs surrounded centre court to
witness the event. They were not disappointed, treated time
and again to displays of amazing shot-making and
unbelievable retrievals.
The evening began with two local boys squaring-off on the
very court they can be found training on throughout the
year. PSA Number 36 and current Canadian Number 1 Shahier
Razik was pitted against a man needing no introduction,
winner of 36 PSA event including the World Open, British
Open, Super Series Finals and the Tournament of Champions,
an immeasurable talent widely regarded as having the best
hands in the history of the sport, Canada's Jonathon Power.
Razik opened the match taking game one in a contest that
featured some classic JP, both with the racquet and with his
trademark banter with referee Dean Brown. Power cleverly
negotiated his way around a conduct stroke for racquet abuse
by playing the last rally of the game with half a racquet,
the handle having inexplicably become detached from the head
after some minor contact with the floor following a call
that went the way of his opponent. Attempting a shot for the
ages, Jonathon cut a behind-the-back slice drop into the
front-left corner with what remained of his racquet.
It was not to be however, as the shot found tin, giving the
first game to Razik. In game two, Power showed the skill and
shot-making that propelled him to Number One in the world,
wrong-footing Razik on a couple of occasions to level the
match at one game each. However, on this day, It would be
Razik's top-flight fitness, economy of movement and a
dogged-resistance to losing on the court he calls home that
would prevail. Razik slowly but surely pulled away in both
of the next two games. Four games and two racquets later,
match to Razik three games to one.
...and on to the Main Event.
What was being touted as the Final of this great event, the
south-pawed Amr Shabana took the court against one of his
main rivals in recent years, France's Gregory Gaultier. Both
former World Number 1, the contest matched up two of the
hottest talents in the sport today.
The match began with Shabana taking a somewhat well-measured
game one, the players feeling each other out and warming
into their groove. From there on, it was fire-works, both
players looking to entertain with an array of holds, flicks,
deceptions and kills. Gaultier took the second in a game
that featured a rally that resembled a fitness drill with
the Gaul lobbing and the Egyptian responding with boasts,
quickly followed by Shabana dropping to the ground and
performing a push-up before retrieving the next shot! Not to
be outdone, the Frenchman dropped to the deck and pushed in
a dead-nick drop winner to the front right...while lying
flat on his stomach!! Shabana took the entertaining third
game on points 13-11 but lost the fourth, ending in three
uncharacteristic errors.
That set the stage for a barn-burner,
everything-but-the-kitchen sink fifth game. Perfect
Philadelphias, back-wall boast retrievals and head-fakes
were mixed in with the tightest up-and-down rails one will
ever see. In the end, this phenomenal match was secured by
the incredible wrist of Amr Shabana, executing a cross-court
flick to win the 50+ shot rally, the game (13-11) and the
match.
The Cambridge Club would like to thank the players and the
membership for their support of this event. Toronto has been
without a softball pro event for over two years. Judging
from the turn-out, that was about two years too long.
In closing, a very special thanks goes out to the sponsors:
Macquarie Private Wealth and Gold Sponsors Sheraton Center,
Points.com, Torontopath.com, Merrill Lynch, Dundee Capital
Markets, Bar Mercurio, Ridley Windows and the Cambridge
Group of Clubs, without whom this great event would not be
possible.
Thanks again. Looking forward to next year!
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TORONTO – Former world champion Jonathon Power of
Montreal, current world champion Amr Shabana of
Egypt, recent world number one Gregory Gaultier of
France and Canadian number one Shahier Razik of
Toronto will compete in the inaugural $25,000 Macquarie
Private Wealth Cambridge Pro Singles Championships from
February 16-18.
Four different Toronto clubs will host the round robin
tournament. On February 16, Power faces Shabana at the
Toronto Athletic Club while Razik and Gaultier clash at
the Adelaide Club.
On February 17, it is Razik vs Shabana at the Toronto
Cricket Club and Power vs Gaultier at the Cambridge
Club.
On February 18, Cambridge hosts the matches between Razik
and Power as well as Gaultier and Shabana.
Power, who retired from the pro circuit in 2006, was the
first North American to ranked number one in the world
reaching the top in 1999, a year after winning the world
title. He won 36 pro events and reached 58 finals.
Shabana is a four-time world champion earning the titles as
the ninth-seed in 2003, seventh seed in 2005, top seed in
2007 and third seed in 2009. He was ranked number-one in the
world for 33 consecutive months before being dethroned by
compatriot Karim Darwish in January 2009.
Razik is a seasoned international veteran who climbed four
spots to number 31 in the most recent world rankings and is
currently enjoying one of the best starts to a year in his
career. He has already reached two finals on the pro tour in
2010 as he looks to climb back into the world’s top 20.
Gaultier is another familiar name on the pro tour. He
reached the finals at the 2006 and 2007 world championships,
was world number one in November 2009 and is currently
ranked third.
 “Our
goal is to see this tournament grow every year and
eventually become part of the pro tour,” said Razik.
“It’s exciting because we haven’t had a tournament in the
last couple of years.”
All the matches are already sold out.
The same foursome will compete in a separate event on
February 19 in Barrie, Ont.
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