12-Feb, Final:
[1] Saurav Ghosal 3-1 [Q] Yasir Butt  11/8, 15/13, 10/12, 11/5

Saurav stops Butt run in Windy City final
Yoni Ellous Reports

A fantastic way to finish the tournament, with a tough fought fast paced four game match.

Yasir came out firing with precision short shots catching Saurav a little of guard, taking early leads in the first three games. Saurav knuckled down in each with some phenomenal retrieving causing Yasir to get a frustrated.

Yasir then stopped attacking as much and the game changed to longer more patient rallies which suited Saurav better. In both the first and second Saurav was able to come back and win the games, but not in the third where Yasir managed to close it out with some beautiful shot making.

The fourth saw Saurav neutralize Yasir from the start, even getting off to a 5-1 lead himself. From there Yasir was never able to close that gap.

Thanks to all the players, sponsors and patrons for what has been a great week of Squash for the METROsquash Windy City Open.
 

11/4, 11/5, 11/6

[4] Alan Clyne

 11/8, 15/13, 10/12, 11/5

[Q] Yasir Butt

 9/11, 11/2, 8/11, 12/10, 11/3

[Q] Yasir Butt

8 Feb, Qualifying Finals:

Matthew Karawalski (Aus) 3-1 Shaun Le Roux (RSA)          12/10 11/9 7/11 11/3
Olivier Pett (ENG) 3-1 Danish Atlas Khan (PAK)                   11/7 11/7 11/13 11/3
Christopher Gordon (USA) 3-0 Scott Arnold (Aus)                        11/8 11/9 11/9
Yasir Butt (Pak) 3-0 Wade Johnstone (Aus)                                   11/3 11/6 11/9

07-Feb, Qualifying Round One:

Matthew Karawalski (Aus) bt Fred Reid (Can)                    11/8 11/8 11/8 (35m)
Shaun Le Roux (RSA) bt Sean Ballard                                11/4 11/3 11/5 (23m)

Danish Atlas Khan (Pak) bt Andrew Schnell (Can)   11/13 13/11 11/3 11/5 (44m)
Olivier Pett (Eng) bt Yoni Ellous (Ned)                                11/2 11/4 11/2 (31m)

Christopher Gordon (USA) bt Jack Herold (USA)               11/ 5 11/2 11/4 (25m)
Scott Arnold (Aus) bt Dane Sharpe (Can)                   6/11 11/7 11/4 11/4 (62m)

Wade Johnstone (Aus) bt Aurangzeb Mehmund (Pak)      11/9 14/12 16/14 (48m)
Yasir Butt (Pak) bt David Letourneau (Can)                    15/13 11/6 11/9 (42m)
 

10-Feb, Quarters:
Yasir pulls another trick
Yoni Ellous Reports

Qualifier Yasir Butt pulled another trick out of his hat after getting the best of Shawn Delierre in four games. Another physical match with lots of lets keeping the ref on edge. All in all a great game as Yasir continues on into the semi finals tomorrow at 4pm here in the Windy City.

No Mexican fiesta tonight as Ali Anwar Reda put a stop to Arturo Salazar's run. Arturo got the best of Ali in the first game after a tie-breaker, only for the Egyptian to come out flying to take the second. Even though the third and fourth were evenly matched it was Ali kicking into a higher gear at the end of each game. He will have to bring his A-game tomorrow as he takes on Pakistani wizard Yasir.

Alan Clyne against Ryan Cuskelly - now this is what we call a sturdy match. Both players delivering solid rails and hanging tough within the rallies. Not too many fancy plays or shots but Alan pushing Ryan to the max every game. After Ryan won a close first, Alan took over control winning the second comfortably. The third and fourth were very evenly matched but Alan getting the best of it in the end with some nice finishes . Now he will have to take on six time Indian Champion Saurav in the semis tomorrow.

Saurav Ghosal managed to back up yesterdays performance with another tough four set match against Olivier Pett, the defending champion. Both played beautifully, moving the ball around well, attacking with precision and getting just about everything back. But in the end it was Saurav that managed to out last Ollie to a standing ovation from the crowd.

09-Feb, Round One:
Pett and Butt qualify for Windy City quarters,
as Delierre ousts Razik
Mark Heather Reports

A great evening of Squash opening with a fast attacking game between Yasir Butt and Marwan El Shorbagy. Yasir continued his on form from qualifying by dispatching Marwan in four.

The match between Shahir Razik and Shawn Delierre was quite different, the longest match of the day keeping the ref plenty busy with a lot of calls as Delierre beat the second seed in four.

Shahjahan the young 16yr old from Pakistan who now lives here in the US put up a good fight as the wildcard against Ali Anwar Reda, but experience put the Egyptian through in three.

Arturo Salazar had the better length giving him the chance to push up and attack Martin Knight's loose balls, this continued to be the theme throughout the match.

Matthew Karwalski started off strong playing the tighter Squash, but then started trying to move the ball around more which ended up opening the court for Alan Clyne. Alan then using his speed took full advantage getting onto the ball early leaving Matt out of position and finish the points off.

A competitive game between Chris Gordon and Ryan Cuskelly, but Chris found himself just slightly behind the pace and was just not quite able to get up in front and take control.

Another upset came when Olivier Pett, last year's champion, took out a slightly worn looking Ong Beng Hee who had won the Motor City Open the previous week.

What a way to finish the evening, a match that had everything. After over an hour of a final worthy match, Saurav Ghosal pulled it back from 2 - 0 down to Cesar Salazar in a thrilling spectacle that the crowd couldn't get enough off. Hats off to both players.
 

What a great way to start today's matches!

Both players came flying out the gate playing at an incredible pace. Shaun took control of the T early in the game working Matthew around the court, but with some incredible retrieving Matthew fought his way back into the game coming from 9-3 down to win the game.

The second game was close with Shaun controlling at times, but Matthew remaining the steadier taking it 11/9. Shaun managed a come back in the third with a streak of points in the later part of the game closing it out. This didn't last though with Matthew stepping the pace back up from the start of the fourth and running away with it, 11/3.

Another entertaining match with both players going back and forth till Olivier managed to pull away towards the end of each game. The third was an even tighter one with it going all the way to a tie breaker, but this time a couple of clipped tins sent the game Danish's way.

But Olivier picked it straight back up, applying more pressure than ever with no intentions of this match going any further. Closing it out in a quick fourth game, 11/3

Battle of the giants. Both players worked each other around the court and took their opportunities well. Each game was close with quite a few let balls being called, but Chris was able to prevail in each. The final game saw Chris win the match with a back wall boast that just clued to the right wall.

Last but not least, another entertaining match with some hard hitting and great retrieving. There were several very long rallies which enthralled the crowd, but at the end of the day Yasir's attacking game was on and he was just to good.