08-May-13:
Gaultier Subdues Home Hero Rosner
To Win Inaugural KPMG Grand Slam Cup in Frankfurt

France's world number three-ranked squash player Gregory Gaultier denied the capacity crowd at The Squaire in Frankfurt a German winner of the inaugural KPMG Grand Slam Cup when he beat home hero Simon Rosner in the final on a state-of-the-art all-glass ASB ShowCourt sited in Europe's latest architectural wonder.

World No12 Rosner, the seven-time German national champion from Paderborn, had earlier sprung the event's biggest surprise by beating top seed Ramy Ashour, the world No1 and world champion from Egypt, 11-9, 6-11, 1-0.

The 25-year-old delighted the crowd by winning the event's unique best-of-one third game decider with a dead nick in the court's side wall - thereby earning his career-first victory over Ashour.

The other semi-final also went the full distance, with third seed Gaultier winning the all-important third game rally against world No2 Nick Matthew when the Englishman's shot was called 'not up' by the officials.

"I chose the wrong side to serve," said Matthew who had earned the service to start the decider after winning the second game.

Rosner took the first three points in the final, but Gaultier then won seven in a row to build up an insurmountable lead.

The German led 7-2 and 9-6 in the second game - then had game-ball at 10-9. But the wily Frenchman blocked out the sound of the jubilant German crowd - who clearly sensed another dramatic decider - by holding his nerve to close out the match 11-7, 11-10 in 30 minutes.

"It's amazing to play in front of such a great crowd," said 30-year-old Gaultier as he clutched his latest trophy. "I am very happy to have done well here."

Ashour, who won the best-of-one-game third-place-play-off against Matthew, said: "It's good to be back in Germany, where I first played Simon as a junior.

"This has been a fantastic event - from the second I stepped onto the court. It's an amazing venue, an amazing set-up and an amazing crowd."

On his role as an Olympic ambassador for the sport, Ashour admitted that he felt proud to be part of the World Squash Federation team which will present the sport's bid to join the Olympic Games programme in 2020 to the IOC in St Petersburg later this month

"It's a great thing to do. I think squash belongs in the Olympics and I hope we will be able persuade the IOC at the meeting in a few weeks."

KPMG regional board member Holger Kneisel also endorsed Ashour's statement: "After seeing these players give us such an impressive high-class event tonight, I also really hope that squash will be in the Olympics in 2020."

John Nimick, co-founder of the championship with the Welldone Agency in Frankfurt, summed up the success of the maiden event: "The KPMG Grand Slam Cup represents so many great elements of our sport. It highlights an iconic location, it brings together the world's very best players, and it celebrates squash in a festival setting.

"The audience has been outstanding - and have provided a great atmosphere and the perfect start to an annual championship featuring four of the best players in the world battling against each other in a single evening."

Presentation picture below champion Gregory Gaultier (second left) and runner-up Simon Rosner flanked by KPMG regional board member Holger Kneisel (left) and KPMG Head of Marketing Jeanette Reilly. Picture by Jordan Mansfield

01-May-13:
SquashTV branches out

PSA SquashTV, the official live and video on-demand website of the Professional Squash Association, is extending its operation to cover events outside the PSA World Tour for the first time.

SquashTV will cover both the KPMG Grand Slam Cup and the German Bundesliga Finals in Germany next week.

The inaugural KPMG Grand Slam Cup, an innovative one-night squash spectacular at The Squaire in Frankfurt on Wednesday 8 May, will feature leading PSA players Ramy Ashour, the world champion and world number one, together with Nick Matthew, Gregory Gaultier and top-ranked German Simon Rosner.

World number two Matthew and fellow Englishman James Willstrop, the world No3, will also be in action in the fotobuch.de Squash Bundesliga in Stuttgart on 10/11 May.

"As well as a platform for PSA's major events, SquashTV's aim was always at being the home of watching Squash online," said PSA CEO Alex Gough. "We have been looking for a while at increasing and diversifying coverage and content and this will be a great test to see what interest there is in other events."

Since its launch in 2010, SquashTV has covered more than 40 championships and almost 1,000 matches around the world and has significantly enhanced the quality of televised squash.

26 Apr-13:
KPMG Grand Slam Cup Debuts In Frankfurt

Four of the leading squash players in the world will come together to compete for the inaugural
KPMG Grand Slam Cup in Frankfurt, Germany, on 8 May 2013.

The innovative one-night squash spectacular will feature Egypt's current World No1, reigning World Champion and recent 2013 Tournament of Champions winner Ramy Ashour, together with England's 2011 World No1 and World ChampionNick Matthew, plus France's 2009 World No1 and 2013 Swedish Open Champion Gregory Gaultier.

Home interest will be covered by German No1 and World No12 Simon Rosner, recent winner of a seventh successive German national title.

The KPMG Grand Slam Cup will take place at The Squaire, Europe's latest architectural (visit  for more details). The five hectare mini-city adjacent to Frankfurt's International Airport opened in 2011.

A state-of-the-art all-glass ASB ShowCourt will be erected inside the building's main atrium, the largest in Europe, and will be surrounded by a temporary dinner-theatre style arena for the unique night of elite pro competition.

The court will be used for the remainder of the May 6-9 event period for public and corporate squash programming and free instruction and exhibitions.

"The Grand Slam Cup offers sports fans of any sort an unparalleled opportunity to experience the very best squash has to offer in a spectacular setting," said event promoter John Nimick of Event Engine, long-time promoter of the sport's iconic Tournament of Champions in New York's Grand Central Terminal.

"Ashour, Matthew and Gaultier are the great players of the era and Rosner will have home country advantage and support! This is a can't-miss event," added Nimick.