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Tournament of Champions 2015, FINALS
[3] Raneem El Welily (Egy) 3-1 [5] Alison Waters (Eng)
9/11, 12/10, 11/4, 11/4 (48m)
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (Egy) 3-1 [3] Nick Matthew (Eng)
5/11, 11/9, 11/8, 12/10 (83m)
PSA Roundup:
Elshorbagy Is 2015 ToC Champion
24-year-old World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy reinforced his position at
the top of the squash ladder with an impressive performance in the
final of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions to see off
England's Nick Matthew 3-1 and claim his fourth major PSA World
Series title.
 Under
the chandeliers in Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall the duo,
who have developed a testy-rivalry on the tour in the last two
years, produced a thrilling spectacle in front of a sold-out crowd
with Elshorbagy eventually out-powering the man ten years his elder.
"I told Nick at the end of the match that he is an inspirational
player," said Elshorbagy.
"He's the king when it comes to playing tough matches because he
seems to come back fresh every day but I'm really pleased with how I
played and to get my first title here.
"I wanted to win so badly and I'm proud to see my name join the
illustrious list of previous Tournament of Champions winners."
Matthew started the match in the ascendency and used his wealth of
court-craft to take the opening game but Elshorbagy's ferocious pace
and power saw him claw his way back into the match and turn the
tide, to establish a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth game Matthew looked en route to levelling the scores
once again but saw the opportunity slip from his hands after an
unforced error when 9-7 ahead, followed by an unlucky bounce at 9-8,
saw Elshorbagy rally and from then on the Bristol-based-Egyptian
refused to give in.
 Despite
saving one match ball Matthew couldn't find enough in his locker to
hold on as Elshorbagy romped home to complete a memorable night for
Egyptian squash in the Big Apple, with Raneem El Welily also taking
the women's title with victory over Alison Waters.
"This has been a very tough week for me mentally," added
Elshorbagy.
"When I saw Raneem win in the women's final it really inspired me
because we both recently lost in World Championship finals even
though we both had match balls.
"She showed me that you can rebound and I'm really proud of how I
played and that I proved I can come back stronger than before."
34-year-old Matthew said: "I really enjoyed the match tonight.
You get to a stage in your career when you just have to enjoy the
experience because you might not have many more of them."
As it happened:
Shorbagy charges past Matthew:
 Matthew in early charge,
keeping Shorbagy pinned to the back as he opens up a 7-2 lead,
Shorbagy tinning several times. The young Egyptian starts to get
more involved, starting to move Matthew more, but from 9-5 the
Englishman produces two great finishes to take the lead.
A quick 2-0 lead for Matthew in the second, but then a couple of no
lets that he - and the crowd didn't like. Shorbagy ig getting fired
up now, refuses to let the ball die as he takes the lead with a load
roar. At 4-2 Shorbagy's racket clips Matthew's ring finger, short
time out for blood injury. Matthew takes the lead 7-5, Shorbagy
still so determined comes back to 8-all then leads 10-8 and levels
with a crushing drive on his second game ball.
 Shorbagy has the momentum now, setting a ferocious pace and starts
crunching in winners for 5-0 and 8-1. Matthew finds his way into the
game, taking some of the sting the sting from Shorbagy's attacks,
closes to 9-8, and gets a no let overturned to the appreciation of
the crowd. An error from Matthew though and it's game ball which
Shorbagy converts with a volley drilled into the nick.
 The
start of the fourth is more even, Shorbagy leading 3-1 Matthew hits
back to lead 4-3, then 7-5 on a no let and 9-6 with a feathered
volley drop. Shorbagy gets a couple back then levels 9-all with a
fortunate front wall nick then finds another at the back for match
ball 10-9. A desperate stretch for the ball through Matthew gets a
no let and it's extra points.
A lov volley into the tin from Matthew and it's a second match ball,
Shorbagy has Matthew under enormous pressure before finding a dying
length to make it a double success for Egypt ...
WSA Roundup:
Welily takes ToC title
Raneem El Welily became the
first Egyptian winner of the Women's J.P. Morgan Tournament of
Champions title she defeated England's Alison Waters in the final
Grand Central Terminal in New York.
"Relaxed and happy and grateful," said the third seed from Cairo
when asked how she felt after winning the title on only her second
appearance in the prestigious WSA World Tour event.
 Just
under an hour earlier, El Welily was not quite so relaxed. The
Egyptian and her fifth-seeded opponent were exchanging the lead
almost every other point in the first game, until Waters took the
lead after winning the opener at 11-9.
"I was thinking too much, putting too much pressure on my
shoulders," said Welily of her state of mind in the opening
game. In the second game, the world No.2 focused on getting better
length on her shots and started pushing her opponent into the back
of the court. As in the first, Waters went toe-to-toe with her
opponent. Down 5-8, Waters tied the score at eight-all, then
nine-all - then 10-all, at which point El Welily played two decisive
points to win the second game 12-10.
The sharp-shooting Egyptian entered the third game determined to
attack even more and be quicker getting to the ball. "Against a
player like Alison, you have to keep the pressure on all the time,"
she said. After dropping behind 1-3, Welily found her rhythm, and at
four-all reeled off the next seven points to win the game and take
the lead.
In the fourth, the 30-year-old Londoner Waters was visibly tired and
made several errors as Welily closed out the match by winning the
game 11-4.
"Every tournament is meaningful in its own way," said El
Welily after claiming the eighth - and biggest by far - WSA Tour
title of her career.
Just under a month ago, the 25-year-old had been on the verge of
winning her first World Championship, but lost all four match-balls
that she held.
"Winning the first tournament after losing that World
Championship means a lot," Welily observed. "Back home, everyone is
really happy!"
As it happened:
A
very close first game, long rallies, length and accuracy at the
back, at that game, Ali is just a bit more comfy. At 9/9, a no let
and a superb winner for the English lady, 11/9 Alison....
Second, Raneem is dominating 5/1, 6/2, 7/4 and like she knows how,
Alison just digs in and claws back. 8/8. Raneem tins her first game
ball, 10/10, but courtesy of Ali that tins the next two, the
Egyptian is levelling it at 1/1, 12/10.
 That's
the first game where Ali finally looks a bit tired at 4/4, length a
bit in the middle, opening the court too much.
The quarter/semi has caught up with the English lady for now... 11/4
Raneem, and the same stoy in thefourth as the match runs away from
Alison.
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