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[1] Amr Shabana
(Egy) bt
[5] Anthony Ricketts (Aus) 11/8, 11/8, 15/13 (53m)
TOO GOOD
 It’s
one of those matches where you can only stupidly repeat those two
words. Too good. Shabana was just the World Number One today. No
contest. No error. No chance. No luck. The man was not only the
Prince of Egypt, but the King of the World too…
God knows Anthony tried. He tried in the first by sticking score
wise to Shabana, 1/1, 2/2, 4/4, 5/5, 6/6, 7/7, 8/8. But suddenly,
instead of long rallies, three winners out of the blue. 11/8 in 11
minutes.
He tried coming back from 4/0 down in the second, but Shabana,
confidence up, racquet sharp as it ever was, just kept on balancing
lethal attacks at the front with devastating length, driving Anthony
to cover so much ground he didn’t know where to run anymore.
And God ONLY knows he tried in the
third. A little relaxation from Shabana, for a split second, and
zoom, Anthony is up 5/0. Feeling the danger, the Egyptian claws back
and takes the lead 7/5. Anthony gets into retrieving mode, gives it
a last push, all he has, and the crowd just goes wild. The noise is
incredible. The atmosphere unreal…
And finally, 10/7 game ball for the Australian. If he gets this one,
Anthony is going to be able to breathe a bit and make the World
number one doubt. With with two quick strokes and a mishit from
Anthony, Shabana forces the tie-break.
Anthony is down but not out. He still gives 250%, still gets two
more game balls, can’t concretise. Shabana gets a match ball at last
13/12. The audience hold their breath. No, not this time. Another
match ball at 14/13.The tension, the noise, the suspense….
We’ve been playing this game for 27 minutes. 27 minutes of pure
madness squash, of two champions, of two stunning warriors, fighting
for their lives. Shabana forces a last tin out of Anthony.
He was just … too good …
 "I
lost in the final against John White two years ago, and I really
wanted to win this title, I’m so happy now…I feel that if Anthony
had taken the third, I would have had to have to stay on court for
much longer.
"I started my year playing quite well. There was not much time
between Saudi and Toronto, and I thought I was sharp enough, but
sometimes, when you are not prepared mentally, your game percentage
drops, and that’s what happened to me against Azlan, who is a very
good player, but still, it was an early exit for me.
"And that’s probably the best thing that could have happened to me.
It was like a wake up call. I didn’t want to lose points for my
ranking at the start of the year. I want to stay on top. So I really
came here to do well.
"I was a bit nervous against Dan Jenson, because even if he is not
at his best, you still need to be very sharp against him. And I was
happy with the way I played there…
"I know I keep on saying it, but I want to play like Jahangir, like
Jansher, like Peter, or in tennis, Nadal, Federer, you know, the way
they focus…
"Maybe the player I’m the most wary of is James. I don’t like
playing him first of all because he is so tall, and I’m so short,
I’m probably the shortest guy on the tour, and he is so good. If you
play one shot that is not right, you suffer. When I finish my
matches against James, my body is acing from every muscle, every
joint. And I think it will always be like that between us, just
crazy matches, and I end up saying each time, how did I ever win
this one…!
"Last time I played Anthony was in the Super Series Finals a few
months back in London. I had beaten all the players in my group for
the first time ever in the event, and I arrived in the semi-final
against him. 3/0. I just didn’t play tight enough, I just went for
my shots too much.
"So today, I just wanted to contain him, contain him, because people
don’t see Anthony as an attacker, but he has improved his short game
immensely, and if you play one loose shot he goes for it. And as he
is very fast, he can cover all your shots too…
"Today, I really didn’t want to lose in the final. I hate losing in
the final. If you have to lose in the final, might as well not
bother getting there, and just lose first round…
"It’s the third time I've been here, and I think that this week I’ve
played the best squash of my life…I know I’ve made a lot of changes
in my life, I had to. Shabana part one was a clown, and you can’t
stay a clown forever…"
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 "I’ve
been coming here for a few years now, and I never reached the final,
so I want to take this opportunity to thank John Flanigan and his
team for the great tournament they put on every year. The
hospitality here is amazing, and thanks to Katherine, who has been
looking after us with her great massages, and of course, thanks to
the Sponsors, without you, we wouldn’t have a tournament, so thanks
ever so much…
"For a little while there, I thought that the crowd would go home
after only a 20 minute final, so I’m glad that I was able to stick
around a bit longer… Full credit to Shabana, he is an fantastic
player…
"I was a bit up and down today, but it’s not just me, it was him,
the way he was playing… He is the one who made me make all the
errors, he didn’t let me impose myself, he had a fabulous length…
"Of course I’m disappointed. I’m thinking that I could have done
this differently, or that. Things could have been different if I
could have slammed the first one, or got the third etc. but I’m
totally aware of his standard of play at the moment. Too good."
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