Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad claimed his second PSA World Tour title of
2014, defeating England's Chris Simpson 3-2 in the final of the 2014
Dubai Cup, PSA International 25 tournament to add to the 3 Rivers
Capital Pittsburgh Open title he won in January.
After losing the first game to Simpson 5-11, Gawad upped his game to
combine accurate defensive play with flair and killer instinct to turn
the game around and move into a 2-1 lead.
The World No.17 from Cairo appeared to ease off his game in the fourth
and was punished by Simpson, with the World No.23 continuing to fight
doggedly for every point and earning his reward to force the game into a
deciding game.
That was a s good as it got for Simpson however, as Gawad recaptured the
play that saw him take the second and third games to see out the match
and become the inaugural Dubai Cup champion.
“I am really happy to win the tournament. It’s my last tournament of the
year, so I’m really happy," said Gawad.
"I’ve been suffering from a back injury since February so it’s not been
the best season but I’m happy to finish it like this.
"I want to thank Chris for such a great game and the organising
committee for such a great week. I’m looking forward to the next
tournament here in Dubai.”
Karim Abdel Gawad and
Chris Simpson
Top
Seeds To Contest Dubai Cup Final
#PSAWorldTour
Top seeds Karim Abdel Gawad and Chris Simpson will go head-to-head for
the first time ever on the PSA World Tour when they meet in the final of
the 2014 Dubai Cup, PSA International 25 tournament,
The duo moved into the final after getting past Pakistani pair Nasir
Iqbal and Aamir Atlas Khan at the semi-final stage, and will now
face-off in a contest that will see both men hoping to claim their
second tour title of the year, with Simpson aiming to add to May's
Bedell Jersey Squash Classic triumph and Gawad to the 3 Rivers Capital
Pittsburgh Open title he won in January.
Simpson, the number two seed, put in a stellar performance to see off
former World No.14 Khan with an impressive 3-0 win, playing with
patience and precision to survive an early onslaught from the Pakistani
star before asserting his dominance to complete the victory.
“I’m very, very happy to win, and very, very happy to win with a 3-0
score," said Simpson.
"It wasn’t a cruise. It was a very tough match with lots of
concentration required. It was a tough balancing act of playing long
enough and not playing negative.
"I’ve watched him [Gawad] play a lot and I'm looking forward to it as
it’s quite nice to play someone new.”
Gawad moved into the semi-finals after his opponent, Iqbal, was forced
to retire during the second game of their encounter and the Egyptian
will be hoping to use the extra recovery time to his advantage during
the final.
Pakistan
Duo Into Dubai Cup Semis
#PSAWorldTour
Pakistan players Nasir Iqbal and Aamir Atlas Khan upset the seedings to
move into the semi-finals of the 2014 Dubai Squash Cup where they will
face top seeds Karim Abdel Gawad and Chris Simpson for a place in the
final.
Unseeded Khan completed an impressive 3-0 victory over Malaysian number
eight seed Muhd Asyraf Azan, taking control of the match from the
opening exchanges and looking comfortable through to set up a last four
encounter with England's Simpson.
“It was good playing today and I’m happy to be in the semifinal," said
Khan.
"Hopefully tomorrow I will also do my best against Chris.”
Iqbal, who was the only Pakistani player to appear in the second round
of the recent PSA World Championship in Qatar, secured his place in the
last four with a well-earned win over Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar, the
number three seed.
Iqbal raced into a two-game lead before Abouelghar got a footing in the
match, but it was 20-year-old Iqbal who managed to keep his nerve to
take the match in a tense tie-breaker in the fourth game.
He will now face top seed Gawad of Egypt for a place in the final.
Gawad
Survives Second Scare In Dubai
#PSAWorldTour
After narrowly avoiding crashing out of the competition at the first
hurdle against Pakistan's Farhan Zaman, top seed Karim Abdel Gawad was
once again forced to complete an impressive comeback in his second round
encounter at the Dubai Squash Cup to keep his hopes of tournament glory
alive.
The young Egyptian found himself down two-games to nil to Kuwait's Ammar
Altamini before eventually finding his form to rally and take the last
three games and complete a remarkable 62-minute turnaround victory and
secure his place in the quarter-finals, where he will face a tough
encounter against compatriot Zahed Mohamed.
Mohamed booked his place in the last eight with a straightforward win
over Pakitsan's Adil Maqbool, spending just 25-minutes on court, while
Pakistani duo Nasir Iqbal and Aamir Atlas Khan continued their runs with
victories over Ahmed Effat Ashoush and Tayyab Aslam, respectively.
Number two seed Chris Simpson ensured his place win the quarters with an
easy win over Hossam Nasser, with the Egyptian having to retire during
the third game, and Simpson will now face experienced New Zealander Paul
Coll after he came from two-games down to see off the challenge of
Farhan Mehboob in 65-minutes.
Gawad
Survives Scare In Dubai Cup
#PSAWorldTour
Top seed Karim Abdel Gawad came close to a shock exit against Farhan
Zaman in the first round of the 2014 Dubai Squash Cup, International 25
tournament.
With 52 places between the two in the world rankings, few would have
expected Zaman to give Gawad such a run for his money but it was the
Pakistani player who shot into action first, controlling the opening two
games to put clear daylight between his Egyptian opponent and himself.
Gawad rallied and clawed back an 11-7 win in the third before
demolishing Zaman in the fourth to win it 11-0 and draw rapturous
applause from the crowd and he remained focused to take a tight final
game 11-8 to advance to the next round.
“He [Zaman] is one of my best friends on the tour," said Gawad. "We grew
up together, but this is the first time we have played together since we
were nine years old. But of course, I know how good he is.
“I was expecting a very tough match. I’m a bit lucky, I was down 2-0 and
managed to win in five. I’m just looking forward for my next matches.”
Gawad will face Ammar Altamimi in the second round after the 26-year-old
from Kuwait made it past wildcard Aamir Malik in straight sets while
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan did fall to a shock loss to Aamir Atlas Khan.
The number four seed went 2-0 down to the unseeded Pakistani before
levelling it up with some masterful squash. Khan though was able to stop
the momentum swing and secured an unlikely victory by winning the final
game 11-5.
He will be hoping to take this form into the next round where he will
face Tayyab Aslam after his 3-1 win over Muhammad Saqib Yousaf.
Number two seed Chris Simpson is also through to the next round after he
triumphed in an efficient performance against qualifier Shehab Essam
Hosny 3-0. The Englishman defeated his opponent 11-4, 11-4 and 11-6 to
set up a second round match against Hossam Nasser, who secured a
terrific 3-2 win over Addeen Idrakie in the previous round.
