QATAR CLASSIC 2007

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Shabana Sets Sights on  Bermuda
Amr Shabana pulled of a stylist and confidence boosting win in the Qatar Classic when he beat the third seed Gregory Gaultier 11-4, 8-11 11-6, 11-5 in 52 minutes to move into pole position to regain the world title in Bermuda.

It was all easy for Shabana in the first, although later he was to say ‘we were both nervous’, but he played straight length and picked his winners with ease taking the game with seven winners to Gautlier’s none. The difference between Shabana’s play and those of his colleagues who are fine attacking players, and who work the ball well, is that Shabana finds the nick with ease. Drops are not hit to the front corner but aimed for the nick and roll regularly.

The nicks rolled easily enough for him in the first 11-4 but he lost his way at the start of the second. Gaultier was off court disputing a stoke against him, with some justification, at the start of the second and one suspects that Shabana’s concentration just faltered a bit. He played well, his hitting his there, his anticipation brilliant, nimble in movement, beautiful variations of pace and shot but at times he makes it too complex, and at times his concentration goes. Overall this was a good performance and if you wanted to criticize it you would say that mentally his performance fluctuated a bit.

Gaultier came onto his game in the second started to find a few winners as Shabana’s length became indifferent to go ahead 6-3. Shabana leveled with fine kills but mistakes on easy balls and a harsh stroke disrupted his concentration for Gaultier to level the game scores.

The crux of the match was in the third. It was all very tight at 5-all. Gaultier was impeded by Shabana received a no let, he disputed, was ordered to play on, and with several excited crowd outbursts during rallies (Gaultier fired the ball into the roof on one serve in frustration as he asked for a let for distraction) his concentration was disrupted and he was unable to score again except for one nick smashed off serve in frustration.

So it was 11-6 to Shabana to go 2/1 up. Gautlier’s mental demeanour did not improve in the fourth. He imploded mentally briefly at 1-3, with a whole series of errors that put Shabana ahead 8-1, out of reach, and the match was finally secured 11-5 in 52 minutes.

This was a fine match for Shabana. He can play better but it is all there. The hands and feet are working well. The head is not bad and if he gets that together someone will have to play very very well to deprive him of a world title in Bermuda.

“In the first game I was focused and up for it,” he said. “But he came out firing in the second and it went haywire. There is a thin line between being very focused and getting obsessed.”

“It wasn’t the best of matches, we were both nervous.”

“Everyone has been talking about Ramy coming up. I wasn’t really thinking about it but I knew I had to start winning tournament again. Really I had to starting playing my best, just trying to play my best really and let the results speak for themselves.”

“If you worry about the general picture too much it doesn’t help. You need to focus on playing well in tournaments.”

The tour now moves to Hong Kong, with an event in Pakistan and then Bermuda. Shabana is the form player at the moment but there is still some way to go.

“In Hong Kong we start again, another fight, another war,” said Shabana.
The war will be over in Bermuda in December, briefly then there is the world team title to play for.
 

David back on top
Nicol David won the women’s title in Qatar 9-6, 9-4, 10-9 to go back to the top of the women’s game. In truth she could have won it more easily but gave Grainger an opening on game ball.

Grainger play fluctuated. She was 6-4 up the first and lost it quickly in a hand. It was close at the start of the second but David established a 6-2 lead catching her opponent out with boasts and saw the game out 9-4. At 8-3 up in the third is had been largely one way traffic but then unencumbered Grainger started to play brilliantly and suddenly David realized she had not won it. At 9-8 game ball after much good work Grainger muffed a really easy drop opening and David went through 10-9.

Not quick a world title but she and all her Malaysia fans were very happy.

7-11 11-10(2-0) 11-8 8-11 11-5  (68m)
Karim Darwish

Qualifying 29/10,
Renan Lavigne (Fra) bt  Jesse Engelbrecht (Rsa) 11/2, 11/6, 11/5
Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Omar Elborolossy (Egy) 11/7, 4/11, 11/5, 11/8 (38m)
Jonathan Kemp (Eng)   bt Tarek Momen (Egy) 11/6, 7/11, 8/11, 11/9, 11/7 (50m)
Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt Amr Swelim (Egy) 11/7, 6/11 11/6, 17/15 (64m)
Omar Mosaad (Egy)  bt Chris Simpson (Eng) 8/11, 11/6, 9/11, 11/7, 11/2
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Davide Bianchetti (Ita) 9/11, 11/7, 13/11, 12/10 (96m)
Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Saurav Ghosal (Ind) 11/7, 8/11, 11/4, 7./11, 11/5 (69m)
Bradley Ball (Eng) bt Bader Al Hussaini (Kuw) Bye

Round One:
Jesse Engelbrecht (Rsa) bt Adil Maqbool (Pak) 9/11, 11/6, 8/11, 11/8, 11/7 (61m)
Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Aaron Frankcomb (Aus) 12/10, 9/11, 11/9, 11/9 (66m)
Tarek Momen (Egy) bt Bilal Zaman (Pak) 11/5, 11/9, 11/7 (26m)
Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt Ali Miski (Leb) 11/5, 11/9, 11/7 (15m)
Amr Swelim (Egy) bt John Rooney (Irl) 11/5, 9/11, 11/7, 11/9 (44m)
Chris Simpson (Eng) bt Mohamad Mosaad Abouzid (Egy) 11/6, 11/2, 11/7 (24m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt David Vidal (Esp) 11/5, 11/3, 11/4 (20m)
Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Steve Coppinger (Rsa) 11/13, 11/9, 11/6, 11/9 (63m)
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Mohamed Reza Sadeghpur (Irn) 11/3, 11/2, 11/2 (19m)
Bader Al Hussaini (Kuw)bt Bradley Hindle (Aus) 6/11, 11/9, 11/8, 12/10 (17m)
 

Nicol David
9-7, 0-9, 2-9,
9-5, 9-1 (56 min)
Rachael Grinham

Qualifying: 29/10
Tenille Swartz (Rsa)   bye
Laura Mylotte (Irl) bt Adel Weir (Rsa) 9/2, 9/6, 9/5 (34m)
Carla Khan (Pak) bt Lauren Siddall (Eng) 9/5, 9/5, 2/9, 9/3 (50m)
Emma Beddoes (Eng) bt Orla Noom (Ned) 9/2, 9/4, 9/2 (30m)

 

Reports

Day 4

Semi-finals:
Nicol David [1] beat Rachael Grinham [3]
9-7, 0-9, 2-9, 9-5, 9-1 (56 min).
Natalie Grainger [5] beat Tania Bailey [4] 1-9, 0-9, 9-6, 9-4, 9-1 (60 min).

Amr Shabana [1] beat David Palmer [3] 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 (47 min).
Gregory Gaultier [4] bt Karim Darwish[9]
7-11 11-10(2-0) 11-8 8-11 11-5 (68m)

Classy Shabana Lays Down Gauntlet
No one had the gumption to go and ask David Palmer what he felt about his chances of hanging onto his world title in Bermuda after his semi-final against Arm Cabaña but the Egyptian had sent him a pretty clear message here in Doha.

‘That title is mine,’ Cabaña could have said.

It was a classy performance from the world no.1. Today he had another gear to the world champion and completed his destruction with ease – deadly kills, not fine drops but deadly drops that nicked, straight and crosscourt, that gave you no change no matter how hard you ran. It was annoyingly easy for him, and even when Palmer momentarily got on top and smashed the ball into space eh was able to run it down or flick it off the back and then conjure some little piece of magic and baffled his opponent. The score says it all 11-6, 11-5, 11-6.

Ramy Ashour
Crashes in Qatar
World Open
Challenge in Doubt

Ramy Ashour crashed out of the 2007 Qatar Classic, at the Khalifa Stadium in Qatar, with a twisted ankle that has stalled his sensational assault on the top spot in world squash and raises doubts over his participation in the World Open in Bermuda at the end of the month.

Ramy, who has had difficulties with a long-term knee problem played throughout the recent Saudi Open with a ankle brace. He reached the final there but lost to the World No.1 Amr Shabana. Ramy who staged his assault on the top spot with wins in the Kuwait Open in April, the rescheduled 2006 Qatar Open also in April, and won the Super Series Finals in August, faulted in the US Open where he lost to Nick Matthew in the semis and in Qatar he has crashed out in the second round.

Ramy was comfortable enough in the first round against Chris Ryder in Qatar winning 11-6, 11-4, 11-10 (2-0) to go through and face his compatriot Karim Darwish in the second.

Against Darwish the first game was desperately close with plenty of all court action but both players ended up on the floor on separate ocassions with the floor-sweepers on court frequently.

Darwish was the first to 10-9, in the fast action packed game with plently of close contact – their were 17 lets and no lets in this game alone. The scores levelled at 10, 11, 12 and 13 before Darwish sealed what proved the decisive encounter 15-13. In the second Darwish could do no wrong, was away to 8-1 and then 11-2 as his opponent let the game go. In the third Darwish again set the pace with a 4-1 lead closed down by Ramy to 4-5 but he then slipped, maintained his balance but retired in pain in powerthe 41st minute..

There was much constination and Ramy was in genuine distress. It is too early to say how serious the injury is but it cannot but affect his preparations for Qatar. It also raises doubts over whether he will play in next week’s Hong Kong Open.

Earlier in the day David Palmer slipped on the blue painted floor of the Khalifa Stadium show court and requested that the air conditioning be turned up immediately to absorb some of the moisture in the warm air.

“It is too warn in here,” he said. “We are going to keep slipping. The air conditioning needs to go up.”
 

The World Open  is to be held later this month.

               

Day 2
Darwish Dashes Ashour's Qatar Hopes
Ramy Ashour, the 20-year-old Egyptian who had reached at least the semi-finals in all nine PSA Tour events in which he had competed so far this year, crashed out of the Qatar Classic after retiring injured in the second round of the $120,000 Super Series Platinum squash event in Doha, Qatar.

The second seed was stretched to a lengthy tie-break in the first game, then only managed two points in the second against compatriot Karim Darwish, the No9 seed. 

Already carrying a minor wrist injury, Ashour crashed to the floor midway through the third game clutching his left ankle - immediately taking off his shoe and clearly in considerable pain.

Darwish's 11-10 (5-3), 11-2, 5-4 (ret.) victory takes the 26-year-old from Cairo into a quarter-final against fifth seed Thierry Lincou after the Frenchman beat England's Joey Barrington 11-4, 11-5, 11-7.

Ong Beng Hee maintained his giant-killing Doha run by beating Egypt's No8 seed Wael El Hindi 11-8, 7-11, 11-10 (2-0), 9-11, 11-10 (4-2) in a 112-minute marathon.  The unseeded Malaysian had earlier upset 10^th seed Stewart Boswell to reach the last sixteen.

"This was my lucky day today, I was match ball down, and I win," Beng Hee said.  "A bit stop-and-start all the way, but I’m happy with my win, very happy!"

Beng Hee now takes on top seed Amr Shabana, the world number one from Egypt who defeated compatriot Mohammed Abbas 7-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5, 11-7.

In the women's $77,000 WISPA Gold championship, Alison Waters brought the giant-killing run of unseeded Jaclyn Hawkes to an end - beating the New Zealander 9-0, 9-5, 9-2.

In only her second WISPA Gold quarter-final this year, the No12 seed from England now faces top seed Nicol David.  In a repeat of their first round match in last week's Madrid World Open, the Malaysian world number one beat France's Isabelle Stoehr 9-0, 9-7, 9-4.

"I started well, I found it good watching Beng Hee playing before as when I found out he won I had an extra bit of motivation from the start," said David.  "I'm pleased with my match today."

               
Day 1

Seeds Dismissed On
Opening Day In Doha

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