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Lincou In Revenge Victory Over Gaultier In Pakistan Open Final

Thierry Lincou beat Gregory Gaultier in the first all-French final of the Warid Pakistan Open Squash Championship at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad to avenge the first ever PSA Tour defeat by his younger compatriot in the quarter-finals of the US Open earlier this month in Boston.

Lincou, the No2 seed, had reached the final after a 36-minute win over sixth seed Karim Darwish - while his opponent, seeded five, had been taken to five games by eighth seed Ramy Ashour in the other semi before beating the Egyptian teenager in a five-game 62-minute marathon.

"Greg was tired, which is not really surprising after his match yesterday," Lincou said afterwards. "He lacked sharpness, which makes it mentally hard to stay aggressive and constant.

"If you compare it to our encounter in Boston - where he made very few unforced errors and where he didn’t give me any points - today he made some uncharacteristic errors, and I took the chances he was offering me," explained Lincou, after his successful defence of the title he won for the first time last year.

"Greg and I are going to play each other more and more often. We had another all French final, which is very satisfying for everybody - but from a personal point of view, I’m rather happy to keep my title, as there are not many who’ve done it here, in Pakistan .

"I am also very happy to win my fourth title of the year - it’s really a very positive outcome," concluded Lincou, after the 18^th PSA Tour title win of his career.

Lincou & Gaultier To Meet In All-French Pakistan Open Final

Thierry Lincou and Gregory Gaultier will meet in the first all-French final of the Warid Pakistan Open Squash Championship after victories over Egyptians in today's (Friday) semi-finals of the PSA Super Series event in Islamabad .

It will be the second time in three months that the pair have faced off in a PSA Tour event final – after contesting the Mamut English Open climax in Sheffield in August.

Gaultier, the in-form 23-year-old from Aix-en-Provence who clinched the US Open title earlier in the month as the sixth seed, was taken the full distance by rising star Ramy Ashour, the record two-times world junior champion who has catapulted into the world top ten this month.

The teenager stormed into the semi-finals after upsetting third seed Anthony Ricketts – his second defeat of the Australian in ten days – in the quarter-finals.

After Gaultier took the opening two games in the semi-final, 19-year-old Ashour, the No8 seed, struck to draw level. But the fifth-seeded Frenchman regained the upper hand to win 11-9, 11-3, 5-11, 5-11, 11-8 in 62 minutes to reach his fifth final since August.

Lincou made the semis after a 58-minute victory over Australia 's No7 seed Stewart Boswell. His opponent Karim Darwish, the sixth seed from Cairo, survived a nail-biting quarter-final against England's fourth seed James Willstrop, beating his fellow former world junior champion in a remarkable 73-minute match which boasted a 10-11 (0-2), 11-10 (2-0), 10-11 (0-2), 11-6, 11-10 (2-0) scoreline.

In the semi-final, the second-seeded Frenchman from Marseille fought back from a game down to defeat Darwish in 36 minutes – the Egyptian conceding the match with the score standing at 4-11, 11-6, 11-7, 4-1.

Lincou is celebrating his 32^nd career final.

Azlan Downed As Aamir Advances In Pakistan
Pakistan teenager Aamir Atlas Khan caused the biggest upset in the first round of the Warid Pakistan Open Squash Championship when he ousted 10th seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar in the PSA Super Series event in Islamabad .

Khan, 16, from Peshawar , battled for 37 minutes to defeat the world No14 from Malaysia 11-5, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6 to reach the second round of a super Series event for the first time.

The former Asian Junior champion will now meet former world junior champion James Willstrop, the fourth seed from England who beat Pakistan qualifier Safeer Ullah Khan 11-9, 11-10 (2-0), 11-6. Willstrop, the event champion two years ago, will be hoping to make amends for his surprise second round US Open exit earlier in the month.

Renan Lavigne also secured a surprise second round slot in Islamabad . The unseeded Frenchman upset 12th seed Cameron Pilley 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 and will now play Australia 's third seed Anthony Ricketts for a place in the quarter-finals.

PAKISTAN OPEN SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP – ISLAMABAD, 2006

PAKISTAN OPEN SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP – ISLAMABAD, 2006