|
Third Time Lucky For Selby In Canada
After two successive
runners-up finishes for Daryl Selby in Canada, it was third time lucky
for the fast-rising Englishman in Calgary when he won the Calgary
Winter Club Rocky Mountain Open, the inaugural $30,750 3-star PSA World
Tour squash event at Calgary Winter Club.
The second-seeded
27-year-old faced surprise opponent Hisham Mohd Ashour, the third seed
from Egypt who upset Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema in the
semi-finals.
It was Anjema, the world
No15 from The Hague, who defeated Selby in the finals of both the National
Bank Financial Group International in Montreal and the Manitoba Open
in Winnipeg earlier in the month.
But a determined Selby,
ranked 12 in the world, took on the 27-year-old from Cairo with only one thing
on his mind – title success.
And after surviving a
tie-break first game, the England international from Essex took control to carve
out an impressive 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 victory in 45 minutes.
The title triumph brought
to an end a hugely successful visit to North America in which he boosted his
number of PSA Tour final appearances to 14 and his titles total to nine.
"It was a great end to the
tour," said Selby afterwards. "And it hopefully gives me a good chance to be in
the top ten at the end of the month.
"But I've got Canary Wharf
to look forward to first!" added the new champion.
Selby is eighth seed in
this week's ISS Canary Wharf Classic and will be keen to maintain his
winning momentum on home soil in this 5-star PSA Tour event at Canary Wharf in
London.
The Essex man faces Egypt's
world No25 Tarek Momen in the first round tomorrow (Monday) before a
likely clash with England team-mate James Willstrop, the world No4 and a
three-time winner of the title, in the quarter-finals.
Anjema Upset Takes Hisham Into Calgary
Final
Laurens Jan Anjema's
bid to win three successive PSA World Tour squash titles in Canada came
unstuck when the Dutchman was beaten by Hisham Mohd Ashour in the
semi-finals of the Calgary Winter Club Rocky Mountain Open, the $30,750
3-star event at Calgary Winter Club in Calgary.
"He played like he can,"
said the five-time Dutch national champion on Twitter after his first
championship defeat this year. "One match too many for me: Oh well, I had a
good run."
Third seed Ashour, the
older brother of world number one Ramy Ashour, is widely-regarded as one
of the game's most dangerous opponents.
The 27-year-old from Cairo
recovered from a game down to topple top seed Anjema, the world No15, 4-11,
11-7, 11-9, 11-7 in 51 minutes.
The unexpected win takes
Ashour senior to the seventh Tour final of his career – but his first for a
year.
The world No23 will face
Daryl Selby, the second seed from England who battled to his third
consecutive Tour final in Canada when he dashed local hopes by beating Canada's
fourth seed Shahier Razik 11-7, 11-4, 11-6.
The 45-minute win was
Selby's third in a row over the 32-year-old from Toronto on his home soil – but
the first in straight games.
The 27-year-old world No12
from Essex – now hoping it will be 'third time lucky in Canada' – is celebrating
the 14th PSA final of his career, where he will be meeting Ashour for the first
time.
Seeds Safely Through In Calgary
After a cull of three seeds
in the opening round of the Calgary Winter Club Rocky Mountain Open,
order was restored in the quarter-finals when the top four seeds prevailed to
reach the semi-finals of the $30,750 PSA World Tour squash event at
Calgary Winter Club in Calgary, Canada.
Unseeded Gilly Lane
ousted fifth seed Martin Knight in the first round, but the US number two
was unable to repeat his run in the next when Canada's fourth seed Shahier
Razik defeated the 24-year-old from Philadelphia 11-9, 11-5, 11-4.
Razik, the 32-year-old from
Toronto now in his third successive Tour semi-final on home soil, will face
second seed Daryl Selby.
The Englishman beat South
African qualifier Clinton Leeuw 11-9, 12-10, 14-12 to set up his third
meeting with the Canadian in two weeks.
Dutch favourite Laurens
Jan Anjema will take on third seed Hisham Mohd Ashour in the other
semi. Anjema, looking for his third Tour title in a row in Canada, dismissed
Italian Stephane Galifi 11-5, 11-8, 11-6, while Ashour knocked out
Mexico's No8 seed Eric Galvez 11-0, 7-11, 11-3, 11-3.
| 
