26/03/2011
NATIONAL BANK FINANCIAL GROUP OPEN 2011
Hisham Ashour Wins Biggest Tour Title In Montreal
NBF
Group Open 2011
19-25 Mar, Montreal, Canada, $35k |
Round One
21/22 Mar |
Quarters
23 Mar |
Semis
24 Mar |
Final
25 Mar |
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
13-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4 (89 min)
Shahier Razik (Can) |
Laurens Jan Anjema
11/6, 11/8, 11/8 (54m)
Stéphane Galifi |
Laurens Jan Anjema
11-7, 10-12,
11-4, 15-13 (61m)
Hisham Ashour |
Hisham Ashour
9-11, 11-7, 11-3,
11-6 (46m)
David Palmer |
Stéphane Galifi
(Ita)
13-11, 11-7, 11-7 (46 min)
[Q] David Phillips (Can) |
Tarek Momen (Egy)
13-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8 (65 min)
[Q] Jan Koukal (Cze) |
Jan Koukal
11/9, 11/5, 11/3 (26m)
Hisham Ashour |
Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
7-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 (43 min)
[3] Hisham Ashour (Egy) |
[4] Adrian Grant Eng)
10-12, 11-4, 11-2, 7-11, 11-7 (75 min)
[Q] Joel Hinds (Eng) |
Adrian Grant
8/11, 11/8, 11/6, 11/9 (90m)
Alister Walker |
Alister Walker
5-11, 11-5, 8-11,
11-8, 11-6 (92m)
David Palmer |
Alister Walker (Eng)
9-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-5
Shawn Delierre (Can) |
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)
12-10, 8-11, 12-10, 11-2 (84 min)
[Q] Alan Clyne (Sco) |
Alan Clyne
11/9, 6/11, 4/11, 11/3, 11/8 (73m)
David Palmer |
Julian Illingworth (Usa)
7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (68 min)
[2] David Palmer (Aus) |
Hisham
Ashour Wins Biggest Tour Title In Montreal
Egypt's
third seed Hisham Mohd Ashour continued his stunning run in the
National Bank Financial Group Open in Canada by upsetting No2 seed
David Palmer in the final of the PSA World Tour International 35
squash event at Club Sportif MAA in Montreal to claim the
biggest Tour title of his career.
The
28-year-old from Cairo, who made his breakthrough in the previous round
where he ousted Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema, leapt to a 5-1
lead in the opening game. But the illustrious Palmer, the 34-year-old former
world No1 and world champion who was celebrating his 55th appearance in a
PSA Tour final, batted back to take the game and open up an early
advantage.
"In the
second, Palmer continued where he left off, imposing his pace and playing
the ball early, and took advantage of a still flat-looking Ashour,"
explained a tournament spokesman. "But at 0-2 down, Ashour switched on, and
as his movement improved, he began finding his marks at the front.
"However,
Palmer's short game was on too, so in the next few rallies the crowd
witnessed spectacular attacking from both players as they punished each
other to 4-4."
Ashour
went on to press home his advantage and ultimately closed out the match
9-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 after 46 minutes.
The
Egyptian world No17 clearly flourishes in North America, where his Montreal
final marked his fourth successive appearance in a PSA Tour climax in
Canada. The triumph represents the third Tour title of Ashour's career, but
his biggest by a considerable margin.
Hisham
Ashour Makes Montreal Final
According
to the seedings for the National Bank Financial Group Open, Egypt's
Hisham Mohd Ashour secured an unexpected place in the final of the
PSA World Tour International 35 squash event in Canada after beating
Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema at Club Sportif MAA in
Montreal.
But the
win was the Egyptian's fifth in six Tour meetings with the world No12 from
The Hague since October 2006.
Third seed
Ashour took the first game and led 10-8 in the second. But Anjema battled
back to draw level after a tie-break.
"Ashour
came on with a renewed onslaught of shot-making in the third, trying to hit
the nick at every given opportunity," explained a tournament spokesman.
Errors
started dominate Ashour's game after the 28-year-old from Cairo won the
third - and the Dutchman moved 8-4 ahead in the fourth. But the lower-ranked
Egyptian kept clawing his way back, evening out his errors with fantastic
winners to get to 10-all.
The pair
trade points until Ashour set up match ball at 14-13 before going on to
close out the match 11-7, 10-12, 11-4, 15-13 in 61 minutes.
The
Egyptian, now in his 10th PSA Tour final, faces second seed David
Palmer after the veteran Australian clinched his second Tour final place
in a week - and the 55th of his career - by beating unseeded Alister
Walker.
But the
English outsider, ranked 19 in the world, took the experienced Palmer the
full distance before the US-based former world No1 and world champion
finally emerged triumphant 5-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 after 92 minutes.
Palmer,
who won last week's Rocky Mountain Open in Calgary, is meeting Ashour
for the second time in Canada this year after a semi-final clash in the
Comfort Inn Open in Vancouver in January - when the Egyptian beat the
Australian for the first time.
Walker
Wipes Out Grant In Montreal Marathon
A marathon
90-minute upset over fourth seed Adrian Grant in the National Bank
Financial Group Open in Canada took unseeded Alister Walker into
the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour International 35 squash event
at Club Sportif MAA in Montreal.
Just a
single ranking place separates the two Englishman - but world No19 Walker
celebrated his third successive Tour victory over the Londoner after
recovering from a game down to win 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9.
The
Botswana-born 28-year-old might be relieved that his victory was achieved in
only 90 minutes: Walker's last win over Grant, in the 2009 Sky Open
in Egypt, took a minute longer than two hours!
Walker,
now based in New York, next faces David Palmer, the veteran
Australian who is also based in the USA. The second seed from New South
Wales, winner of last week's Rocky Mountain Open in Calgary, was
stretched to five games by Alan Clyne before finally getting the
better of the Scottish qualifier 11-9, 6-11, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8 in 73 minutes.
Straight
games successes in the top half of the draw led Dutch favourite Laurens
Jan Anjema and Egypt's third seed Hisham Mohd Ashour through to
the other semi-final.
Anjema,
runner-up in Calgary last week, despatched Italian Stephane Galifi
11-6, 11-8, 11-8 while Ashour ended Jan Koukal's run by beating the
Czech qualifier 11-9, 11-5, 11-3.
Koukal &
Clyne Move On In Montreal
Qualifiers
Jan Koukal and Alan Clyne produced stunning upsets in the
National Bank Financial Group Open to claim unexpected quarter-final
places in the PSA World Tour International 35 squash event at Club
Sportif MAA in Montreal, Canada.
Czech
number one Koukal, who survived an 81-minute qualifying battle to reach the
main draw, defeated rising Egyptian star Tarek Momen, ranked 20
places higher, 13-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8 in 65 minutes.
Clyne, the
world No46 from Edinburgh, beat Australian Ryan Cuskelly 12-10, 8-11,
12-10, 11-2 in 84 minutes.
The Scot
now faces another Aussie, second seed David Palmer. The 34-year-old
from New South Wales, fresh from his 27th Tour title success in Calgary last
week, recovered from a game down to beat US number one Julian Illingworth
7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8.
Palmer is
expected to meet favourite Laurens Jan Anjema in the Montreal final
in a repeat of the Calgary climax.
The
Dutchman extinguished home interest in the event with a 13-11, 12-10, 8-11,
11-4 win over top-ranked Canadian Shahier Razik.
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