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Open de Squash Banque Nationale Groupe Financier 2012 18-23 Mar, Montreal, Canada, $35k
Round One 20 Mar	Quarters 21 Mar	Semis 22 Mar	Final 23 Mar
[1] Hisham Ashour (Egy) 11/8, 9/11, 11/7, 11/3 Jonathan Kemp (Eng)	Hisham Ashour 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 13-11 Steve Finitsis	Hisham Ashour 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 14-12 Tom Richards	Tom Richards 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-5 Thierry Lincou
Jan Koukal (Cze) 11/7, 11/8, 11/7 [Q] Steve Finitsis (Aus)
Martin Knight (Nzl) 11/6, 11/8, 11/4 [Q] Andrew Schnell (Can)	Martin Knight 11-3, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 Tom Richards
Shawn Delierre (Can) 10/12, 11/5, 11/6, 11/3 [4] Tom Richards (Eng)
[3] Cameron Pilley (Aus) 9/11, 11/4, 11/6, 12/10 Julian Illingworth (Usa)	Cameron Pilley 8-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 Mathieu Castagnet	Mathieu Castagnet 11-9, 13-11, 11-6 Thierry Lincou
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 [Q] Raphael Kandra (Ger)
Alan Clyne (Sco) 11/5, 3/11, 11/6, 11/7 [Q] Cesar Salazar (Mex)	Alan Clyne 5-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 Thierry Lincou
Mohammed Abbas (Egy) 11/5, 11/6, 14/12 [2] Thierry Lincou (Fra)

RESULTS: PSA International 35 Open de Squash Banque Nationale Groupe Financier, Montreal, Canada

Richards Rallies To Best Tour Win In Montreal Englishman Tom Richards pulled off his second successive upset in the Open de Squash Banque Nationale Groupe Financier in Canada to win the biggest title of his career at the PSA World Tour International 35 event at Club Sportif MAA in Montreal. In his maiden meeting with former world champion and world number one Thierry Lincou, the No2 seed, fourth seed Richards beat the distinguished 35-year-old Frenchman 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-5 to lift his fourth Tour title. The 25-year-old from Surrey reached his biggest ever final after ousting favourite Hisham Mohd Ashour, the defending champion from Egypt, in the semi-finals. "This was a classic battle between two classy players," reported tournament organiser Yvon Provençal. "They shared the first two games, with both players doing similar amounts of work. Lincou was moving the ball to the four corners as he usually does and Richards switching from the retrieving mode to attack whenever the opportunity was there. "In game three, Tom started to take the ball short on a regular basis with many outright winners. By then many thought Thierry was done, but a bad start from Tom in the fourth and solid play from the Frenchman got the crowd thinking the veteran could turn it around as he took the fourth by a significant margin. "Age caught up with him as Richards still had a lot of gas in the tank," continued the club's Director of Squash. "The fifth started with a few winners from Richards and a few mistakes by Thierry that gave the eventual winner a comfortable lead. He was able to close it out and earn his biggest title so far in his career." Richards was understandably delighted with his triumph: "Winner winner chicken dinner!" exclaimed the champion via Twitter shortly afterwards. "Scraped a 3/2 win in, absolute pleasure playing the legend that is Thierry!" Richards Stops Champion Ashour In Montreal England's Tom Richards denied champion Hisham Mohd Ashour a second successive appearance in the final of the Open de Squash Banque Nationale Groupe Financier in Canada when he upset the top seed from Egypt in the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour International 35 event at Club Sportif MAA in Montreal. The first semi-final started off at a blistering pace, with Ashour hitting a behind-the-back drop, followed by a cross-court dead roller, as a preview of what was to come. The Egyptian was hitting the ball with more sting than his calm English opponent, but it was fourth seed Richards who drew first blood. "The pace didn't let up in the second, as both players continued to crack the ball with incredible velocity, the well-conditioned Richards looking more comfortable at this pace of the two, and Ashour continuing to bestow gifts upon Richards with unforced errors," explained event spokeswoman Runa Reta. Ashour drew level from 8-5 down in the second, but underdog Richards recovered to open up a two-game lead. From 8-5 down again in the third - with Richards looking to win in three - Ashour levelled at nine-all and, after an uncharacteristic error from the Englishman, Ashour hit a winning drop to take the third. "Richards changed shirts in the fourth, and now dressed in all red, was perhaps subconsciously yelling out 'DANGER!' as he came out flying, taking a 4-0 lead, then a 7-2 lead, attacking with ferocity and hitting some perfect dying length," continued Reta. Ashour recovered from 9-5 down to save match ball at 9-10 with a sweet deceptive boast before Richards eventually clinched his 11-8, 12-10, 10-12, 14-12 victory following a volley drop error from Ashour. "I'm very happy to get into the final here in Montreal," said the 25-year-old from Surrey, now in the seventh - and biggest - PSA Tour final of his career. "It was a great match with Hisham tonight which I managed to sneak in the end, at times it seemed like he was hitting nicks off every shot I played but I kept faith in the overall pressure I'd applied and it paid off." Veteran Frenchman Thierry Lincou survived an all-Gallic clash with Mathieu Castagnet, beating his unseeded compatriot 11-9, 13-11, 11-6 in the other semi. The 35-year-old former world number one and world champion from Marseille is celebrating his 43rd Tour final appearance. "Tomorrow I play Thierry," continued Richards. "He is someone who I watched as I was growing up and a player and person I have the upmost respect for. "Saying that, I'll be trying my very hardest to win!" Castagnet Crushes Cameron In Montreal Upset Unseeded Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet produced the biggest shock on quarter-final day at the Open de Squash Banque Nationale Groupe Financier in Canada when he defeated third seed Cameron Pilley to reach the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour International 35 event at Club Sportif MAA in Montreal. "There was very little separating these two in the first game, despite the difference of nearly 30 ranking spots," said a spokesman for the event. "The unassuming-looking Frenchman, with an unconventional technique and at least half a foot shorter than the Australian, managed not only to hang in, but to dictate play at many points of the game. "But Pilley came up with some incredibly tight straight drop winners to take the first 11-8, to which the Frenchman was left to hack his racquet against the wall in frustration. Castagnet started off quickly in the second, taking the ball early with impressive speed and reach, and hitting some tight winners that Pilley could only blame the cracks of the court on. "A few loose points by the Australian was all that it took to give the second to the Frenchman, who ended the game with a perfect forehand drop and an energized pump fist. Castagnet continued with tight and aggressive play in the third completely dictating the rallies, while Pilley made a number of unforced errors that prompted some disgusted expletives to himself. "At 8-1 down, the curly-haired Australian woke up a bit with some nicely-constructed rallies, but he was too far behind, and the Frenchman took the third 11-6. Not letting up in the fourth and smelling victory, Mathieu kept the pressure up and ended it 11-6." The 25-year-old from Le Mans will now face fellow Frenchman Thierry Lincou after the veteran former world No1, the event's second seed, battled to a 5-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 win over Scottish champion Alan Clyne. The other semi-final will be the Anglo/Egypt clash predicted by the seedings - between favourite Hisham Mohd Ashour, the defending champion from Cairo, and fourth seed Tom Richards. Ashour recovered from a game down to end qualifier Steven Finitsis's run, beating the 29-year-old Australian 7-11, 11-8, 11-7, 13-11, while Richards overcame New Zealander Martin Knight in four games. Richards Removes Local Hope In Montreal Hope of local interest in the quarter-finals of the Open de Squash Banque Nationale Groupe Financier in Canada were dashed by Tom Richards when the Englishman beat Shawn Delierre in the opening round of the PSA World Tour International 35 squash event at Club Sportif MAA in Montreal. "The crowd was excited to see local favourite Shawn match up against world #20 Richards," said the club's Director of Squash Yvon Provençal. "The match started with Delierre attacking at seemingly every opportunity, making several winning shots as well as unforced errors, while Richards showed discomfort with the court. "Richards found his consistent play in the second while Delierre tired, squaring the match at 1-1. Delierre came out strong in the third taking a 6-3 lead, but his fatigue was evident as Richards made eight straight points to win the third and took the fourth with relative ease to finish the match 3/1." The fourth seed from Surrey was delighted with his 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 victory over the Montreal-based Canadian number two - tweeting overnight: "Happy to get off in 4 vs a unique opponent in mr delierre tonight." Richards will now face New Zealander Martin Knight, who also recorded a victory over a Canadian when he beat Calgary-born qualifier Andrew Schnell 11-6, 11-8, 11-4. Defending champion Hisham Mohd Ashour and former world number one Thierry Lincou are on course to meet in the final, as predicted by the seeding. Egyptian favourite Ashour, the world No14, defeated England's Jonathan Kemp 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-3 and will now meet Australian Steven Finitsis for a place in the last four. Finitsis, became the only qualifier to survive the first round when he ousted Czech champion Jan Koukal 11-7, 11-8, 11-7. In a battle between two veterans of the Tour, 35-year-old Frenchman Lincou saw off Mohammed Abbas, a former world No13 from Egypt, 11-5, 11-6, 14-12. Second seed Lincou, hoping to reach his 43rd PSA Tour final in Montreal, will now line up against Alan Clyne following the Scottish champion's 11-5, 3-11, 11-7, 11-6 win over Mexican qualifier Cesar Salazar. Immediately following his win, Clyne told his Twitter followers: "Pleased to get the 3-1 today. Will need to wait and see if I get to play the legendary Frenchman Lincou tomorrow. I hope so."

Richards Stops Champion Ashour In Montreal