Canary Wharf Classic 2007

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Tickets can be booked from the
Ticket Hotline 0870 534 4444,
or online at www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Further information from Alan Thatcher
Email: alan@squashuk.com

ISS CANARY WHARF
SQUASH CLASSIC
19th-23rd
March 2007

Alan Thatcher Previews

EGYPTIAN STARLET SET TO THRILL CROWDS
A NEW ERA is dawning in top-class professional squash, and London crowds are drooling at the prospect of seeing the amazing young Egyptian Ramy Ashour (left) in action at the ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic in March.

Ashour has rocketed into the world top six after a devastating rise through the rankings in the past six months. And former world champion Peter Nicol is looking forward to seeing the precocious 19-year-old parade his dazzling skills on the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt inside the East Wintergarden atrium at Canary Wharf from March 19-23.

Ashour has begun the year in tremendous style, winning the Canadian Classic in Toronto and reaching the semi-finals of the Chicago Open.

Ashour overcame Australia’s world champion David Palmer in straight games in the Toronto final and Canary Wharf co-promoter Nicol said: “Ramy is working hard and he is immensely talented. To achieve results like those is simply astonishing for such a young man. He has developed at an amazing rate, physically, tactically and mentally.

“He retained the world junior title a few months ago and has made an incredible impact in his first full season on the senior professional circuit.

“He has just gone on court and shown he has got what it takes to beat the top guys in the world, and you cannot underestimate the immense physical ability he has developed.

“What most people love about him is his personality. He clearly loves what he is doing, he plays with a smile on his face most of the time and is an exceptional young man.”

That’s high praise indeed from a professional thoroughbred like Nicol, who dominated the sport for most of the past decade, much of which was defined by his intense rivalry with Canadian Jonathan Power.

Now both have retired there is immense competition at the top of the rankings. Ashour’s compatriot Amr Shabana has taken over the top spot in a top ten that boasts a third Egyptian, Karim Darwish, who reached the semi-finals at Canary Wharf last season. 

Reigning Canary Wharf champion Thierry Lincou is no longer even the leading Frenchman in the PSA world rankings, with his compatriot, the stylish Gregory Gaultier, now one place above him at number three.

Gaultier was runner-up in the World Open in Egypt in September, losing to Palmer in an open-air amphitheatre in front of the Great Pyramids, having earlier removed top seed Shabana. He repeated that success when he achieved a major career milestone by winning the US Open in November, beating Shabana in the final in Boston.

The 2006 ISS Canary Wharf runner-up, Australia’s Anthony Ricketts, is looking to go one better this year. He reached the final in Chicago, having finally put a stop to Ashour’s charge in the semi-finals, but lost in straight games to a supercharged Shabana.

The ISS Canary Wharf Classic line-up is sure to provide a mouthwatering feast of squash and the joint promoters, Eventis Sports Marketing and SquashUK, are looking forward to a further week of sell-out crowds.

As well as seating round the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt, superb corporate hospitality packages are available with spectators able to wine, dine and watch the action from the best vantage point in any squash arena, the Gallery restaurant at the East Wintergarden.

GIFT WRAPPED, THE WORLD’S LEADING SQUASH STARS
Sports fans searching for the perfect Christmas present can gift-wrap the ideal seasonal offering, tickets for the star-studded ISS Canary Wharf Squash Classic.

The world’s leading squash stars will be competing in this dazzling sports event, with action on the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt inside the stunning East Wintergarden atrium at Canary Wharf from March 19-23.

Co-promoter Peter Nicol, the former world champion, said: “I can’t think of a better gift for the sports fan, whether they are a squash player or not.”

Tickets can be booked from the Ticket Hotline 0870 534 4444, or online at www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Nicol added: “We are all looking forward to the next ISS Canary Wharf tournament in March. We have fantastic sponsors who have enabled us to develop the tournament into a real London showpiece featuring the sport at its very best in a superb venue.

“Squash is a fantastic spectator sport, combing physical and mental agility from the players, with a mixture of dazzling skill, powerful, attacking shots and breathtaking retrieving.

“The top speed for hitting a squash ball was recorded at Canary Wharf two years ago when Scotland’s John White was timed bashing the ball at a phenomenal 172mph. That’s more than 20mph faster than the top speed recorded in tennis.”

Nicol, who retired earlier this year after dominating the squash world for a decade, added: “To retrieve the ball travelling at that pace you have to react incredibly quickly. I’m just glad I don’t have to put my body through that any more!”

This season’s competition is again a Five-Star ranking tournament on the PSA world circuit, thereby guaranteeing the presence of the world’s top players.

Frenchman Thierry Lincou is looking forward to retaining his ISS title after a successful year in the UK in which he collected a hat-trick of major tournament wins, including the Liverpool Open and Mamut English Open in Sheffield.

However, Nicol knows that competition will be tough. He added: “When you look at the world top ten there are so many fine players – David Palmer and Anthony Ricketts from Australia, Amr Shabana, Ramy Ashour and Karim Darwish from Egypt, Lincou and Gregory Gaultier from France, plus the British contingent of James Willstrop, Lee Beachill and new British Open champion Nick Matthew, who are all capable of winning any event.

“It all comes down to who feels fit and fresh, who is playing well and who can play consistently well in any part of the world.

“With that kind of quality line-up, we are all looking forward to another fantastic tournament.”

As well as seating round the all-glass Harris Brushes Procourt, superb corporate hospitality packages are available with spectators able to wine, dine and watch the action from the best vantage point in any squash arena, the Gallery restaurant at the East Wintergarden.

Qualifying Finals