ElShorbagy And El Sherbini Triumph At 2017/18 PSA World Series Finals
French
World No.5 Camille Serme has been eliminated from the 2017/18 ATCO PSA
Dubai World Series Finals after falling to a 2-1 defeat against World
No.1 Nour El Sherbini inside Emirates Golf Club.
Egyptians Mohamed ElShorbagy and Nour El Sherbini - the respective men’s
and women’s World No.1s - triumphed on a thrilling final day of action
at the 2017/18 ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals to claim the
prestigious season-ending titles inside Emirates Golf Club today (June
9).
Overcoming compatriots Ali Farag and Raneem El Welily - the respective
men’s and women’s World No.2s - ElShorbagy and El Sherbini etched their
names onto the trophies to bring the curtain down on what has been one
of the most competitive and thrilling seasons in the history of the PSA
World Tour - with ElShorbagy successfully defending the title title he
won twelve months ago and El Sherbini claiming the coveted crown for the
first time in her career.
In what was the tournament’s third consecutive staging in Dubai, it was
Farag who started stronger against ElShorbagy in the men’s final to take
the opening game as he looked to exploits the tired legs of ElShorbagy -
with the 27-year-old from Alexandria having reached 12 finals from 14
events played during the campaign.
But
ElShorbagy showed just why he’s know as ‘The Beast’ on tour as he showed
tremendous fighting spirit to level the match before prevailing in a
physically punishing third game to set up the platform for victory -
which sees him end the season as World No.1, World Champion and World
Series Finals champion.
“It’s been an amazing week here in Dubai,” said ElShorbagy.
“There have been some great matches all and I’m very proud to have been
part of this event at the end of the season and to have won it.
“Ali and I have played so many battles this season and I’m happy that we
managed to end the season playing against each other - he’s a great guy
and great player and I look forward to being back on court battling with
him again next season.”
After the match Farag said: “Mohamed has been proving day in and day out
that he is the best player in the world. Every time I feel like I match
him, he keeps fighting back - I will work hard over the summer to try
and match him next season.”
El
Sherbini, the 22-year-old from Alexandria who has occupied the World
No.1 position unchallenged for the past 26-months, underlined her
dominance over the rest of the field as she swept El Welily aside in a
one-sided 11-3 opening game.
El Welily, who scalped El Sherbini to win the 2017 World Championship
final, managed to find her footing in the second game but it proved to
be in vein as El Sherbini regained the upper hand to move 2-1 ahead,
before controlling the fourth game to seal the win courtesy of an 11-5,
9-11, 11-8, 11-5 scoreline.
“It feels amazing to have won this title,” said El Sherbini.
“I was proud just to be one of the eight players who came here. It’s
been a long season so I’m really proud and happy to end the season with
this title.
“This season has been one of the most successful of my career but there
are still improvements to be made and I can still become a better
player.
“Raneem
and I keep playing each other and battling against each other on court,
but we both go to Russia together in just a few days to cheer on Egypt
in the World Cup. It’s difficult when you pay against the same player so
many times.
El Welily said: “All credit to Nour tonight, she played very well. I was
maybe a little slow and not at my best on court. I’m happy with my week
and my season but there are certainly things to work on over the summer,
hopefully next season will be even better.”
Result
- Final: 2017/18 Men’s ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [2] Ali Farag (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-3,
11-9, 11-8 (51m)
Result - Final: 2017/18 Women’s ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) 3-1: 11-5,
9-11, 11-8, 11-5 (41m)
Matthew
Bows Out of Professional Squash as Egyptians Dominate
England’s
Nick Matthew has played the final match of his glittering 20-year-career
after he lost out to World No.2 Ali Farag on a day that saw an Egyptian
quartet claim victories to reach the title deciders at the ATCO PSA
Dubai World Series Finals taking place inside Emirates Golf Club.
37-year-old Matthew was set to retire after defeat to Germany’s Raphael
Kandra at last month’s Allam British Open meant he failed to qualify for
the World Series Finals, but a hamstring injury sustained by World No.3
Marwan ElShorbagy saw the Yorkshireman get a late call-up.
Three wins out of three saw Matthew top Group A but his tournament - and
career - came to an end at the hands of Farag earlier today as he fell
to a 11-5, 11-7 defeat. Matthew, the most successful male English squash
player of all time, bows out with 35 PSA World Tour titles – including
three PSA World Championship crowns – to his name, while he also claimed
a trio of Commonwealth Games gold medals.
“I dared to dream for a second that I could go all the way but Ali was
slightly too good tonight. Even a week ago, if you’d have offered me a
semi-final place here I wouldn’t have believed it," said Matthew, who
will now take on a coaching and ambassadorial role at England Squash.
“A few people this week have been trying to talk me out of retirement
but that’s not happening. I’m 100 per cent going to stay in squash, I’m
going to have a rest this summer, I’ve got some camps in the US and I’ll
have a lot of family time and regroup.
“I’ve got a great role which I’m looking forward to doing with England
Squash and I’ll be growing my academy around the world. I’m still going
to play, I’m not going to totally stop, I’m too competitive.”
Farag
said: “It’s extremely emotional, I knew that if I was close to winning
that they were going to be the last few points of Nick’s career.
“I didn’t want to talk about it at all because I think the more I talked
about it the more it would have gotten into my head. Only such a legend
would get a standing ovation for around 10 minutes."
Farag will play World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in the final after the
defending champion came through a cracker of a semi-final encounter with
Germany’s Simon Rösner in a repeat of their meeting at the same stage of
last year’s event.
Rösner squandered match ball on that occasion against eventual winner
ElShorbagy and, while he wasn’t able to quite get in a winning position
again, he made life difficult for the reigning World Champion, but
ultimately succumbed to a 12-10, 10-12, 11-3 defeat which sends
ElShorbagy through to an 11th final of the season.
"Every
time it gets tough in any match I always tell myself that I live for
these kind of moments, these are the moments I was born for,” said
ElShorbagy.
“Ali’s fresh, he’s playing well and we haven’t played since last
November. It’s great to have the last match of the season between the
World No.1 and No.2, definitely.”
The top two players in the women’s game will go head-to-head in the
final as Nour El Sherbini and Raneem El Welily claimed wins over
France’s Camille Serme and World No.3 Nour El Tayeb.
El
Sherbini, a losing finalist at last year’s tournament, picked up where
she left off after topping Group B with a 100 per cent record as she
overcame Serme by an 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 margin to ensure that she will
take on El Welily in a sixth major final this season.
“It’s always a tough match playing Camille,” said El Sherbini.
“It was really hard from the first point and I have no idea what I would
have done if it was longer than this [best of three] because I was
tired.
“I’m really hungry to win it, I never won it before and this is my third
year in a row coming here. It’s the second final so hopefully this time
it’s going to be my title.”
El
Welily, meanwhile, came through a quick-fire victory over El Tayeb to
reach the final of this tournament for the first time since 2016.
“Nour is a really tough opponent,” said El Welily.
“This season has been great for her and we’ve had great battles. But
it’s the end of the season, it’s the last tournament and the last push.
We’ve all had tough pool matches and I’m happy with the way I pushed
myself, even if at the end I let go and gave her a slight opportunity
which she almost took."
The finals of the 2017/18 ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals will take
place later today at 20:00 local time (GMT+4).
The action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World), Eurosport
Player (Europe only) and mainstream channels around the world, such as
BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals - Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [3] Simon Rösner (GER) 2-1: 12-10,
10-12, 11-3 (47m)
[2] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [8] Nick Matthew (ENG) 2-0: 11-5, 11-7 (23m)
Draw - Men’s Final: To Be Played June 9
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [2] Ali Farag (EGY)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals - Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [6] Camille Serme (FRA) 2-1: 11-7, 9-11,
11-8 (39m)
[2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 2-0: 11-7, 11-9
(19m)
Draw - Women’s Final: To Be Played June 9
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Defending Champion
Massaro Crashes Out Of PSA World Series Finals
2016 and 2017 tournament winner Laura Massaro saw her hopes of a third
consecutive title at the season-ending ATCO PSA Dubai World Series
Finals come crashing down following a 2-0 defeat to France’s Camille
Serme inside Emirates Golf Club earlier today.
Massaro had impressed during the opening two days of action to win both
her previous pool matches and assume what looked to be a commanding
position atop Group B of the event - played under a best-of-three games
round robin format prior to the knockout semi-finals - but defeat to
Serme, combined with World Champion Raneem El Welily’s victory over
Sarah-Jane Perry, ended the English World No.1’s title-defence.
Those results meant that El Welily went through top of Group B courtesy
of a superior points won percentage over Serme.
“I’m very happy with the way I played today, I managed to relax and play
my shots better than the other days,” said Serme.
“Laura is such a fighter. She loves playing here and she never gives up,
so until the very last point I didn’t want to give her anything.
“I was a bit upset with myself after losing yesterday, then on the other
side because of the round robin format I was like ‘you still have a
chance, be positive!’ I called my coach and he was telling me what went
wrong in my match yesterday but you have to focus on the positive side
and refocus the next day and I’m really happy reach the semi-finals.”
After her match, El Welily said: “I am very pleased to be through to the
semis. It’s the second time for me to reach the last four in Dubai.
“I can’t help but feel bad for Laura, she won her first two matches but
she didn’t qualify. It was a tough group and I’m just glad to be through
against such tough competitors.
“Dubai is definitely a favourite tournament, we all have a great time
here, we’re taken good care of and I really enjoy the crowd and the
atmosphere.”
Serme will now go up against World No.1 Nour El Sherbini in the
semi-final stage after the 22-year-old Egyptian defeated compatriot
Nouran Gohar 2-0 to progress from the group stage with a 100 per cent
winning record, while the other semi-final will see El Welily face World
No.3 Nour El Tayeb after she came through a shoot-out decider in Group
B.
In the men’s event England’s Nick Matthew, the 37-year-old, a late
call-up to the event following the withdrawal of Marwan ElShorbagy
through injury, cemented his semi-final berth with victory over World
No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy to make it three wins from three at the event.
“It was a very unique situation, neither of us quite knew how to
approach it,” said Matthew.
“It certainly didn’t have the edge of the usual battles between the two
of us but I think that both of us at the start of the week would have
signed up for the position that we were in. We would have both taken it,
getting to the semi-finals with one match to spare and I think whoever
we had to play tomorrow, be it Simon or Ali, were both going to be
incredibly tough.
“Maybe it was a bit easier for Mohamed to turn off the tap and then turn
it back on at full speed tomorrow. It’s a bit harder at my age, I think
that if I slow down I stop so I try to keep moving and obviously Mohamed
was nice and relaxed tonight. I’ve never seen him so relaxed but I’m
sure he’ll be back in beast mode tomorrow."
He will now face Egyptian Ali Farag in the last four after the former
Harvard student prevailed in an all-or-nothing encounter with
compatriot, and 2016 World Champion, Karim Abdel Gawad.
Both players lost out to German Simon Rösner during the opening two
days, while recording victories over Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, but
with a semi-final berth on the line it was Farag who came out firing on
all cylinders to prevail 11-5, 11-5.
“It was very tough today because not only is he a good friend, he’s such
a lethal player,” said Farag, who will appear in the last four of this
tournament for the first time.
“When I had the opportunity I went short and thankfully it worked. Last
year I was in the exact same position, I won my first match, lost the
second and then it was winner takes all in the third match and I lost to
James [Willstrop], who played brilliantly.
“Today I wanted to learn from that and go through to the semis for the
first time ever, so I’m quite delighted.”
The other winners on the final day of action in the men’s group stages
were Rösner and Tarek Momen, who beat Miguel Angel Rodriguez to take
third place in Group A.
Rösner will take on ElShorbagy in a repeat of the 2017 event’s
semi-finals that saw Rösner squander match-ball to gift ElShorbagy
passage to the finale - which he duly won - with the German hoping to
exercise his demons from that encounter.
Semi-final action from the World Series Finals takes place at 15:00
local time (GMT+4) later today (Friday June 8) and the action will be
shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World), Eurosport Player (Europe only)
and mainstream channels across the globe, including BT Sport, beIN
Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals – Men’s Group A
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) 2-0: 11-6, 11-6
(16m)
[4] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 2-1: 11-5,
8-11, 11-8 (40m)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals – Men’s Group B
[3] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [6] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 2-0: 11-8, 12-10
(21m)
[2] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 2-0: 11-5, 11-5 (21m)
Draw – Men’s Semi-Finals: To Be Played June 8
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [3] Simon Rösner (GER)
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [2] Ali Farag (EGY)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals – Women’s Group A
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [7] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2-0: 11-5, 11-5
(14m)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [5] Joelle King (NZL) 2-1: 7-11, 11-7, 13-11
(38m)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals – Women’s Group B
[6] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [4] Laura Massaro (ENG) 2-0: 11-7, 11-5 (22m)
[2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 2-0: 11-6, 11-9
(20m)
Draw – Women’s Semi-Finals: To Be Played June 8
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [6] Camille Serme (FRA)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Fairytale Ending Still on the Cards for Matthew as Englishman Reaches
Semi-Finals
37-year-old
Englishman Nick Matthew is still in with a chance of lifting a trophy at
his final professional squash tournament after a stunning victory over
British Open champion Miguel Angel Rodriguez saw him qualify for the
semi-finals of this year’s ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals.
Sheffield-based Matthew thought his career was over after a
disappointing second round loss at the British Open last month, but
received a late reprieve after the withdrawal of World No.3 Marwan
ElShorbagy, who pulled out due to a hamstring injury, from the
tournament in Dubai led to a late call up.
And the veteran Yorkshireman is now one win away from a third appearance
in the World Series Finals title decider after claiming an epic 11-9,
9-11, 12-10 victory over the in-form Colombian to ensure that he
qualified from Group A of the men’s event alongside defending champion
Mohamed ElShorbagy, who beat fellow Egyptian Tarek Momen.
“I was just summoning every ounce of sweat, experience, willpower,
knowhow and a little bit of technique here and there. That was so, so
tough, I don’t know how long it was but I’m glad it was best of three. ”
said Matthew.
"The sport’s come a long way in the last 20 years that I’ve been on the
tour. I think about when I started, you had perspex courts which wobbled
in the wind, so look how far we’ve come. We’ve got equal prize money,
Chicago [the 2018/19 PSA World Championships] is up at the half a
million [dollar] mark [for both men and women] and beyond.
“It makes me wonder if I’m retiring at the wrong time really because the
tour is only going in one direction but my body is only going in one
direction too, so I think we’ve met half way.”
Germany’s
Simon Rösner is the other player to qualify for the semi-finals of the
men’s tournament after he came back from a game down to defeat World
No.2 Ali Farag - a result which sees the World No.5 guarantee top spot
in Group B.
Rösner’s superior head-to-head record over both Farag and 2016 World
Champion Karim Abdel Gawad means that he qualifies top of the group.
Gawad ended three-time winner Gregory Gaultier’s semi-final hopes and he
will take on Farag next to decide who joins Rösner in the last four.
“It’s more than I could have wished for to be in the semis after two
matches by beating two really good players,” said Rösner, who won the
Tournament of Champions earlier this year.
“It feels amazing, just like it did last year, but last year there was a
difference because I wasn’t sure if I would be in until the very last
point that I played against Nick [Matthew] so getting through is
amazing."
World No.1 Nour El Sherbini is the only player so far to have qualified
for the semis in the women’s event as she cruised to a quick-fire 2-0
triumph over World No.3 Nour El Tayeb to claim victory in just 15
minutes, making it two wins out of two.
El
Sherbini and El Tayeb are the only women to have won multiple World
Series titles throughout the 2017/18 season and it was El Tayeb who
prevailed the last time the pair met in the quarter-finals of February’s
Windy City Open – a tournament El Tayeb went on to win.
El Tayeb made a strong start here yesterday as she eased to a 13-minute
win over World No.6 Nouran Gohar but she was on the back foot from the
off today as El Sherbini held her compatriot at arm’s length and gave
her very little opportunity to show off her impressive shot-making
skills, with the 22-year-old storming to an 11-7, 11-5 victory to
qualify from Group A.
“I’m so happy to win this match, I think last time I lost to her and
she’s doing really well this season,” said El Sherbini, who was
runner-up at last year’s event.
“She’s up to No.3 in the world but I’m really glad I managed that I
didn’t lose a game, it was really important to win this in two games.
“She can kill any shot from anywhere and know matter how good a shot is
she can get it back. I had to be ready for any surprises from her
because I don’t know what she’s going to do, so I needed to be ready."
New Zealand’s Joelle King and World No.5 Nouran Gohar were the other
players in action in Group A, with the former winning to set up a
semi-final playoff with El Tayeb next.
Group
B sees defending champion Laura Massaro lead the way courtesy of a 2-1
victory over England teammate Sarah-Jane Perry.
Preston-based Massaro is eyeing up a hat-trick of World Series Finals
titles after winning the previous two iterations of this tournament and
she moved to within one win of a semi-final berth after a 2-1 victory
over Perry in a feisty match which saw the pair have some heated words
at the end of a captivating contest.
“How you can blame me for trying to back in more when I’m crowded to try
and create space is just a joke,” said Massaro.
“I’m quite angry to finish that match like, especially in comparison to
how I ended yesterday. At the end of the day I won."
World Champion Raneem El Welily defeated French World No.5 Camille Serme
in the day’s other match to ensure that it’s all to play four in Group
B. If Serme beats Massaro and El Welily gets the better of Perry, then
it will come down to the percentage of games won to decide who qualifies
for the last four.
The final day of group stage action begins at 15:00 (GMT+4) later today
and will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and Eurosport Player
(Europe only).
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals – Men’s Group A
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 2-1: 11-9,
9-11, 12-10 (72m)
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [4] Tarek Momen (EGY) 2-1: 11-8, 2-11,
11-9 (39m)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals – Men’s Group B [3] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [2] Ali Farag (EGY) 2-1: 7-11, 11-9, 11-3
(40m)
[7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [6] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 2-1: 9-11,
11-8, 11-4 (41m)
Draw – Men’s Group A Day Three: To Be Played June 7 [1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [8] Nick Matthew (ENG)
[4] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Draw – Men’s Group B Day Three: To Be Played June 7
[3] Simon Rösner (GER) v [6] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
[2] Ali Farag (EGY) v [7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals – Women’s Group A
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 2-0: 11-7, 11-5
(15m)
[5] Joelle King (NZL) bt [7] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2-0: 11-8, 14-12 (26m)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals – Women’s Group B [4] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 2-1: 15-13,
7-11, 11-8 (48m)
[2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [6] Camille Serme (FRA) 2-1: 8-11, 11-7,
11-5 (34m)
Draw – Women’s Group A Day Three: To Be Played June 7
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [7] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v [5] Joelle King (NZL)
Draw – Women’s Group B Day Three: To Be Played June 7
[4] Laura Massaro (ENG) v [6] Camille Serme (FRA)
[8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Defending
champions Laura Massaro and Mohamed ElShorbagy claimed opening day wins
against World Champion Raneem El Welily and British Open winner Miguel
Angel Rodriguez as the season-ending ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals
got under way at the Emirates Golf Club.
The World Series Finals brings together the world’s top eight male and
female players who qualified through the PSA World Series Standings with
the opening three days of action seeing players compete in a
best-of-three games, round robin group stage as they bid to qualify for
the knockout semi-finals and beyond.
And
Massaro, who is eyeing up a third successive World Series Finals title,
recovered from a game down to defeat El Welily as she wrapped up an
8-11, 11-9, 11-8 victory to take a step closer to a third successive
World Series Finals crown.
“I didn’t think I would win it last year to be honest, everyone keeps
saying ‘how do you feel about three times?’ and I can’t believe I won it
twice," said Massaro, who beat World No.1 Nour El Sherbini in the final
of last year’s event.
"It really is one match at a time and as [Mohamed] ElShorbagy said
yesterday, every match that you play can be like a World Series final
and you prepare as if it is a final.
“It’s nice to know you’re coming back for three days in a row regardless
of results.”
Massaro sits atop Group B in the women’s event, joint with France’s
Camille Serme after she defeated England’s Sarah-Jane Perry by two games
to one.
World
No.1 Nour El Sherbini was also on form on day one as she axed New
Zealand’s Joelle King by a 2-0 margin.
The newly crowned PSA Women’s Player of the Year laid down a marker for
the rest of the tournament after a sterling display from the two-time
World Champion saw her claim an 12-10, 11-7 victory in 27 minutes.
“Joelle’s been playing so well and she has come back after the [achilles]
injury so well and has beaten a lot of top players,” said El Sherbini.
“It’s the first match and you could play Joelle in the final of a World
Series event, so it’s hard to play her in the first round. I’m glad I
fired myself up and won the first game."
El Sherbini heads up Group A with Nour El Tayeb, who claimed a dominant
2-0 win over Nouran Gohar in just 13 minutes.
ElShorbagy, who was last night crowned PSA Men’s Player of the Year at
the PSA Awards dinner, avenged his defeat to Colombia’s Rodriguez in the
final of last month’s Allam British Open in a match that saw both
players wow spectators at Emirates Golf Club with some blistering
rallies throughout the 49-minute clash.
Rodriguez became the first South American ever to win a World Series
title when he stunned ElShorbagy in Hull’s Airco Arena in one of the
most dramatic matches ever to light up the sport’s longest-running
tournament.
The pair picked up where they left off in Hull as they went toe-to-toe
in some high-octane exchanges and both players took a game apiece to set
up an exciting third game showdown, in which ElShorbagy pulled away from
3-3 to build up a commanding lead before wrapping up the 2-1 victory in
49 minutes.
“He’s been playing really well recently,” said ElShorbagy, who was
crowned PSA Men’s Player of the Year last night at the PSA Awards
dinner.
“Whatever happened today, it was never going to change that he is the
British Open champion and what he did was great and he did his country
proud. He’s a such nice guy and we’re really great friends.
“I’m just happy we played another great battle, our matches have been
clean and fair and today was another one.”
Meanwhile,
England’s Nick Matthew began the final PSA tournament of his
professional squash career with a superb 2-0 victory over Egypt’s World
No.4 Tarek Momen which has sent the Englishman to the summit of Group A
ahead of World No.1 ElShorbagy.
Matthew thought he’d played his last professional match after bowing out
of last month’s Allam British Open due to a shock defeat to German
qualifier Raphael Kandra which saw him finish ninth on the PSA Men’s
World Series Standings – one place outside the top eight, which would
have guaranteed him a spot in Dubai.
But a hamstring injury suffered by World No.3 Marwan ElShorbagy saw ‘The
Wolf’ called up at the last minute and he grasped the opportunity with
both hands today as he put in a professional performance to overcome
Momen three weeks after beating the Egyptian in the opening round of the
British Open.
“It’s been a very topsy-turvy couple of weeks,” said Matthew.
“I desperately wanted to go out here and have my swansong on this stage.
I felt like I could have done a little bit better, losing out in the
second round of the British Open was disappointing in my backyard.
“I made peace with it when Miguel went on and won. If he’d made the
quarters and edged me out by five points then maybe it would have been
‘what if’ but when someone wins a tournament like that and goes to six
in the rankings then you have to hold your hands up and say it’s
incredibly well-played. I had made my peace and then I got the call!"
Matthew goes top of Group A courtesy of dropping less games that
ElShorbagy, while there were also wins for Egypt’s Ali Farag and
Germany’s Simon Rösner, who beat Gregory Gaultier and Karim Abdel Gawad,
respectively.
Day two action begins at 15:00 tomorrow (Wednesday June 6) and the
action will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and Eurosport
Player (Europe only).
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals - Men’s Group A
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [4] Tarek Momen (EGY) 2-0: 11-8, 11-9 (31m)
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 2-1:
11-8, 9-11, 11-7 (49m)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals - Men’s Group B
[3] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [7] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 2-0: 12-10, 11-6
(28m)
[2] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [6] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 2-0: 11-9, 11-8 (31m)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals - Women’s Group A
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [7] Nouran Gohar (EGY) 2-0: 11-5, 11-4 (13m)
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [5] Joelle King (NZL) 2-0: 12-10, 11-7
(22m)
Results: ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals - Women’s Group B
[4] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) 2-1: 8-11, 11-9,
11-8 (39m)
[6] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 2-1: 8-11, 12-10,
12-10 (50m)
Draw - Men’s Group A Day Two: To Be Played June 6
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [5] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [4] Tarek Momen (EGY)
Draw - Men’s Group B Day Two: To Be Played June 6
[2] Ali Farag (EGY) v [4] Simon Rösner (GER)
[8] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [7] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Draw - Women’s Group A Day Two: To Be Played June 6
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
[5] Joelle King (NZL) v [7] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Draw - Women’s Group B Day Two: To Be Played June 6
[8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [4] Laura Massaro (ENG)
[2] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [6] Camille Serme (FRA)
Egypt’s World No.3 Marwan ElShorbagy has withdrawn from next week’s ATCO
PSA Dubai World Series Finals due to a hamstring injury - meaning
three-time World Champion Nick Matthew will make the final appearances
of his career at the season-ending tournament held at Emirates Golf Club
between June 5-9.
Defeat to German qualifier Raphael Kandra at the Allam British Open
earlier this month saw Matthew finish ninth on the PSA World Series
Standings, which meant he missed out on a top eight place which would
have seen him qualify for Dubai.
That match against Kandra looked set to be the 37-year-old’s last ever
match on the PSA World Tour as he entered retirement but ElShorbagy’s
withdrawal has handed the Englishman one last chance to bow out in a
blaze of glory.
Matthew replaces the Egyptian in Group A of the men’s tournament, which
also contains Marwan’s older brother, World No.1 Mohamed and British
Open champion Miguel Angel Rodriguez, while World No.4 Tarek Momen moves
into Group A.
Momen switches places with three-time winner Gregory Gaultier, who moves
into Group B to sit alongside World No.2 Ali Farag, Tournament of
Champions winner Simon Rösner and former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad.
The World Series Finals features a round robin, best-of-three games
group stage format and Matthew will get his tournament under way against
Momen at 22:15 local time (GMT+4) on the first day of the tournament.
The group stages take place between June 5-7, while the semi-finals are
due to take place from 20:00 on June 8, with the finals beginning at
20:00 on June 9.
Every fixture will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of World) and
Eurosport Player (Europe only), while the semi-finals and finals will be
broadcast live on mainstream channels across the globe, including BT
Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
Tickets for the World Series Finals can be purchased via Platinumlist.
2018 Allam British Open champion Miguel Angel Rodriguez and the man he
beat in the final of that tournament - Egypt’s World No.1 Mohamed
ElShorbagy - are set to clash once again after they were drawn together
in Group A of the men’s event for the season-ending ATCO PSA Dubai World
Series Finals, which takes place at Emirates Golf Club between June 5-9.
The lucrative tournament - which offers an equal prize purse of $320,000
across the men’s and women’s events - brings together the top men and
women on the PSA World Series Standings, with players earning
qualification points at each World Series event contested during the
2017/18 season, to face-off against each other in a round-robin
best-of-three game series between June 5-7 for a place in the knockout
semi-finals and beyond - with only two players progressing from each
group of four.
Rodriguez’s heroics at last week’s British Open saw him oust three-time
World Champion Nick Matthew to earn his place in Dubai for a second time
in three years, while he also became the first South American player
ever to win a World Series title after overcoming defending World Series
Finals champion ElShorbagy in a thrilling 102-minute battle.
The duo have been drawn against three-time World Series Finals champion
Gregory Gaultier and Mohamed’s younger brother Marwan, who claimed a
maiden World Series crown last month at the El Gouna International, in
what promises to be a compelling group.
World No.2 Ali Farag heads up Group B in the men’s event and is joined
by Tournament of Champions winner Simon Rösner, World No.5 Tarek Momen
and 2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad.
The five-day event brings together the cream of squash talent and there
promises to be plenty of drama in the women’s event too, with last
year’s runner-up Nour El Sherbini, the current World No.1, drawn
together with World No.3 Nour El Tayeb - who alongside husband Ali Farag
won the U.S. Open in October - Windy City Open runner-up Joelle King and
World No.5 Nouran Gohar in Group A.
Defending champion Laura Massaro is drawn against reigning World
Champion Raneem El Welily as she aims to claim a third successive World
Series Finals title, while World No.6 Camille Serme and World No.8
Sarah-Jane Perry make up the rest of Group B.
The Group stages will get underway on June 5th with Group B action -
starting with Sarah-Jane Perry v Camille Serme and Simon Rösner facing
Karim Abdel Gawad - beginning at 3:00pm local time, with Group A action,
including a repeat of the men’s British Open final between Rodriguez and
ElShorbagy, taking to court from 8:00pm local time.
Group stage matches will take place at 3:00pm, 3:45pm, 4:30pm and 5:15pm
(Group B) and 8:00pm, 8:45pm, 9:30pm and 10:15pm (Group A) between June
5-7 with the semi-finals due to take place from 8:00pm on June 8.
The finals will commence at 8:00pm local time on June 9.
Every match from the tournament will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest of
World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only), while the semi-finals and
finals will be broadcast live on mainstream channels across the globe,
including BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox Sports Australia and Astro.
The world’s best squash players are set to appear at Emirates Golf Club
between June 5-9 after the Professional Squash Association (PSA) today
announced that the 2017/18 edition of the ATCO PSA Dubai World Series
Finals will be staged on a specially-constructed all-glass showcourt on
the premises of the historic 36-hole golf course.
The agreement, which was reached in association with event management
company JK58, means that Emirates Golf Club will become the latest
stunning venue in Dubai to showcase the PSA World Series Finals, with
the 2015/16 edition held in the shadow of the world’s tallest building -
the Burj Khalifa - while the 2016/17 instalment saw squash become the
first sporting event ever to take place at Dubai Opera.
“During the past three years Dubai has proven to be the perfect
destination for the PSA World Series Finals and I am excited to be
taking the event back to the Emirate again this June,” said PSA Chairman
and A. A. Turki Group of Companies (ATCO) Chairman Ziad Al-Turki.
“Every major sport in the world has a presence in Dubai and I’m
delighted that squash continues to be a part of that. We have built a
strong association with Dubai and Dubai Sports Council since first
bringing the World Series Finals there in 2016 and this year we are
excited to be working with Emirates Golf Club to put on another
world-class sporting occasion.
“The World Series Finals is a showcase event for squash, something that
fits perfectly with Dubai and Emirates Golf Club and I look forward to
welcoming some of the world’s finest athletes back to Dubai again on
June 5."
Dubai Golf Chief Executive Christopher May said: “We are delighted to be
the venue for this prestigious event. Over our 30 year history we have
welcomed a host of sporting legends and icons to Emirates Golf Club, we
are all looking forward to what will be a fantastic tournament and
witnessing another world-class sporting occasion at the Club”.
In order to qualify for the PSA World Series Finals, players must finish
in the top eight on the PSA World Series Standings, with points on offer
at all eight World Series tournaments throughout the 2017/18 season and
nine players - five men and four women - have already qualified after
stellar performances in the first five events.
The top three qualification spots for both men and women are currently
taken up by Egyptians. World No.1 and defending champion Mohamed
ElShorbagy has been in blistering form this year, appearing in four
World Series finals while winning three of them, and the 27-year-old
currently tops the standings.
Fellow Egyptians Ali Farag ,Tarek Momen and Marwan Elshorbagy fill
second, third and fifth, respectively, with Germany’s Simon Rosner
sitting in fourth after winning January’s J.P. Morgan Tournament of
Champions.
2016 World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad, three-time World Champion Nick
Matthew and three-time World Series Finals winner Gregory Gaultier
currently take up the rest of the spots inside the top eight.
The women’s line-up is led by World No.1 Nour El Sherbini, with Nour El
Tayeb in second and World Champion Raneem El Welily in third. New
Zealand’s Joelle King sits in fourth after a runner-up finish in the
Windy City Open in February and her first appearance at the World Series
Finals in June will come shortly after her gold medal success at this
month’s Commonwealth Games in Australia.
France’s Camille Serme, defending champion Laura Massaro, Egypt’s Nouran
Gohar and England’s Sarah-Jane Perry complete the top eight on the
women’s standings, while two-time winner Nicol David currently sits 15
points behind Perry and, after falling to India's Joshna Chinappa in the
second round of the El Gouna International yesterday (April 22), has a
real fight on her hands to qualify.
The battle for the final qualification places continues this week at the
El Gouna International which concludes on April 27, with the final
event, the Allam British Open, held from 15-20 May.
With an equal prize purse of $160,000 on offer in both the men's and
women's tournaments in Dubai, the five day event will bring together the
cream of squash talent - with players playing round-robin best-of-three
matches as they battle for a place in the knockout semi-finals.
Tickets for the season-ending PSA World Series Finals will go on sale
soon.