U.S. Open Squash

Massaro wins British battle in Philly

Defending champion Laura Massaro maintained her impressive record in Philadelphia with a straight-game win over British rival Madeline Perry that was far from straightforward.

Perry, the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland, started well as she opened up a 3-0 lead in the first, but Massaro quickly closed that down to 3-all, and they traded points to reach 5-all. Perry took the next on a stroke but that was her last of the game as six unanswered points from Massaro put her in the lead.

The second was close all the way but again it was the Englishwoman who finished stronger, at 9-all finishing the game with two crisp dropshots off Perry boasts that she read well.

It looked all over for Perry as she fell 6-0 down in the third, but the pace and strength of hitting increased as she worked her way back to one point adrift at 7-8. Again though Massaro found the finishing touches with three points in a row, finishing with a flashing crosscourt beyond the despairing racket of Perry.

“I felt it was really close in the middle of the games,” said Massaro. ” I had to try and stay focused and managed to get a run of points at the end of the first two.

“I started the third really well, keeping it off her volley, but I think I relaxed a bit thinking it was almost over and she fought back really well.

“I had to scrap for it in the end so I’m really pleased to come away with a 3-0 win.”

Raneem squeezes into semi

The second women’s quarterfinal was played at a much faster pace than the first, as it was bound to be with Raneem El Weleily displaying her usual range of shots and Kasey Brown as determined as ever in chasing them down, applying her own pressure and winners too when the Egyptian world number three allowed her to.

The match was characterised by swings of fortune and score throughout.

El Weleily opened up a lead in the first game, saw it eroded as Brown plugged away, then pulled clear from 7-all to take the lead. The lead changed hands several time in the second with Brown leading 6-3, El Weleily getting to gameball 10-9 first, but the Australian reasserting to take it 13-11.

Similar swings in the third game – El Weleily ahead, Brown recovering to earn a single game ball, El Weleily taking the last three points to regain the lead 12-10. The fourth was virtually an instant replay of the previous game, with Raneem losing a lead but managing to claim the last two points and with it a place in the semifinal.

“That was just so up and down,” said a relieved winner, “I could so easily have won or lost all of those games. She was playing well but I never think about what my opponent is doing, it’s always in my head and I sometimes think I’m fighting myself.

“It’s great to be in the semifinal, but now I need to clear my head and make sure I’m more consistent in the next match and not give away leads like I did tonight.”

Matthew dethrones Shabana in a Classic

In a repeat of last year’s U.S. OPen final, second seed Nick Matthew reversed last year’s result against Amr Shabana to prevail in an five-game thriller full of fabulous squash, changes of fortune, thrills and spills that delighted the crowd at Drexel University.

Long story short, Matthew looked impressive as he took the first, always leading for an 11-6 advantage, but Shabana struck back to take the next two games 11-4 and 12-10, coming from behind in the third to take the lead on extra points.

The defending champion, seeded seven but looking as fit and fresh as he ever has, established a 7-4 lead in the fourth, but this time it was the English world champion’s turn to fight back, taking seven of the next nine points to level the match 11-9.

The expected fireworks in the fifth took a while to materialise as Matthew stormed into a 6-1 lead, subduing his opponent and the crowd. Shabana struck back with some brilliant winners, and levelled at 9-all. Matthew moved to match ball on a stroke, then probably wished he hadn’t wasted his video appeal on the first point of the game as he received a let from which he might have expected more.

A fabulous last rally saw both players covering all four corners of the court, Matthew finally leaving Shabana stranded at the front as he punched the ball deep for the winning point. Shabana’s racket made its own way to the back corner in vain pursuit as the players embraced in mutual respect and the crowd rose in appreciation.

“I really don’t know how I did that,” said Matthew after the 92-minute encounter, “the last few points are a bit of a blur, I expected him to get up and and chase that last ball down, he’d been playing so well!

“I knew he would come out strong, the shape he looks to be in has been the talk of the tour, so it wasn’t a surprise that he played so well – hopefully he’ll carry on and move up the rankings so that I don’t have to meet him in the quarter-finals any more!

“At 2-1 and 7-4 I was down and out, but one of the things I pride myself on is being able to work out what needs doing if things aren’t going the way you’d like, and I was able to do that tonight.

“I had a lead in the fifth, but it always felt like I needed one more point to be really safe, Shabs and Ramy can switch the momentum of a match with a single shot, and sure enough he came back and nearly snatched it.

“I was lucky to win that in the end. I’ll take a little time to go through what went wtong and what went right, then think about preparing for the semifinal – I just hope the others have a long one too!

Ashour scrapes into semis

Matthew got his wish for a long match when Ramy Ashour and Peter Barker contested the third Egypt v England quarterfinal, and it was Ashour who prevailed in a nailbiting 13-11 in the fifth finish after 75 minutes.

Barker, aiming for a hat-trick of English wins, took the first game 12-10 aided by numerous unforced errors from Ashour, who was trying to ensure that at least one Egyptian went through from the four who started the quarterfinals.

He took the second and third games 11-5, 11-6 with Barker now struggling to contain his opponent’s mobility and shotmaking.

Ashour held a slender advantage for the majority of the fourth game, but Barker kept plugging away and the Egyptian errors returned with a vengeance as Barker went from 5-7 down to level the match 11-7.

The decider was close all the way, but only from 7-all did the tension really arrive, and how.

Ramy dived in vain for a dropshot, Barker fell after a collision at the front of the court, Ramy found the tin with his favourite backhand volley then buried one deep into the back corner, Peter scored with Ramy’s own favourite shot then volleyed into the tin, Ramy punted the ball down the middle for a stroke and itt was match ball to the Englishman.

Another Ashour drive drive too deep, a Barker volley into the tin and it was match ball to Ramy, who then received a no let which became a let on video appeal. Ramy got another let which Barker appealed on, that became a no let and it was 11-all.

A chopped volley into the nick brought up a second match ball for Ramy, and at the end of a long rally Barker aimed for the nick but his volley clipped the tin and it was all over after 75 minutes, the last 15 of which were pure drama and tension.

“You try to go for nicks but sometimes it doesn’t work so you have to revert to a basic game,” explained the winner.

“I’m really proud of how I managed to win that. He played so well, but t times it looked as though there was something wrong with him, I think he was trying to fool me, and it broke my concentration, but to win such a match gives me a lot of confidence.

“I just didn’t want to go home, that’s the thing,” concluded Ramy.

Quarterfinals part two

With top seeds Nicol David and James Willstrop already in the last four, set to face Joelle King and Gregory Gaultier in Thursday’s semifinals, tonight’s matches are the bottom half of the draw quarterfinals, with both defending champions in action on the all-glass court at Philadelphia’s Drexel University.

After the women’s semifinals are completed there will be a U.S. Squash Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Bob Callahan.

7pm [2] Nick Matthew (Eng) v [7] Amr Shabana (Egy)

The first men’s match is a repeat of last year’s U.S. Open final between two players who each have almost too many titles to mention.

Matthew’s achievements include 25 PSA titles, two World Opens, three British Opens, two Commonwealth Gold medals, the World Games title, four British National crowns, and he is the reigning champion in all of those plus the Tournament of Champions, Canary Wharf Classic, British Grand Prix, Swedish Open and North American Open.

Not to be outdone Shabana, a year older at 33, can lay claim to 29 PSA titles which include four World Opens, five Hong Kong titles, is the reigning World Series Finals champion and he spent 33 unbroken months as world number one in the middle of the last decade.

Matthew’s spell as top dog is shorter at 16 total months, but more recent as he sat at the summit for the whole of 2011.

They’re both U.S. Open champions of course – Shabana’s six previous appearances brought two titles, in 2010 and 2011, while Matthew has competed in one fewer and has the 2007 title in his locker.

Tonight will be their 21st meeting, all but one in PSA matches, and the advantage lies with the Englishman at 11-9. Some say you’re only as good as your last match, and in this case it was last year’s final here in Philadelphia (although Matthew does lead 5-2 this decade).

Matthew may not have been at peak fitness towards the end of last year’s final and will no doubt have revenge on his mind, while Shabana looks as lean, fit and eager as he ever has, so stand by for a cracking contest.

8pm [4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) v [6] Peter Barker (Eng)

The final match, a third Egypt v England quarterfinal, will see Ramy Ashour, seeded #4 but currently ranked #5, take on Peter Barker, seeded and ranked #6.

Ashour, just turned 25, was the first player to win two World Junior titles, added the senior World Open title in 2008, and already has 24 PSA titles to his name, currently holding the El Gouna and Australian Open titles.

Barker, 29, has claimed 13 PSA titles and has recently made a habit of reaching major semi-finals but has yet to make the big breakthrough, his last wins being in the KL and Santiago Opens of 2009.

This is Barker’s 5th U.S. Open and his third quarterfinal. Ashour has played one less, but has never failed to reach at least the semifinals, losing to Shabana in his sole final appearance in 2010.

The head to head stands 4-2 in the Egyptian’s favor, their latest two meetings, in 2011, being shared with Barker victorious in last December’s PSA Masters.

King stuns Duncalt to qualify for semifinal

The first quarterfinal of the Delaware Investments U.S. Open at Philadelphia’s Drexel University produces a shock of seismic proportions as qualifier Joelle King put out third seed and former champion Jenny Duncalf in a seesaw five game thriller.

Duncalf, hitting the tin far too frequently for her own good, was in some ways fortunate to take a first game in which she didn’t play well, but the New Zealander took complete control in the next two games, adding her own driving winners and drops to Duncalf’s still too high error count.

Maybe nerves got to King in the fourth as she too made a few errors, but Duncalf seemed settle and it was her turn to take advantage.

The start of the decider was always likely to be crucial, and a 5-0 then 7-1 start for King proved enough.

Duncalf started playing some of her best squash, but the gap was too much to bridge, and on her second match ball King was through to the semis.

“There’s less pressure on you when you’re not the seeded players,” explained a delighted winner, “but I’ve been at this level for a while and been close to some big wins so the pressure was maybe from myself.

“In the first game I felt I was in control, but not in control, it was weird. But then I got ahead, she came back but I managed to close it out.

“I’m absolutely stoked to get through, it’s my first semifinal of a Gold event, let alone a World Series, I’m so so pleased!”

Nicol extracts the first bit of revenge

The second women’s quarterfinal offered the prospect of guaranteeing a qualifier in the final, but only if Alison Waters could repeat last week’s win over Nicol David, the dominant force in women’s squash for the last six years.

Not many people have ever beaten Nicol twice in a row, and tonight the Malaysian world number one and world champion was in no mood for a repeat setback.

It wasn’t a dominant performance, but Nicol was always a little bit faster to the ball, a little bit tighter, and apart from the third when Alison kept it level pegging all the way to 9-all, David was always a little bit ahead.

Waters led 9-8 in that third, but a series of great lengths from the Malaysian racket levelled it at 9-all, a dropshot off a loose volley gave her match ball, and Alison’s volley into the tin brought the end as the Englishwoman’s racket went flying in disgust.

That’s one aberration removed for Nicol, now she’ll be aiming to complete the run to the title to remove another.

“She was always going to be up for it having beaten me last week,” said a relieved and delighted winner.

“I knew I had to start strong and fight for every point to stop her getting the feeling she had it again.

“I think I got used to playing on the court a bit quicker than her, but in the third she was finding her length better and becoming more comfortable, it was neck and neck so I was really pleased to finish it in three.

“Hopefully this should kick start me for a big push in the rest of the tournament …”

Willstrop wins a bruiser

For anyone to take a 10-0 lead at this level takes some doing, but that’s what top seed and world number one James Willstrop did tonight.

He had to wait until the fifth though to open up that commanding lead, having shared the first four games with young Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy in a tough, often brutal encounter lasting 90 minutes.

The Englishman started well enough, helped by a number of errors from Shorbagy, to take the first game, but Shorbagy stepped up the pace, cut down the errors, and for the next three games there was nothing to choose between them.

Into the decider then, and now Willstrop’s control and physical conditioning that has improved so much started to pay dividends.

At 10-0 Shorbagy finally found a dropshot to claim a bagel-saving point, raised his arms and cried “yes” to the delight of the crowd.

Four more points, all from crisp winners followed, and thoughts started to turn to the impossible comeback.

A loose shot resulting in a stroke put paidd to those hopes and a relieved and tired Willstrop was through to a fourth successive U.S. Open semifinal.

“I had a good first, but then he started playing at a really good place and I was failing to take the chances I gave myself at the front, I was a bit weak and tentative in that area ad that helped him,” said Willstrop.

“I was pleased with the fifth, mentally and physically, but when he starts coming back hitting winners you just have to pay your game and not panic. If he’d made it you’d have to take your hat off to him, but it was unlikely.

“I’m pleased to get through a match like that, and the format of this tournament with split first round and quarters is best for the players, so I’ll be able to get a bit of recovery tomorrow.”

Greg finishes strongly

A few too many errors from third seed Gregory Gaultier, together with solid play from Karim Darwish, put the Egyptian fifth seed into the lead in the final match of the night.

The Frenchman found improved consistency from the outset of the second game and proceeded to dominate the rest of the match, showing determination when necessary as well as his renowned shotmaking skills.

Never behind in those final three games, it took a minute over the hour for him to set up a semi-final with James Willstrop, a repeat of their marvelous match in last month’s British Grand Prix.

“I struggled at the beginning,” admitted Gaultier.

“I had the wrong strategy, going to the front too soon and he dominated me.

“I changed my tactics completely at the start of the second, tried to push him to the back and take things on the volley as much as I could and it paid off.

“I’m happy to play James again, we had an unbelievable match in Manchester and I’m looking forward to trying to get my revenge.”

After a hectic couple of days we’re down to just four matches at Drexel University with the first session of quarterfinals.

As they say in Philly … stay tuned …