15-Feb,Semis:
All-Egyptian semis in Toronto
Liz Shaughnessy reports

It will be the sort of final that every promoter dreams of - the world numbers one and two facing each other for the finale of the PACE Canadian Squash Classic. World Champion and world #1 Amr Shabana made that come true after defeating world number eight Wael el Hindi 3/1 in a 60 minute semi-final match that for the most part was pure entertainment.

Shabana joins the world #2 Ramy Ashour, who earlier defeated Karim Darwish. With an all Egyptian semi-final, it was little wonder that the Egyptian Ambassador, His Excellency Mahmoud El Saeed, turned up to watch.

Shabana was sharp and relaxed, although his forehand drop was letting him down. Instead of being the killer shot, it was hitting the tin, giving El Hindi a number of lifelines. This allowed him to keep in touch with Shabana to 9-9, but a lucky nick at the back put Shabana at game ball and he was gifted the final point with an error from El Hindi.

Shabana cut his errors in the second game and cruised to a 10-5 lead, but dropped his guard badly to allow El Hindi to get to 9-10 before he worked him out of position to earn a stroke and the second game.

As he did yesterday, Shabana went walkabout in the third game, allowing El Hindi to take it fairly comfortably 11-5. Shabana went up a notch in the fourth game, which featured some fantastic rallies with both players diving and jumping to play some incredible shots. But Shabana was always going to win and he did 11-7.

El Hindi said later that he should have won that first game.

“It would have been different if I had not been so loose. I relaxed too much and you can’t relax against guys like Shabana. Against Shabana and Ashour you have to play every point like it’s match point. I haven’t yet learned to get that level of concentration. With me it comes in waves,” he said, adding that he felt he had a good tournament.

Earlier, ffter beating fellow countryman Karim Darwish 3/1 in the first semi-final, Ramy Ashour, the world number two, admitted that he has guilt problems, which caused him to throw away the last two points of the third game.

“I knew my ball was good, but Darwish was so sure it was down, I began to feel guilty about taking the point and then hit the next ball into the ground,” he explained.

All Freudian confessions aside, Ashour was in top form from the very first rally and rolled over Darwish 11-4 in just six minutes. Darwish admitted later that he started flat and defensive – “which you can’t do against Ashour who attacks from the start and is so accurate.”

Darwish picked up his pace in the second game, but Ashour worked his incredible speed and accuracy. His flow of drop shots to both sides of the court was almost cruel in the way it stretched Darwish to the limit. Ashour won the game 11-7 and then took a quick 3-1 lead in the third before Darwish found his momentum and fought the good fight. Both players displayed superb squash that constantly brought roars of approval from the packed audience of the John Bassett Theatre.

The score was 8-8 when a controversial call occurred, followed by an animated discussion between the two players. Ashour obviously upset, gave away the final game points.

Turning anger into overdrive, Ashour returned after a two minute break, delivering a barrage of shots for which Darwish had no answers. Ashour won the game handily in less than eight minutes, earning his final berth tommorow.


 

14-Feb, Quarters:
All-Egyptian semis in Toronto
Liz Shaughnessy reports

Despite a lapse in the third game, Wael El Hindi of Egypt took charge of his quarter final match against Australian Cameron Pilley to book his place in the semi-finals of the PACE Canadian Squash Classic, which will consist entirely of Egyptian players, who now represent the new dominant force in world squash.

Using the patented Egyptian short game, the ninth ranked El Hindi cruised through the first game controlling the game and putting Pilley, ranked 23, under constant pressure. Pilley fared a little better in the second game, but was still making mistakes at crucial points. When El Hindi won that game, it appeared it was all over, but the third game saw Pilley take control and the tiring El Hindi fell into his well-known trap of blocking after hitting. The Let count rose to 25 as the referee was brought into play on almost every point. Pilley continued his control and won the very long game, looking as though he could turn the match around.

But El Hindi upped the pace in the fourth game, taking control and winning it easily 11-5.

“I don’t know why I changed the pace in the third game,” El Hindi chided himself later. “I suppose I relaxed and let the pace slow down. We were in each others way with a lot of lets. In the fourth game I picked the pace up and did what I should have done all along” he said.

He will now meet World #1 Amr Shabana in the semi-finals. Shabana had a shortened evening when his quarter final opponent, Mohammed Abbas, had to retire in the fourth game due a foot problem that occurred two days ago.

Until Abbas’ retirement, these two Egyptians put on a textbook display of attacking squash, played with pace and courage as they fearlessly went for winners.

Trailing in the first game, Shabana won by fighting back to force extra points, winning the game 15-13. He ran through the second game and looked set to take the third when Abbas hit a streak and came from behind to win 11-9. But at 0-5 in the fourth, he shook hands with Shabana and retired.

“I was in pain the whole time and finally could not continue with my foot in the shoe,” said a despondent Abbas.

Meanwhile Shabana joked that it was like playing in the Egyptian Nationals – all the semi-final players are Egyptian.

“Next year we should hold the it in Cairo, “ he quipped.

Earlier, Canada’s top player, Shahier Razik, experienced the full force of Egypt’s boy wonder, Ramy Ashour, as he bowed in straight games.

After the match, Razik was asked if he will do anything different next time he meets the mighty Ashour.

“Yeah. I’ll take a cup of coffee before the match so I don’t fall asleep in the first game,” he replied, referring to his 11-1 drubbing in the four-minute first game.

Razik, who moved from Cairo to Canada at the age of 12, got up to speed in the second game and needed all his considerable experience to stay in touch with the 20 year old world #2. Although Razik played well, Ashour’s accuracy and speed was too much for the Canadian, and at the end of the 12-minute game, Ashour left the court the 11-8 winner.

The story was much the same in the third: some wonderful rallies with both players being pushed to their limits, but Ashour always finished on top. He took the game 11-7 to close the 35 minute match and move on to the semifinals where he will meet his very formidable compatriot, Karim Darwish.

It is then, Ashour feels that he will know how well he is playing.

“Yesterday and today, my opponents were not as competitive as Shabana or Darwish, so I don’t know if I am back to top form,” explained Ashour, who returned to match play recently after two months off with a heel injury.

“I had pain yesterday, but not today. Shahier let me get the first game, but then he played really well – much more than I expected. Fortunately there was no pain in my foot.”

Razik was philosophical about the result.

“Apart from the first game, I was happy with the way I played. He is explosive off the tee, so it is hard to hit drop shot winners. He puts pressure on you all the time and his speed from side to side is deadly. The only way to beat him is to keep the rallies going and then he will make mistakes. The match was over in 34 minutes. I still had 117 minutes left in me,” Razik commented.

In a match that never caught fire, Egypt’s Karim Darwish, ranked eight in the world, took his victory in straight games 11-6, 11-7, 11-0 against Stewart Boswell of Australia who is ranked six places below him.

Boswell, once a top ten player, was never able to dominate the match as his short game continually let him down. Darwish was faster, fluent and accurate. After losing the first two games, Boswell couldn’t retrieve his game, allowing Darwish to run away with a 11-0 score, a rare occurrence at this level of squash.


 

13-Feb, Round One:
Pilley in Toronto upset
Liz Shaughnessy reports from Toronto

The final match of the day at the Canadian Squash Classic was also the most disappointing for World #4 David Palmer. The valiant Australian was plagued with debilitating lower back pain throughout the marathon match of 72 minutes against his countryman Cameron Pilley.

Following the match, Palmer said that he had injured his back in training three days ago.

“I spent four hours today with the physio in an attempt to loosen the back up, but on the third point of the first game, it locked up,” he explained. When asked whether it was wise to carry on, Palmer replied: “I guess not, but I just hate to lose.”

Action opened with two Canadian players in the first two matches  at the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto. Top ranked Canadian Shahier Razik, ranked 22 in the world, earned his way to the quarter-finals with a 3/0 victory over the 29th ranked Miguel Rodriguez of Colombia. Matthew Guiffre of Edmonton, lost in straight games to the reigning World Champion and World #1 Amr Shabana of Egypt.

Shabana, playing his first tournament this year, showed no rusty signs in his first round match. He took just 26 minutes to finish Guiffre with a dazzling array of winners and inch perfect length that left the Canadian without any answers.

“I couldn’t handle his length and accuracy,” Guiffre commented after the match. “It’s awesome playing the best in the world. I wasn’t shell-shocked because I used to play Jonathon Power a lot. But I simply don’t get that level of opposition back in Edmonton.” When asked to compare the great Canadian, (now retired from professional squash) and Shabana, Guiffre said that Power was the more aggressive player.

“He hit the ball harder than Shabana, but Shabana is so incredibly accurate.”

Troubled with a wrist problem, Shabana has not played a tournament for almost two months.

“I took four weeks off after the World Team Championships in December and only started practising a month ago. Right now I’m relaxed because I am happy to be playing. When you have an injury you never know if you will play again,” said Shabana who won the Canadian Squash Classic two years ago.

The Razik-Rodriquez match was unexpectedly short; both players tend to like the two hour match and can push attritional squash to the limit. Rodriguez was particularly puzzling in his quest for winners, hitting a string of unforced errors on his way to helping Razik to a straight games victory in 46 minutes.

Razik will be thankful for the short work-out as he faces Ramy Ashour, the wonderboy of squash, in the quarter-finals tomorrow and will need all his energy to contain the speedy shotmaking of the 20 year old Ashour, who occupies the number two spot in the world rankings.

Earlier in the day, Canadian qualifier Shawn Delierre (Montreal, Quebec) fell to the superior power and experience of Egypt’s Wael El Hindi, seeded 5th for the tournament, in a three game, 46 minute match.

Yasser El Halaby from Egypt suffered a similar, if somewhat quicker, fate against his fellow countryman, 7th seed Mohammed Abbas in a resounding 33 minutes.


 

Globe & Mail

Toronto Sun

Razik v Rodriguez

11-Feb, Qualifying round one:
Qualifying under way in Toronto
Jamie Nicholls reports from Badminton and Racquet Club

Qualifying for the PACE 2008 Canadian Classic began with a bang at Toronto’s Badminton and Racquet Club on Monday. Each match featured a Canadian going up against an international player, all in search of a spot in the main draw of the PACE Canadian Classic.

Match one saw a boisterous crowd supporting their home-club touring Pro Matt Serediak as he took on the smooth Hungarian Mark Krajcsak. With many of his students, both junior and senior spurring him on, Serediak struggled initially to move Krajcsak off the T, as the World-Ranked #50 volleyed hard and often and brought Matt up to the front of the court with confidence, especially on the backhand side. In the 3rd game, Matt adjusted to the fast pace and began to hit his trademark punishing length deep into the back corners. The game saw Krajcsak manage to stay ahead by 1-2 points, despite Matt’s great digs and a number of dying cross-court lengths. Krajcsak finally closed out the game 11-9 and the match, to the dismay of the home-club audience who witnessed an inspired 3rd game by their local hero.

Next on the court was the very experienced Czech player, Jan Koukal versus an up and coming Mike Reid from Canada. The match featured some great front-court action, as Koukal and Reid seemed to move effortlessly to retrieve their opponent’s drop shots and counter drop with amazing accuracy. Koukal dominated play in the first game, but perhaps was a little too relaxed in the second as Reid seemed to surprise the Czech with some great gets and terrific counter-punching. With the match knotted at 1-1 and the referee’s beginning to get their toughest work-out of the evening, Koukal, ranked #56 in the World reduced his error rate while continuing to move the ball to all corners of the court. The young Canadian was pushed deeper into both the front and the back, as Koukal cruised to a 3-1 victory and a date in the Qualifying Finals.

The third match was a classic contrast in style. Egyptian Yasser El Halaby came out attacking right from the opening rally, as he seemed fearless in bringing the young and resilient Canadian Andrew McDougall to the front of the court. McDougall, one of Canada’s brightest young stars adapted quickly after a brief first game loss and began to close down the court, moving well and hitting tight straight lengths which eventually resulted in El Halaby errors, as he took a close second game. The 3rd and 4th games proved to be amazing squash, as El Halaby, after some inspiring words from World #8 and #4 seed Karim Darwish, become slightly more conservative, reducing errors but still playing wide-open attacking squash. McDougall held on as long as he could, but in the end El Halaby, ranked 40th in the World had too much offense, and stayed off the tin to take the 3-1 victory.

The B&R’s final match of the evening was a Can-Am affair with David Phillips from Montreal vs. Ryan Donegan from St. Louis locking horns. Phillips (#62 in the World), started slowly in the first game, as Donegan took advantage of some untimely tins and Dave’s sluggish movement to the front of the court – Donegan looked smooth en route to an 11-5 victory. The second game was a different story, as the Canadian favorite began to assert himself and control the T. Phillips volleyed with pace to the back of the court and showed some impressive touch when needed in the front of the court. Donegan fought hard until the end, but Phillips proved too physically dominant and experienced in the end for the smooth American in a well played match.


      

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05-Feb:
Canadian talent
showcased in Toronto
Preview from Liz Shaughnessy

TORONTO — As the top-seeded Canadian, Shahier Razik understands there is a pressure to perform at the Pace Canadian Classic held February 13 to 16 in the John Bassett Theatre at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

It was five years ago that the Toronto native watched his compatriot Jonathon Power dismantle Australian former World Open Champion David Palmer to win his record third victory in this major PSA World Tour Event.

Now, with the retired Canadian squash legend watching courtside as the tournament’s honourary Players Chairman and TSN colour commentator, Razik, seeded 8th, will attempt to carry on the winning tradition.

It is a challenge that the World No. 21 is ready and willing to pursue.

“Definitely, the people are going to be looking for me to keep the flag going,” said Razik, who has failed to advance past the first round in three Canadian Classics.

“Jonathon put squash on the board for Canada. I know I haven’t had a lot of success at the Pace Canadian Classic, but I’m planning to change that.”

Razik is fresh after defeating Pakistan’s Majid Khan to win the Talisman Energy Bankers Hall Open in Calgary. It was the tour veteran’s 18th PSA title and 27th final appearance.

The 30-year-old Razik, who will play Columbia’s Miguel Angel Rodriguez (ranked 30th) in the first round, is looking to end his streak of bad luck at his home tournament.

“Shahier has a great chance to win his first round match,” said Dennis Goodfellow, Head Professional at the Toronto Athletic Club. “He knows the court, so it’s like home territory for him. And the fans will be very supportive.”

As Canada’s second-ranked player, Matthew Giuffre is setting somewhat lower expectations.

The 12th-seeded player from Edmonton, who is ranked 59th in the world, said he would be content with winning a single game from his first round opponent. Giuffre has the distinct pleasure of playing Egypt’s World No. 1 Amr Shabana for the first round of the tournament on Wednesday evening.

Giuffre said the challenge is not unlike a club tennis player trying to return 140 mph serves from Roger Federer. But that he plans to do Canada proud.

“It’s cool, because I’ve never played him before,” Giuffre said of facing Shabana. “Who knows? Anything can happen on the court. I’m not making any promises, but I’ll do my best. I don’t know if there’s more pressure on us as Canadians. But there’s definitely internal pressure to succeed that’s fueling me.”

It was not long ago that the fans came to the Pace Canadian Classic to watch Power demonstrate his homegrown squash skills. That hasn’t changed.

Power will be trading his signature on-court antics and acrobatic shots for equally dynamic live on-site action coverage each evening of the tournament. His first-hand knowledge of the psychological subtleties of the sport and its key players will provide both tv and live audiences with an insider perspective at a tournament which has drawn many of the top players in the world, including the top three: Shabana, Ramy Ashour also from Egypt, and David Palmer. “We’re not as strong as when Jonathon was playing,” Giuffre said of the Canadian content. “But I think there’s a lot of depth. And a lot of fresh talent coming up the ranks.”

Some of those on the brink of taking the next step are David Phillips (World No. 65), Robin Clarke (World No. 79) and Ian Power (World No. 104) who are among the Canadians who will attempt to qualify for entry into the main draw with qualifying matches Monday, February 12th and Tuesday, February 13th at the Toronto Athletic Club and the Badminton & Racquet Club.

Phillips, a 27-year-old from Montreal, has never qualified for the Pace Canadian Classic. But in the last 17 months, he has improved his ranking from 118th in the world to his current No. 65 standing.

Clarke, who is only 21 years old, was a national Under-14 and Under-17 champion. The Toronto native recently won the silver medal in the team event at the 2007 Pan-American Championships.

Ian Power is the younger brother of the former World No. 1 squash legend, who was known as much for his creative shots as he was for his on-court verbal jousting. Though it is unfair to compare the two siblings, fans are likely to notice the similarities in their on-court demeanor.

“He’s a solid, competitive grinder,” Goodfellow said of Ian Power. “What I like about Ian is that he doesn’t give up much and he’ll let the ref know when he’s made a questionable call.”

It may be impossible to predict how the Canadians or referees will react at the event, but the tournament has at least one thing that everyone can count on.

“The fans are always the best,” said Razik. “That will never change.”
   

The PACE Canadian Squash Classic, held February 13–16 in the John Bassett Theatre at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, is a PSA World Tour major event offering $70,000 (CDN) in prize money.

The tournament is part of a six-event Players Cup Squash Circuit, which takes place throughout North America in January and February. The top eight players who accumulate the most points during this circuit will receive a berth in the Players Cup Championship, held in Boston from March 4-7.