James Willstrop: New York provides a feast of squash action

ANOTHER pulsating week of squash was played out within the iconic confines of Grand Central Terminal in Midtown New York, finishing on Friday evening.
Nick Matthew
.Nick Matthew
.
Nick Matthew .

Raneem El Weliely finally put a stop to another strong run from England’s Alison Waters, who is finding consistent results at present, in the women’s finale. The world number two Egyptian withstood a challenge from the English girl but pulled away late on in the contest to win in four games.

Waters had beaten Nicol David in the quarters 3-1, which in itself is a career highlight. She backed this up with more success against Nour El Sherbini in a highly entertaining semi- final.

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El Weliely oozes class on the court and it looked like a tough proposition for Waters. But the Egyptian was battling her own insecurities. She mentioned that her loss in the monumental World Championships final in December had left its mark, so it was some achievement for her to respond by winning here.

Mohamed El Shorbagy proved his top ranking status with a final win over England’s Nick Matthew, and he showed great strength to come through a challenging event. He faced tough opposition firstly from Nicolas Mueller from Switzerland and in the semi finals against Amr Shabana, who defended his title in brilliant style despite losing. He creamed shot after sumptuous shot against his younger compatriot but it was to El Shorbagy’s credit that he withstood the onslaught. Matthew didn’t have it easy either; Omar Mosaad pushed him close earlier on, then Simon Rosner made it difficult in the quarters. Standout performance of the men’s event perhaps came from Miguel Angel Rodriguez, who defeated number two seed Gregory Gaultier in another quarter-final.

The men’s tour now moves to Detroit and then Sweden, whilst the women move on to Cleveland.

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