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TODAY
in Kuwait
Wed 11th April, FINALS:
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Steve Cubbins in Kuwait |
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[1]
Nicol David (Mas) bt [2]
Natalie Grinham (Aus)
9/6, 10/8, 2/9, 9/1 (93m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [1] Amr Shabana
(Egy)
11/5, 11/3, 12/10 (34m)
Ramy & Nicol take Kuwait crowns
In two contrasting finals Ramy Ashour and Nicol David collected
the impressive Shiekha Al Saad Kuwait Open trophies in front of
a packed audience who adored both champions.
Nicol retained her title in an enthralling four games against
Natalie Grinham which featured the long, patient rallies typical
of their recent matches. Tonight Nicol once more had the
marginal edge, and after 93 minutes yet another major title was
hers.
The men's match was the expected feast of attacking squash, but
unlike the previous three times the top two Egyptian have
played, this time it was the youngster who came out on top.
After blitzing the first two games Ramy recovered from a 10/6
deficit in the third to claim the title, and the biggest squash
cheque of all time.
Photo gallery to follow ...
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Head to Head records |
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[4]
Ramy Ashour (Egy) bt [1] Amr
Shabana (Egy)
11/5, 11/3, 12/10 (34m)
Hail the new Prince
It was the final that so many people wanted to see, and even
though it wasn't a five-game thriller, as a display of attacking
brilliance it would be hard to beat.
Ramy started off like a steam train, and apart from a period in
the middle of the third he just kept on going. At 10/6 to Amr
another game or two looked likely, but Ramy was not to be denied
tonight as reeled off the next six points to capture the most
valuable title of his - or anybody's - career to date.
 "When
you start so well, hitting winners and moving well like I did,
you're always going to have a drop off at some point. I've been
trying to work on my focus to make sure I don't relax after a
good start.
"I don't think I relaxed in the third, I just got a bit loose,
but I always thought I could come back and I was ready for
another one or two games if necessary.
"I didn't expect it to be like that, I thought it would be much
harder, but I think he was suffering with his blisters. I'm
really happy with how I played, and the new rackets work well,
"I'm really excited about what happened here today, but I'm sure
it will be much tougher next time I play him.
"I'm going to go up in the rankings, which is the most important
thing - oh, and the size of the cheque too of course!
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 "He
was very good, but I didn't start well, I opened up the court
too much, but managed to keep it tighter in the third. You have
to do that for the whole match these days or you won't win. I
felt that if I'd taken the third it would have been a different
story, but it was so close, so far.
"We may play in the semis next week in Qatar, but he's got to
get past his brother first, everyone will be watching that one.
If we do meet then I'd like to think revenge will be sweet."
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[1]
Nicol David (Mas) bt [2]
Natalie Grinham (Aus)
9/6, 10/8, 2/9, 9/1 (93m)
It's Nicol again
After two mammoth matches between these two in recent months we
had a fair idea of what to expect, and the world'stop two
players duly delivered once again.
 In
stark contrast to the men's match which followed Nicol and
Natalie patiently worked the rallies, moving the ball to all
parts of the court, demanding retrieving and accuracy of the
highest order from each other.
The first game, close all the way, took 25 minutes. The second,
with Natalie recovering from a 5-0 deficit to earn one game
ball, was 30 minutes.
Far from deterred at being two down, the Australian quietened
the many Malaysian fans in the audience, striking back in the
third and at the end of that 14-minute game it was the Malaysian
who looked more tired.
More tired she may have been, but she came out in the fourth
with obvious attacking intent, and forced Natalie into some
desperate retrieving. Three loose shots cost Natalie dear as
three strokes helped Nicol to a 5/1 lead.
There was no stopping Nicol now, who was dominating the front
court, and although it took three attempts from 8/1, the fourth
was converted and she was still the champion in Kuwait and the
Malaysian flags were flying again ...
 "She
played very well, the best game she's played for quite some
time, it was dominant, intelligent, solid squash. She had a bit
of a slump in the third, but sometimes you're better off losing
games like that so you can reassess, which is what she did.
"She's in good shape and she keeps working on her game, this
match just reinforces what she's doing."
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 "It's
very disappointing, I was up in the first and the second, and I
can't believe I've come off still feeling so fresh. I should
have expended more energy out there.
"I wish I was paid by the hour!"
 "I
was very very happy with my game, I really stuck to it in the
first two games even though I had a little dip in the second.
"I wasn't feeling comfortable with what I was doing in the
third, I was opening up the court too much and she got the
momentum and started to take control.
"I had to take it back in the fourth, and even though there were
so many crazy rallies I had to fight for each point until I got
a big enough lead, working hard to make her make the next error.
"It's great to win here a second time and retain my title, it's
been a fantastic week.
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