RESULTS: Virtual
Spectator Bermuda PSA Masters, Hamilton, Bermuda
Semi-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt
[4] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 (77m)
[6] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt
[11] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 (54m)
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Egypt's new world number one
Amr Shabana will meet fellow left-hander Peter Nicol, the world
No6 from England, in the final of the Virtual Spectator Bermuda PSA
Masters, after the dismissal of two Frenchmen in the semi-finals of the
PSA Super Series Platinum event in Hamilton, presented by
Logic and hosted by Endurance.
In the opening match on the
all-glass court at the Jessie Vesey Sports Centre, top seed Shabana
took on France's Thierry Lincou, the fourth seed and former world
No1. This was the pair's 12th meeting since September 2003 – the
most notable of which was in December 2003 when the Egyptian prevailed in the
final of the World Open in Pakistan to become the first Egyptian to
claim the title.
Lincou played exceptionally
well in the first game, taking it 11-7, but then reality set in as Shabana
rattled off six unanswered points in the second and never looked under
pressure as he tightened his game and maintained his lead to draw level.
Mid-way through the third
game, it was clear that Shabana was in control, and a series of sustained
rallies ended with either the Egyptian playing an immaculate drop, or with
Lincou hitting the tin. After 77 minutes, it was Shabana who emerged
victorious in a 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 scoreline to record his third
successive four-game victory over the Frenchman this year.
"Any time you beat Thierry,
it's a good win," said the 26-year-old from Cairo afterwards. "When he
controls the game he gives you very few openings, and you get lost trying to
find a winner, which is what happened to me tonight. He started well, like
he did the last couple of times we played, but I started getting in front of
him in the second and thank God it was enough."
Shabana, beaten only once
this year, is now in his 17th PSA final – and one win away from
extending his remarkable record of six wins out of six successive finals!
After his brilliant
demolition of David Palmer the previous night – just 24 hours after
celebrating his 33rd birthday - it was widely questioned whether
Peter Nicol would be up for a second successive tough match in two days,
especially against a rapidly-improving Frenchman who is ten years his junior.
Nicol had suffered a 3/2 loss
to Gregory Gautier just seven weeks earlier in New York - but 54
minutes later he had emphatically answered the question after a straight game
win against the young Frenchman 11-5, 11-8, 11-5.
Nicol delighted the crowd,
playing almost flawless squash throughout the match, constantly keep his
young opponent on the move, and being content to wait for Gaultier to make
mistakes. Gaultier led 4-1 in the first game, but after the score levelled
at 5-5, it was Nicol in the lead for the rest of the game and the match.
“After the Commonwealth
Games, I felt mentally exhausted and emotionally gone - but physically I feel
great. When I arrived here I was just thinking of getting to the first round
and competing. Now I’m looking forward to tomorrow and then I’m taking a few
weeks off.
"He (Amr) is a phenomenal
talent and the man to beat. He’s good for the game. I played him in the
World Open in December and he took me apart. It will be great to have
another crack at him.”
Nicol is no stranger to
records in his sport: He recently celebrated 60 months at the top of the
world rankings – and last month added two Commonwealth Games gold
medals to bring his medals total in three Games to a record six.
His match against Shabana
will mark his 69th appearance in a PSA Tour final – but victory
would bring up his half century of 50 PSA titles!
Official website:
www.bermudamasters.com
Follow the action live
on: www.psalive.tv
Issued on
behalf of: PSA
