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February 17, 2008
In the pair's first meeting since both have
recovered from injuries, Ramy Ashour beat fellow Egyptian Amr Shabana in four
games in the final of the PACE Canadian Classic to successfully defend the
5-star PSA Tour title at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto.
"When the top two players meet, there is no
strategy – the player who plays best wins," said Shabana, the world champion
and world No1 after his defeat to the 20-year-old world No2.
It could have been a nightmare for the top
seed, losing the first two games in just 12 minutes to his younger compatriot.
The first game was a surprise as Ashour
cruised effortlessly to an 11-2 victory in just over four minutes. He summed
it up later: "It seemed that Shabana was not really there tonight."
But Shabana pulled his act together in the
second game and made Ashour work for every point. The quality of squash rose
sharply and the full house was treated to the full gamut of Egyptian squash –
constant attack and sublime winners. Shabana led to 6-6 and then went ahead
with two superb winners. It seem as though he now had the measure of the young
pretender. And then a dreadful string of three errors followed and Ashour had
the second game with the possibility of a three game whitewash.
Shabana finally brought his total persona onto
the court in the third game and took charge from the first point, moving
Ashour around, hitting his signature winners with lots of cross court action.
The pace was hectic and the accuracy from both players was formidable. Shabana
was now in full swing and took the third game, hinting at a full five game
final.
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