2010 ROWE British Grand Prix: James Willstrop
defeated on home-ground
Presently ranked number one in the world, Egypt’s Ramy Ashour annihilated Britain’s James Willstrop to clinch the 2010 ROWE British Grand Prix Championship title on Tuesday.
Ashour got off to a good start by taking the first set 11-7. The Britt however, fought back to bag the second set 11-3. Nevertheless, the third set went in favour of the Egyptian as he turned the tables on Willstrop by taking the set 11-3.
The 40 minute final was brought to a close as Ashour came out victorious in the deciding fourth set. James stood defeated on home-land, based upon his 5-11 loss in the fourth. Seeded no. 2 at the tournament and with Britain’s Nick Matthew out of the way,
the Egyptian triumphed over Willstrop without any hindrance.
In the words of James, “He’s got my number at the minute.” The professional further stated that his inability to produce a good performance was a big letdown. He further opined that the game was too physical and that Ashour was too good.
On the contrary, the victorious Egyptian stated, “I’m really glad I came here and really glad to win. I think it was a really good match, but I think we were both tired – James had a very long game yesterday for more than 100 minutes.”
The Champion went on to state that he learnt a lot from his brother Hisham Ashour. He further added that he got to speak to his parents everyday and that really helped him.
In conclusion, Ashour said that he believed Willstrop was a great player, having played him in Hong Kong in recent times. He also stated that he thought this match was a tough one for him, further adding that it was always great to play against James.
Held at the National Squash Centre in Manchester, the 2010 ROWE British Grand Prix is the biggest event held in Europe. Apart from coming out victorious at the tournament, Ashour also managed to hold on to his world number one ranking along with bagging
a cash prize worth $92,500 awarded by the Professional Squash Association.
British fans were left dejected with Matthew out of the tournament due to health issues while Willstrop proving incapable of defeating the Egyptian player.
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