Australian Squash Open 2010: The British Vindicator; Nick Matthew
After being defeated by Egypt’s Ramy Ashour at the 2009 Saudi International Open, Britain’s Nick Matthew did not take long to turn the tables on the Egyptian squash player.
The 2010 Australian Squash Open kicked off on the 10th of August 2010 at the National Convention Center in Canberra. Matthew played his first match of the championship against fellow countryman Joey Barrington.
The British squash player cruised through to the second round by clinching a 11-4, 11-4 and 11-2 straight set win over Barrington.
Presently ranked no. 1 in the world, Matthew faced Egypt’s Wael El-Hindi in the second round, only to defeat him 11-4, 11-4 and 11-2.
After comfortably making it past the first two round of the tournament, Nick came head-to-head against current world no. 8 Peter Barker from Britain in the quarter-finals.
Barker thrashed Matthew eleven points to four in the first game of the set. The sportsman however managed to keep his composure and made an amazing comeback in the second game of the match. Peter was beaten eleven points to five by the fellow Brit in the second.
Matthew refused to look back after taking the second set. The athlete went on to win the third set 11-9. Despite the fact that Barker tried his level best to remain evenly contested with the professional, he was defeated ten points to twelve by Nick.
Leaving a bunch of grueling matches behind, the 30-year-old proceeded to the semi-finals of the 2010 Australian Squash Open. Matthew faced another British player James Willstrop.
Earlier, Willstrop defeated Egypt’s top seed Amr Shabana in the quarter-finals. Shabana was thrashed in three straight sets that led to James making a place for himself in the semi-finals. The Egyptian professional lost the first game of the set 4-11.
James took the second set eleven points to five. Despite Shabana’s constant struggle to make a return, Willstrop finally annihilated him with an eleven point to seven win in the third set of the quarter-final.
The All British Men’s singles semi-final took place on the 14th of August 2010. Matthew exercised his authority on Willstrop in the initial stages of the match by taking the first set eleven points to seven.
The sportsman rose up in terms of his performance on different occasions during the match. However, it was Matthew who bagged the second set of the match with an eleven point to eight win.
Nick proved the better Britt as he took the third and final set of the semi-final. Willstrop was eliminated from the tournament after losing eight points to eleven to the athlete.
The 2010 Australian Squash Open Men’s singles final was played between Matthew and Egypt’s Ramy Ashour. Considering the recent history between the players, Nick could either make it or break it. The British player was given a chance to take revenge from Ashour.
Both players went nip and tuck in the first game of the set. After a heated battle, Matthew defeated Ashour sixteen points to fourteen to bring a close to the first game.
As calm as the professional is, Nick took the second game of the match eleven points to seven. Ashour gave the professional a tough time in the third game of the set. Both players remained evenly matched until Matthew took the third and final game of the match twelve points to ten.
59 minutes of aggressive play lead to a meaningful victory for Britain’s Nick Matthew. Not only did the athlete got his revenge on the current world no. 2, but also became the first Englishman to win an Australian Squash Open title since Gawain Briars.
The 2010 Australian Squash Open title adds to Matthew’s count of four successive titles along with the sportsman’s twenty-third tour win match in a row.
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