Briton Nick Matthew clinches 2011 North American Squash Open title after defeating Ramy Ashour of Egypt in the final
Currently ranked no. 1 in the World, Nick Matthew of Britain defended the North American Squash Open title, defeating rival Ramy Ashour of Egypt in an arduous five set match played at the Westwood Country Club in Richmond, Virginia.
Matthew instantly exercised his authority, initiating the match with an 11-9 win in the first set. Proceeding further, the Briton managed to comfortably take the second set 11-5. However, in a reverse of fortune, Ashour bounced back to take the third set 11-8.
The professionals went nip and tuck throughout the fourth set and the atmosphere seemed to have gotten slightly tense as both players argued and pleaded with the referees on calls. The set was nevertheless taken 11-8 by Ramy.
The deciding fifth set however, was taken 11-6 by Nick taking the last point based upon a stroke call, as he brought a close to the final, bagging the championship title.
"You have to expect the unexpected with Ramy. He influences a lot of the points, both positively and negatively. He probably had twice as many winners and losers as I did. I was concentrating so hard (in the fifth game) that I didn't even know what the score
was," Matthew said.
"When the announcer said 'match ball,' I thought 'Well, thank goodness for that," added Nick.
The 2011 North American Squash Open came to be the third consecutive final in which Ashour and Matthew faced each other. Additionally, the runner-up, namely Ramy stated, "When we play, the winner has to earn it."
Additionally, Matthew went on to say, "I was frustrated that I couldn't wrap this up early. I've lost matches lately up 2-0 and 2-1, so that was on my mind. We've developed quite a rivalry, I just wanted to win."
In spite of the fact that Matthew took the championship title at the 2011 North American Squash Open, Ashour is an equally talented player considering the fact that he is ranked no. 2 in the World, right after Nick. The Egyptian also leads the head to head
count between the two at 7-6.
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