Australian Open: Matthew strengthens No 1 ranking in Canberra

Sunday, August 15NICK MATTHEW justified his world No 1 ranking by defeating nearest rival Ramy Ashour to clinch the Australian Open title.

The 30-year-old, from Sheffield, became the world's leading player at the expense of his Egyptian opponent in May, but the event in Canberra was the first time he had been able to defend his ranking.

It was not an easy route to Sunday's final for Matthew, who had to see off a strong challenge from fellow Yorkshireman James Willstrop in Saturday's semi-final.

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And he built on that victory to see off Ashour in three closely-fought games, eventually triumphing for his fifth straight PSA Tour title with a 16-14, 11-7, 12-10 victory to become the first Englishman to win the Australian title since Gawain Briars in 1978.

It was touch and go, however, as No 2 seed Ashour ran with Matthew point for point in the opening game and it required Matthew to save five game points before he took his first opportunity to win 16-14.

He controlled the second convincingly before Ashour responded again in the third, taking it to 9-9 before Matthew prevailed to win the $142,500 event.

"You have to go through the patches when he's just too good for you," said a delighted Matthew afterwards. "He's brilliant - you just have to get through those moments.

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"The temptation when he's hit a few good winners is to panic, but you have to really stay patient, because he hits shots no one else can play and he plays at pace.

"You sometimes have to hold your hands up and say 'alright, what can I do better, what can I do to impose my game on him'. I think I managed to do that, but in three games I never got an easy point."

On Saturday, Matthew enjoyed a solid 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 win over Leeds's James Willstrop.

The 26-year-old from Leeds had seen off two former world No 1s on the way to the last four, following up his triumph over Australia's David Palmer with victory over Amr Shabana in the quarter-finals.

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But Matthew was ultimately a convincing winner at Canberra's Royal Theatre.

Friday, August 13.

NICK MATTHEW and James Willstrop are set for another epic showdown after setting up a semi-final clash at the Australian Open.

Matthew, the world No 1 from Sheffield, had to come from a game down to beat close friend and fellow Englishman Peter Barker 4-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10 in his quarter-final.

That came before Willstrop disposed of a second former world No 1 in a row in the shape of Egypt's Amr Shabana, coming the day after he had toppled arch-nemesis David Palmer from Australia in the second round.

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Willstrop, from Leeds, hardly made a mistake as he ran out a comfortable 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 winner.

"I just tried to think it's a different day," Willstrop said after his third win over Shabana this year.

"I tried to get ready the same as yesterday – just because I won yesterday, that's gone and I don't think about that any more.

"But I have to be absolutely on my game tomorrow and if I am, I can win the tournament."

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After defeating rival Barker, 29-year-old Matthew said: "I knew he wanted this match and would come out to play.

"The last few times he has played me he has come off the back of some tough matches or he has been carrying a niggle so he could not do himself justice."

Saturday's semi-final (which will take place at around 7am UK time) will be a welcome rematch of the epic 2009 British Open final between the two Yorkshireman from which Matthew emerged victorious after a thoroughly gripping two hours.

Thisn year has seen the duo face each other on four separate occasions with Matthew victorious each time, one of which came in the Swedish Open final when Willstrop - dogged by an ankle problem last year - had to withdraw injured.

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In fact Matthew has not lost a competitive match on the international stage since his semi-final defeat to world No 2 Ramy Ashour at the Tournament of Champions in New York in February.

In the women's draw, Harrogate's Jenny Duncalf, seeded No 1 for the event, made it through to the last four with an 11-5, 11-8, 11-13, 11-5 win over Australian Kasey Brown.

She will now face Ireland's Madeleine Perry, the fourth seed who saw off the challenge of England's Laura Massaro 2-11, 11-6, 11-5, 12-10.

After Duncalf took the first game, Brown opened a lead in the second, which Duncalf pulled back to take the game.

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She then appeared heading for a straight games win when she had three match balls at 10-7, only for Brown to save all three and win the game into a tiebreak.

But 27-year-old Duncalf gathered herself and opened an early lead in the fourth which she never looked like losing.

"I'm a little but upset with myself for losing my concentration in the third," Duncalf said. "You just can't slacken off in these matches."

Duncalf's match against Perry will take place at around 5am UK time on Saturday

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The other semi-final will be between England's Alison Waters and Australia' Rachael Grinham, the second seed.

RESULTS

CSR Viridian Australian Open, Canberra, Australia

Men's quarter-finals

(1] Nick Matthew bt (8] Peter Barker 4-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-10

(6] James Willstrop bt (3] Amr Shabana 11-4, 11-5, 11-7

Women's quarter-finals

(1] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt (6] Kasey Brown (AUS) 11-5, 11-8, 11-13, 11-5

(4] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt (5] Laura Massaro (ENG) 2-11, 11-6, 11-5, 12-10

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(3] Alison Waters (ENG) bt (8] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 11-5, 11-9, 11-7

(2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt (11] Donna Urquhart (AUS) 11-7, 11-5, 11-8

Thursday, August 12

NICK MATTHEW and Yorkshire rival James Willstrop are one match away from another potentially epic duel after both safely reached the last eight in the Australian Open.

World No 1 Matthew saw off Egypt's Wael El Hindi 11-6 11-7 11-3 to book a quarter-final against fellow Englishman Peter Barker.

Willstrop overcame Australian David Palmer 11-1 9-11 11-2

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11-3 to seal a last-eight encounter with No 3 seed Amr Shabana.

A win for both would see them meet at tomorrow's semi-final stage, providing a welcome rematch of the epic 2009 British Open final from which Sheffield's Matthew emerged victorious over his Leeds-based rival.

Following his win against El Hindi, Matthew, who only became the world's leading player in May, said: "I set my stall out from the word go to give him nothing, but not to be too negative.

"It's not an easy balance but I think I found it quite well.

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"Wael started playing when he was snookered, when he was seven, eight points down. If he'd played like that from the start it would have been brutal."

For Willstrop, his victory over former world No 1 Palmer was somewhat overdue, after the Australian had proved to be his nemesis on a number of recent occasions.

The match was the 16th Tour meeting between the two players, but the first since March 2009. Palmer, the 10th seed, had won 11 leading in, with sixth seed Willstrop not having beaten him since September 2007.

"I played well but I had to play well," said the 26-year-old from Leeds.

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"I don't think there are any reasons for what happened, apart from I played better. I mean he's played better than me enough times, so I'm happy to get one over him."

In the women's draw, Harrogate's Jenny Duncalf, top seeded for the event, reached the last eight after defeating Delia Arnold 11-3 11-2 8-11 11-7.

She said: ""The last two games were a bit of a struggle and I was happy to get rid of her in four."

Duncalf will now meet Australian Kasey Brown, seeded sixth, in Friday's quarter-final.

THURSDAY RESULTS

CSR Viridian Australian Open, Canberra, Australia

Men's 2nd round

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(1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt (11] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11-6, 11-7, 11-3

(8] Peter Barker (ENG) bt (13] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-1, 1-0 ret.

(3] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 12-10, 11-6, 11-8

(6] James Willstrop (ENG) bt (10] David Palmer (AUS) 11-1, 9-11, 11-2, 11-3

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(5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 11-7, 11-7, 11-6

(4] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt (14] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) 11-5, 11-9, 11-6

(7] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt (12] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 13-11

(2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt (16] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-7, 11-3, 14-12

Quarter-final line-up (to be played Friday, Aug 13)

(1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v (8] Peter Barker (ENG)

(3] Amr Shabana (EGY) v (6] James Willstrop (ENG)

(4] Karim Darwish (EGY) v (5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)

(2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v (7] Thierry Lincou (FRA)

Women's 2nd round

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(1] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt (13] Delia Arnold (MAS) 11-3 11-2 8-11 11-7

(6] Kasey Brown (AUS) bt (16] Low Wee Wern (MAS) 11-4 12-10 ret.

(4] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt (9] Annie Au (HKG) 11-8 11-6 7-11 11-4

(5] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt Sharon Wee (MAS) 11-4 11-9 11-4

(8] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt (14] Aisling Blake (IRL) 11-9 9-11 11-7 8-11, 11-6

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(3] Alison Waters (ENG) bt (10] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 11-4 11-2 12-14 11-9

(11] Donna Urquhart (AUS) bt (7] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 11-6 6-11 11-2 11-2

(2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Tania Bailey (ENG) 11-8 11-8 11-9

Quarter-final line-up. (to be played Friday, Aug 13).

(1] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v (6] Kasey Brown (AUS)

(4] Madeline Perry (IRL) v (5] Laura Massaro (ENG)

(3] Alison Waters (ENG) v (8] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL)

(2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) v (11] Donna Urquhart (AUS)

Tuesday, August 10

NICK MATTHEW and James Willstrop safely negotiated their passage through to the second round of the Australian Open in Canberra.

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World No 1 Matthew, from Sheffield, overcame fellow Englishman Joey Barrington 11-4 11-4 11-2 in 41 minutes while Willstrop, ranked sixth for both the event and in the current PSA world rankings, defeated Australian qualifer Matthew Karwalski 11-9 11-6 11-3.

There was disappointment for Leeds-based 15th seed Alister Walker, however, after he went down in five games to Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee after a marathon 94-minute battle.

Walker, who plays for Chapel Allerton SC, came back to level matters after losing the first two games but eventually went down 11-7, 14-12, 6-11, 6-11, 13-11.

India's Saurav Ghosal, based in Pontefract under coach Malcolm Willstrop, went out 10-12, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9 to homegrown No 10 seed David Palmer, who will meet Leeds-based Willstrop in the second round on Thursday.

Matthew will face 11th seed Wael El Hindi from Egypt on Thursday.

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