Matthew is denied title by Shabana at Queens

NICK Matthew narrowly missed out on the first big title of 2013, admitting he was second best on the night.

Amr Shabana defended his World Series Finals title in style at London’s Queens Club yesterday, seeing off the 32-year-old world No 2 from Sheffield after coming from behind to triumph 4-11, 
11-2, 11-4, 11-7.

It was Matthew who got off to the better start, taking the first game comfortably, only for the 33-year-old four-time world champion to use all his years of experience to make it hard for the Yorkshireman to build any further on that.

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“I didn’t play badly – but Shabs was just too good,“ admitted two-time world champion Matthew afterwards. “I think he would have been too good for anyone today.

“I tried to get my aggressive game going but he didn’t give me anything – in the end, he was like a steam train.

“I came out well in the first game and he’d had just as tough a match in the semi-finals as I’d had.”

Matthew had reached the final after a comeback win against 2012 finalist Gregory Gaultier in Saturday’s semi-finals, the former world No 1 recovering from a game down to beat the feisty Frenchman 10-12, 11-9, 11-8 in a gruelling 65-minute encounter.

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Top seed James Willstrop’s hopes of reaching the final had been dashed earlier in the evening by Shabana, the Egyptian winning 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 in 69 minutes.

Harrogate’s Jenny Duncalf missed out on a place in the women’s final after being denied by Laura Massaro 6-11, 11-8, 11-9.

World No 1 Nicol David gained revenge for a defeat to Massaro in the group stages earlier in the week by romping to a comfortable 11-3, 11-2, 11-9 in the final.

Macclesfield’s Emily Whitlock won the British Junior Open title in Sheffield yesterday beating Egypt’s Nouran Gohar 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7.

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