Supreme Willstrop Dispatches Shabana In Windy City
from PSA Media

March 1, 2014 - English World No.5 James Willstrop put in one of his most impressive displays in recent months to defeat four-time World Champion Amr Shabana in straight games in the second round of the 2014 METROsquash Windy City Open today.

The 30-year-old Pontefract-based player, who’s previous three encounters with the Egyptian legend resulted in defeat, showed the skill and desire that saw him reach World No.1 status in 2012 to record an 11-4, 11-8, 11-1 victory.

Willstrop will now face maverick Egyptian Ramy Ashour, the current World No.4, in the quarter-finals with the winner set to meet either England’s World No.1 Nick Matthew or World No.7 Peter Barker for a place in the final.

“I knew I would have to play very clever against Amr and put the ball into good areas to be in with a chance of winning,” said Willstrop.

“However accurately I played I knew that he would be do just the same so I had to play well and I think I did that.

“It wasn’t flashy squash, and the scoreline maybe doesn’t truly reflect the match as I had to put in a lot of effort, but I hit the right places and remained mentally positive throughout which I was pleased with.”

In a battle of European powerhouses, eight-time German national champion and World No.11 Simon Rosner impressed with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over 11-time Spanish national champion and World No.6 Borja Golan.

That win was Rosner’s second victory over top 10 ranked players in consecutive PSA World Series events, after he beat World No.8 Karim Darwish in the Tournament of Champions, and the Padderborn-based player was pleased with his performance.

“I think I played good, concentrated squash today with very few mistakes but I think it also wasn’t his day as he can play much better,” said Rosner.

“I’m pleased with how I played though and that’s more important than how my opponent plays and I’m very glad to be in another quarter-final, especially in the USA as I’ve enjoyed playing here recently.

“I’ve started to get more regular wins over higher ranked players such as Darwish and Borja and these are the wins you need to progress in the rankings but I’m just focusing on playing well and whatever happens in the rankings is secondary.”

Elsewhere there were wins for French No.2 seed Gregory Gaultier, Egyptian World No.3 Mohamed Elshorbagy and Indian champion Saurav Ghosal.

2014 Windy City Open: Second Round Results

[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 [58 mins]

[8] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 3-2: 11-3, 3-11, 11-6, 11-3 [54 mins]

[5] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Amr Shabana (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-1 [37 mins]

[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY)  3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 11-4 [36 mins]

[4] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-3 [45 mins]

Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 3-11, 11-4, 11-7 [50 mins]

Simon Rosner (GER) bt [7] Borja Golan (ESP) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-6 [45 mins]

[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 3-0:  11-1, 11-6, 11-7 [39 mins]

2014 Windy City Open: Quarter-final Draw:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [8] Peter Barker (ENG)
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) v [3] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
[4] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Saurav Ghosal (IND)
Simon Rosner (GER) v [2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)

The 2014 METROsquash Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim and EquiTrust Life Insurance takes place at the University Club of Chicago from February 26 to March 3.