Shabana Sneaks by Gaultier
Oct 3 2005, by SquashTalk news staff
Squashtalk Independent News; © 2005 SquashTalk LLC
Photo © 2005 Simon Ezster

Good Result for Gaultier
[Main draw]  

The Hungarian Open Finals at Budapest , photo © Simon Eszter, (www.rta.hu)

Hungarian Open Title Completes Shabana's September Hat-Trick

Gaultier pushed Shabana in the Hungarian Open Finals at Budapest , photo © Simon Eszter, (www.rta.hu)

Egypt's Amr Shabana toiled for 66 minutes to overcome France's Gregory Gaultier in the final of the Dunlop Hungarian Open Squash Championship in the Hungarian capital Budapest to claim his third successive PSA Tour title three weeks. In doing so, Shabana, the mercurial Egyptian magician, made a few important points to the world of professional squash. Shabana, not known for his patience and staying power in the fifth game, was decisive last night in the fifth game against Gregory Gaultier. This coupled with his three-straight PSA title, though only one of them, the St. Louis Open, was against full world-class competition, emphasized Shabana's contention, voiced frequently over the past year that, "I am more serious about my squash now." Shabana appears to be in better condition, appears mentally more ready to bear down match after match, and to consistently apply better tactics. This, combined with his electrifying attacking game makes him a dangerous competitor indeed. Shabana will skip the British Open, which begins in two weeks time, but will next make a major appearance at the US Open in Boston.

Shabana, on the attack, at Budapest , photo © Simon Eszter, (www.rta.hu)

The left-hander, who in 2003 became Egypt's first ever winner of the World Open title, dropped the first game against his surprise French opponent, the fifth seed who was celebrating his second consecutive appearance in the Budapest final.

But second seed Shabana struck back to move ahead 2/1.  However, the world No11 from Aix-en-Provence - who upset top seed Peter Nicol in the previous round - was still in contention, and fought back to level the match.

Shabana however reclaimed the advantage and ultimately claimed his 6-11 11-2 11-7 8-11 11-5 victory.  With September successes in the Heliopolis Open, in his hometown Cairo, and St Louis Open in the USA, Shabana has now extended his unbeaten run to 12 matches – since last suffering a PSA Tour loss in the Pakistan Open in July, to Gaultier!

The Hungarian Open triumph brings Shabana's PSA haul to eight titles from 13 final appearances.

RESULTS:        Dunlop Hungarian Open Squash Championship, Budapest, Hungary
Final:

[2] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)             6-11, 11-2, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5 (66m)

The Hungarian Open Finals at Budapest , photo © Simon Eszter, (www.rta.hu)

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