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DARWISH HOBBLED [Final Draw]

Shabana Wins In Heliopolis

The eagerly-awaited all-Egyptian final of the Rotary Heliopolis Open Squash Championship, between the incadescent Amr Shabana and the stylish Karim Darwish, lived up to its billing for one game but then produced a disappointing climax for the capacity crowd at the Heliopolis Club in the pair's home town Cairo.

Second seed Darwish was forced to retire early in the second game due to an injury.

It was the pair's fourth meeting in a PSA Tour final since January 2001, with favourite Shabana, the 26-year-old former world champion, holding a 2/1 advantage going into the Heliopolis clash.

The first game went to a tie-break, which world No7 Shabana clinched 2-0. But Darwish, ranked five places lower, only lasted two further points before he conceded the match to his Cairo rival, with the score standing at 11-10 2-0.

After claiming the sixth PSA Tour title of his career, Shabana now heads for the USA where he is the seventh seed in the MPM St Louis Open, and due to face Canadian Graham Ryding in the first round. Top seed in the five-star event is France's world No1 Thierry Lincou.

RESULTS: Rotary Heliopolis Open Squash Championship, Cairo, Egypt
Final:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [2] Karim Darwish (EGY) 11-10 (2-0), 2-0 ret.