Tournament of Champions Squash at Grand Central in NYC

[TOC DRAW and RESULTS ] [Also Tuesday's Women's Final]

ASHOUR CONQUERS NEW YORK

If I ran a tournament and wanted a great final I would fix the draw so that Ramy Ashour, the current reigning world junior champion and world number two, would play James Willstop, the most exciting player to come out of England, and former world number two.

Well, John Nimick, who has run The Tournament of Champions for a dozen years or more, didn't have to fix the draw, that's the way it turned out as both Ashour and Willstrop cut their way through to the final. Ashour started shakily but improved rapidly while Willstrop always looked as though he would win his matches up to the final. Several informed squash people saw this steadiness as an omen and predicted that Willstrop would win. After watching Ashour beat David Palmer in the semis, I thought - if he continued in that form - he was unbeatable, For once I was right.

The match was barely two shots old when Ashour hit the ball in the nick to win the first point. He hit another six winners on his way to winning that first game 11-7. The point to remember is that Willstrop was not playing badly; he made three unforced errors but then so did Ashour. Willstrop simple became another victim of the Ashour nerveless approach to squash. The shots come at unexpected times because what Ashour also does very well is break up a rhythm. The drive down the wall is suddenly a cross court slam and Willstrop has to make a rapid change of direction. His return is just not as good as it could be and then Ashour pounces to put a little more pressure on and just when Willstrop had regained control to send the ball tight down the wall, Ashour cuts in a drop shot to just above the tin. At 3-3, Ashour hits a soft counter drop to go ahead 4-3. At 5-5 a fairly safe Willstrop cross court is intercepted high on Ashour's backhand to be cut into the nick. Leading 7-6 Ashour hits a straight nick kill from the back of the right service box. Who can reasonably expect that to happen from there? I don't care how good a player is, and Willstrop is as good as they come, there are certain things you cannot counteract. And those certain things are Ashour shots.

WILLSTROP FIGHTS BACK

Willstrop, like Palmer yesterday, had probably not expected the fireworks so soon and it was certain that he would be ready for it in the second game. Well almost. Ashour won the first point with a delicate half-volley drop, the second with a high backhand drop into the nick and the third with a slamming forehand crosscourt kill that brought a roar from the spectators. It was an outrageously impossible shot. Willstrop hit a couple of winners of his own to equal things and then Ashour hit four errors in five rallies. Willstrop was now 7-6 ahead and now we had a fight on our hands. Ashour stopped his errors and at 9-9 Willstrop played a working cross court which nicked at the service box. Annoyance showed on Ashour's face as he now faced game ball. But Willstrop made the common error of trying to end the rally too soon and his long forehand drop from the back hit the tin. It was 10-10 and the odds were still on Willstrop as he looked steadier. They exchanged winning drop shots to get to 11-11 and on the next rally Ashour picked up what liked certain winners and then played a perfect length backhand which Willstrop chased to the back of the court and could only stand by and watch the ball die in the corner. So,12-11 to Ashour and we come to the final point: A Willstrop cross court finds its way on to Ashour's backhand about head high. The racket cuts through the air, sends the ball cross court to almost nick on the right wall. Willstrop makes a miraculous pickup to send the ball back across court. And Ashour plays EXACLTY THE SAME SHOT AGAIN!! (Pardon the exclamation marks). This time the ball rolls dead and Ashour has the game 13-11 in 12 minutes.

What does David Pearson, the England national coach say to Willstrop in the break? What can he say? How do you subdue lightning? Strangely Willstrop came out for the third in a fighting frame of mind and started hitting some wondrous winners of his owners. [It was as 2-1 that they had their first really long rally, both players showing that they can also hit tight lengths down both walls] It ended with a Willstrop winner. He hit an Ashour server into the nick and at 4-3 finally had Ashour on the run all over the court before hitting a cannonball overhead slam into the nick, bring a huge shout of delight from the spectators.

Willstrop built on this, having a good period of reading Ashour's game and earning a good 8-4 lead. However you cannot keep magic in a box forever and Ashour crept back. At 5-8 he served the very slowest of serves and Willstrop, unnerved by the lack of pace, mishit the ball. Three rallies later Willstrop served a high lob serve; Ashour reached up and gently dropped it into the far corner nick. Ashour got a stroke to make the game 9-9 and then came that magic shot again, the backhand cross court volley into the nick. He must have used this shots ten times, and only missed once. It is as if the racket is programmed by satellites, or the ball has its own GPS.

Match ball 10-9 and Willstrop again made the mistake of going for a winner and his forehand drop hit the tin. Three games, 39 minutes and enough magic to last several lifetimes. Willstrop left the court an unhappy player. He had played well, he made no tactical errors and overall made less unforced errors than his opponent, And he lost 3/0.

The boyish Ashour was of course delighted; his face lights up, really lights up with glinting eyes and a huge grin. This is a guy that is really hard not to like. His is a talent that is impossible define. This is a player that will hard to defeat. He will probably play in Toronto in February, the third of the Player Cup tournaments and he is certain to play in Richmond, Virginia and will almost certainly amass enough points to earn a place in the Players Cup playoffs in Boston in March. If you have not seen this man play, try to get to one of these venues. I'm sure you will be as gob-smacked [Brit for speechless] as I am.

FINAL
Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt James Willstrop (ENG)11-7, 11-10 (3-1), 11-9 (39mins)

WOMEN’S CHALLENGE FINAL
Natalie Grainger bt Shelley Kitchen11-4, 11-10,8-11, 8-11, 11-8