September 19, 2003
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RESULTS: Volvo Motor City Squash Open
Quarterfinals:
[1] Jonathon Power (CAN) d Paul Price (AUS) 13, 12, 8
[8] Graham Ryding (CAN) d [3] Karim Darwish (EGY) 13, (9), (13),
17-16, 12
[4] Amr Shabana (EGY) d [5] Martin Heath (SCO) 13, 17-14, 12
[2] Thierry Lincou (FRA) d [6] Mark Chaloner (ENG) 13, 12, 13
Graham Ryding beat Egypt's world No. 9 Karim Darwish for the second time in a week -- saving three match balls in the dramatic upset -- to set up an all-Canadian semifinal against top seed Jonathon Power in the Volvo Motor City Squash Open in Detroit, MI.
It was in a first-round encounter in last weekend's US Open in Boston that Ryding also had to come back from a 2-1 deficit against Darwish before prevailing in five games. With Darwish again ahead 2-1 at the Birmingham
Athletic Club, the fourth would prove the pivotal game. Down match ball at 13-14, the 28-year-old world No.19 from Toronto fought back to 14-14, only to lose another and face a second match ball. Again Ryding tied it up after some extreme retrieves and attacking spurts. Then at 16-15, the Egyptian looked poised to win, only to see Graham improbably come back to draw level by winning the game 17-16.
Stunned to be facing yet another fifth game against Ryding, the former world junior champion from Cairo did not give up. Darwish jumped ahead in game five, leading Ryding by two until the Canadian tied it at 10-10. From
there, Ryding advanced to match ball at 14-12 -- and when Darwish tinned the next point, a spot in the semis with a 13, (9), (13), 17-16, 15-12 victory.
The top seed's quarterfinal against unseeded Australian Paul Price was vintage Jonathon Power: Grimacing, needling, berating the referee, counterpunching -- and rarely missing a shot. After taking a tight first
game against an inspired Price, Power would make only three unforced errors in the last two games. This brilliance came even as the Canadian sustained a running verbal battle with the referee after almost every point. The outbursts seem to unnerve Price more than Power, however, who closed out the highly entertaining match before a packed grandstand 13, 12, 8.
The bottom half of the draw was less eventful. Egypt's fourth seed Amr Shabana was cruising against Scotland's Martin Heath before suddenly pulling up lame in game three. The Egyptian's ankle has hampered him recently and he had twisted it again. Despite the discomfort, however, the speedy
24-year-old from Cairo, ranked 12 in the world, held on for a convincing 13, 17-14, 12 win.
Shabana's semifinal opponent Thierry Lincou, the No. 2 seed from France, waged his second marathon three-gamer in two nights, defeating a tenacious Mark Chaloner 13, 12, 13 in one hour and 50 minutes. "Thierry's playing well," said the sixth-seeded Englishman. "He's difficult to move around because he takes a lot of space on the T."
Lincou beat Shabana in three in Boston's first round, but pointed out: "This time he should be fresher than me. It could be tough."
(From Howard Harding)
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