Egypt’s third seed Hisham Mohd Ashour continued his stunning run in the National Bank Financial Group Open in Canada by upsetting No2 seed David Palmer in the final of the PSA World Tour International 35 event at Club Sportif MAA in Montreal to claim the biggest Tour title of his career.
The 28-year-old from Cairo, who made his breakthrough in the previous round where he ousted Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema, leapt to a 5-1 lead in the opening game. But the illustrious Palmer, the 34-year-old former world No1 and world champion who was celebrating his 55th appearance in a PSA Tour final, batted back to take the game and open up an early advantage.
“In the second, Palmer continued where he left off, imposing his pace and playing the ball early, and took advantage of a still flat-looking Ashour,” explained a tournament spokesman. “But at 0-2 down, Ashour switched on, and as his movement improved, he began finding his marks at the front.
“However, Palmer’s short game was on too, so in the next few rallies the crowd witnessed spectacular attacking from both players as they punished each other to 4-4.”
Ashour went on to press home his advantage and ultimately closed out the match 9-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 after 46 minutes.
The Egyptian world No17 clearly flourishes in North America, where his Montreal final marked his fourth successive appearance in a PSA Tour climax in Canada. The triumph represents the third Tour title of Ashour’s career, but his biggest by a considerable margin.
Final:
[3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt [2] David Palmer (AUS) 9-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 (46m)
Semi-finals:
[3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt [1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-7, 10-12, 11-4, 15-13 (61m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 5-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 (92m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Stephane Galifi (ITA) 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (54m)
[3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt [Q] Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-9, 11-5, 11-3 (26m)
Alister Walker (ENG) bt [4] Adrian Grant (ENG) 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 (90m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt [Q] Alan Clyne (SCO) 11-9, 6-11, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8 (73m)
1st round:
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Shahier Razik (CAN) 13-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4 (89m)
Stephane Galifi (ITA) bt [Q] David Phillips (CAN) 13-11, 11-7, 11-7 (46m)
[Q] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Tarek Momen (EGY) 13-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8 (65m)
[3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 7-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 (43m)
[4] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [Q] Joel Hinds (ENG) 10-12, 11-4, 11-2, 7-11, 11-7 (75m)
Alister Walker (ENG) bt Shawn Delierre (CAN) 9-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-5
[Q] Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 12-10, 8-11, 12-10, 11-2 (84m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (68m)
Qualifying finals:
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Eric Galvez (MEX) 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 (43m)
Joel Hinds (ENG) bt Martin Knight (NZL) 12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 13-11 (93m)
David Phillips (CAN) bt Andrew Schnell (CAN) 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7 (48m)
Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Zac Alexander (AUS) 13-11, 11-7, 4-11, 11-8 (54m)
1st qualifying round:
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9 (84m)
Eric Galvez (MEX) bt Andrew McDougall (CAN) 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-3 (66m)
Joel Hinds (ENG) bt Eric Dingle (CAN) 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 (26m)
Martin Knight (NZL) bt Gilly Lane (USA) 11-9, 11-2, 11-3 (45m)
Andrew Schnell (CAN) bt Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 12-10 (65m)
David Phillips (CAN) bt Maxime Blouin (CAN) 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 (21m)
Zac Alexander (AUS) bt Maxym Leclair (CAN) 11-4, 11-1, 11-4 (24m)
Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 11-3, 10-12, 7-11, 12-10, 12-10 (81m)
