Dessouky downs Rodriguez as home stars shine
By MATT COLES

Former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad had to battle back from two games down to overcome fellow Egyptian Omar Mosaad in the third round of the El Gouna International, PSA World Tour Platinum tournament taking place at the picturesque setting of Abu Tig Marina.

The 2016 World Champion started slowly, but managed to fight his way back to eventually win the match in five games.

The pair had met five times in the past on the PSA World Tour, with the former World Champion having won the last three meetings.

Mosaad came out strongly, as he aimed to put an end to that run. He took a two-game lead after 38 minutes of pulsating squash, before Gawad turned the match on its head. The ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ started the fightback in the third, winning it 11-1. He carried that on through the fourth and into the fifth game, as Mosaad seemed to tire, winning out 9-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-8 in 90 minutes.

“It is very tough against someone like Mosaad, of course. He is a very good player, and he is very tough, both physically and mentally, so it is always tough to play against him,” Gawad said after winning.

“When I was 2-0 down, I was not playing my best squash. I had to change my game plan. My fitness coach was also a mental coach today so thanks to him.

“I just wanted to play some good squash. I did not want to go back home with a 3-0 loss here in Gouna, especially as I love playing here in Gouna. The conditions were really tough, but I am really happy that I managed to get through to the next round.”

Meanwhile, Egyptian wildcard Fares Dessouky earned his first win over a top 10 player since tearing his ACL as he prevailed in a scrappy, four-game battle with Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez over at the El Gouna Squash Complex

Dessouky, the World No.42, spent 14 months on the sidelines due to an ACL injury but has shown glimpses of getting back to his best since returning in January, reaching the final of the CCI International in his first tournament back.

He claimed a milestone win over World No.7 Rodriguez today, winning 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9. The match was a physical affair, with plenty of traffic issues on court as Rodriguez in particular got aggravated with Dessouky’s movement, but the Egyptian prevailed to earn a spot on the glass court.

“It means a lot to me, it’s my first win over a top 10 player since the injury. It was a very tough match, mentally and physically,” Dessouky said.

“I was playing my own squash, my attacking games helped me today. The court didn’t bother me a lot, but there were long rallies, so it was hard physically.”

Dessouky will play World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy, who is through to the last eight of the tournament after dispatching Mexico’s Cesar Salazar in straight games at the glass court at the marina.

The former world champion struggled to get his rhythm in the early stages, but got going to win the first, before convincingly winning both the second and third to set up a clash with Dessouky.

His younger brother, and defending champion, Marwan, is also into the quarter finals after beating Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller.

The pair had played each other four times on the PSA World Tour, with the World No.11 having won the last three, and he came out firing. Marwan had competed on the glass court in round one and, despite his second round fixture taking place on the side court, the World No.25 made no difference as he won out in three.

In the women’s draw, World No.2 Nour El Sherbini eased her way into the last eight of the El Gouna International as she dispatched compatriot Nadine Shahin in just 17 minutes.

The pair had only played once before on the PSA World Tour, with Sherbini having beaten Shahin in three games at the Windy City Open back in 2017.

She did exactly the same here as El Sherbini put on an absolute clinic, allowing her opponent nothing on the glass court.

“I was happy on court. I felt more comfortable because the weather is so different to Saturday,” Sherbini said.

“I took advantage of having played on this court before, which she hasn’t. It is not easy on the outdoor court, so I think I was better on court and I like the court more today and I was happy with my performance.

“I will just try to take it as another match. Nouran [Gohar] always gives me a tough match and a physical one. It has been a long time since we have played, maybe a year, and it is exciting to see how it is going to go.”

France’s Camille Serme moved through to the quarter-finals after a dominant performance from the World No.4 saw her down Wales’ Tesni Evans in straight games.

Serme had gotten the better of Evans in all seven of their previous PSA Tour encounters and this match went the way of the 30-year-old as she won 11-5, 11-6, 11-9 to set up a last eight meeting with England’s Sarah-Jane Perry.

Serme’s physicality saw her dominate the opening two games as she took control of the middle of the court and punished Evans every time the World No.9 left the ball short. Evans come back into the third game as she took a 6-2 lead. However, Serme was able to battle back to close out the match and set up a clash with England’s Sarah-Jane Perry in the quarter finals.

“I am pretty happy. I think I managed to find a better length, and maybe having one more match on the glass court compared to Tesni helped me a little bit,” Serme said.

“In the third, I lost my focus a bit. Tesni played better, she hit the ball harder and found a better length as well, but I lost my focus a little bit. The decision at 9-7 was a bit tricky, but I am just very happy that I came back to win in three.”

Perry overcame a spirited performance from Hong Kong No.1 Annie Au to win her third round match at El Gouna in five, despite thinking she might not play just an hour before the contest.

The World No.6 had suffered an ankle injury in her win against Rowan Elaraby two days ago, but luckily for the Englishwoman, she was able to recover in time to take to the court this afternoon.

Egyptian World No.8 Nouran Gohar was the other woman to earn her place in the quarter-finals after getting the better of compatriot Zeina Mickawy in four at the Squash Complex.

The action continues tomorrow as the quarter finals get underway. The top half of the draw will played on the glass court at Abu Tig Marina, with play starting at 18:30 local time (GMT+2).

Matches from the glass court will be broadcast live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan). 

El Gouna International Open 2019, Abu Tig Marina, El Gouna, Egypt.

Men’s Third Round (Bottom Half):
[4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 9-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-8 (90m)
Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-2 (27m)
[WC] Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt [6] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 3-1: 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9 (65m)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Cesar Salazar (MEX) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-1 (31m)

Women’s Third Round (Bottom Half):
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [10] Tesni Evans (WAL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-9 (37m)
[6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [11] Annie Au (HKG) 3-2: 11-6, 9-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9 (51m)
[8] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-7 (36m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt Nadine Shahin (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-1 (17m)

Men’s Quarter Finals (Top Half) Tuesday April 23:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [7] Paul Coll (NZL)
[5] Simon Rösner (GER) v [3] Tarek Momen (EGY)

Women’s Quarter Finals (Top Half) Tuesday April 23:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [5] Joelle King (NZL)
[13] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)

Men’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half) Wednesday April 24:
[4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
[WC] Fares Dessouky (EGY) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)

Women’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half) Wednesday April 24:
[4] Camille Serme (FRA) v [6] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
[8] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) 

Pictures courtesy of PSA

Injuries bring a sad end to Ramy’s playing days
By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor

Ramy Ashour, probably the most gifted and entertaining player to ever pick up a squash racket, has announced his retirement from the professional game.

He took to social media to tell his army of fans about his decision to quit in a private post on Facebook, in which he revealed that numerous attempts to deal with troublesome injury issues had proved in vain.

At 31, he announced plans to stay in the game as a coach, mentor and promoter of a new tournament in New York in May when he will experiment with a new scoring system.

Ashour won three World Championship titles, lifted the British Open once, held the world number one ranking position for 21 months, and was rated the number two player in a PSA poll to establish the greatest player of all time.

Ashour quickly bridged the gap when he moved up from the junior game into the senior ranks.

He won his first world title at the age of 19 in 2008 in Manchester, beating fellow Egyptian Karim Darwish in the final.

He was runner-up to Amr Shabana the following year but went on to beat Mohamed ElShorbagy twice, in 2012 and 2014, the latter occasion crowning a return to action after a six-month lay-off caused by injury.

Ashour reached one more world final, finishing runner-up to Karim Abdel Gawad in Cairo in 2016.

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Ashour became the first Egyptian for 47 years to win the sport’s oldest tournament – the British Open – in 2013, which came in the midst of a 49-match unbeaten run as he won nine successive PSA Tour titles.

Since making his PSA debut in 2004, Ashour has lifted 40 PSA Tour titles, reaching 59 finals, while he won 358 of his 435 matches on the PSA Tour. Ashour’s final tournament win came at the Grasshopper Cup in March 2018 as he tore through the draw without dropping a game, again beating ElShorbagy in the final.

Ashour was also voted as the second greatest male player of all time in the summer of 2018, with thousands of squash fans taking part in a poll conducted by the Professional Squash Association (PSA).

His last PSA title triumph was just over 12 months ago at the 2018 Grasshopper Cup tournament in Zurich.

POST YOUR TRIBUTE: Squash Mad readers are invited to post their own tributes to Ramy Ashour in the Comments Section below.

Pictures courtesy of  Patrick Lauson and PSA

FRANKLIN, Wis. – Fans may have to excuse Sam Mayer if he’s still basking in the glow of his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory, picked up earlier this month at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

It was so dominating a performance that it not only left Mayer beaming, and rightfully so, but he’s struggled to put it into words since then because of that fact.

Mayer swept both Friday practice sessions, qualified on the pole with a new track record and followed that up by leading every lap of the Zombie Auto 150 for a perfect weekend at the concrete half-mile.

Even two weeks removed from his incredible accomplishment, Mayer was still somewhat at a loss for words in describing his emotions.

“When you have a weekend like we did at Bristol, you have to try and appreciate it because that type of dominance doesn’t come along very often. It’s still hard to describe, but everyone at GMS Racing did their part to bring the best race car possible to the race track for me,” said Mayer. “I really didn’t have an excuse to not go out and put it in victory lane, I felt like. We were that good the entire weekend. Winning like that at a great track like Bristol really does mean a lot to me.

“It was pretty surprising, and honestly I think the momentum we have now is pretty crazy.”

During his earliest laps at the concrete half mile, Mayer wasn’t sure what his No. 21 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet would have against the rest of the field, but he found something in practice that “just stuck.”

“Early on in the weekend at Bristol, when the Xfinity Series and all the other big cars went out, the bottom (groove) wasn’t there at all,” Mayer recalled. “If you went down there, you’d get so free that you couldn’t keep the car down there and couldn’t get any drive (off the corner). Our race, though, was hammer down … and I don’t know what exactly caused it, but we needed to be right around the bottom.

“About 20 laps in, we found one area in (turns) one and two where once I got in it, my car wouldn’t leave the low groove if I tried,” he added with a laugh. “It was so good and turned so well. It couldn’t have been better for me.”

That assessment was accurate, considering that Mayer took over the K&N East championship lead by virtue of his weekend sweep at Bristol, moving to the top of the heap by three points over fellow Wisconsin native Derek Kraus.

Despite his new position at the top of the standings, however, Mayer was most proud of his commemorative sword, the traditional prize given to all Bristol winners after they conquer The Last Great Coliseum.

“I’d say the sword is one of the most unique trophies I’ve ever won. It’s at least right up there (near the top),” he said. “I have one trophy from the Shamrock Shuffle in Legend cars … and it has this weird-looking leprechaun nutcracker on it that’s pretty interesting, but that’s the only one that comes close.

“I couldn’t even take it straight home, because I had to fly back out of Bristol … and I don’t think the flight attendants would have liked me having a sword on the plane,” Mayer added. “My team had to bring it to the ARCA race at Salem the next weekend so that I could bring it back home.”

As he referenced, Mayer hasn’t slowed down much since his Bristol clinic, finishing second in a waterlogged and rain-shortened ARCA stop at Indiana’s Salem Speedway on April 14.

However, five days later – as part of his self-dubbed “Bristol victory tour” – Mayer got the opportunity to take in and throw out the first pitch at a Milwaukee Brewers Major League Baseball game.

It was a rare chance for the teenager to slow down for a night, and he enjoyed every minute of it.

“Having the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a Milwaukee Brewers game means a lot. The atmosphere was amazing and the game was very enjoyable,” Mayer noted. “I got pretty close to getting a strike, but it wasn’t quite perfect!

“I guess that’s why I’m a race car driver,” he laughed.

Mayer will return to action and continue his pursuit of the K&N East title on May 4 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway, recognizing that both he and GMS Racing are already in a strong position for success.

“This is the kind of start we envisioned ourselves having and hoped we could put together,” he noted. “I couldn’t be happier with this group and where we’re at right now. It’s been a whole lot of fun already.”

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Evan Hallstrom is making the transition from late model racing to super late model competition.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to go full-time super late model racing this season,” he said. “It will be a transition from late models to super late models because supers just have different moving parts than a late model does. We actually made a couple of super late model starts last year just to get a feel for it. That will definitely help us with our transition as well.”

The Hallstrom Motorsports driver is going into his fourth year of racing, but it will be his rookie season as a super late model driver. His tentative schedule consists of 15 races with the Pro All Stars Series in addition to some of the bigger super late model races, such as the Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back to Oxford,” Hallstrom said. “It’s one of the tracks that I felt like came naturally to me in the late model. I struggled there in the super late model, but we’re going to work really hard to improve there and get plenty of seat time in preparation for the Oxford 250.”

Hallstrom is also looking forward to returning to his home track of Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., for a couple of super late model races as well as making his debut at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H.

“Obviously with Thunder Road being my home track I’m always excited to go back there,” he said. “It’s cool to be able to see how far I have come already with the help of my parents, sponsors and fans. It’ll be neat to be able to race in front of the hometown crowd in a super late model now.

“Loudon is another one that is circled on the schedule. The place is just bad fast and I can’t wait to get a solid lap around there at top speeds. I love the speed and I love flat tracks, which both sum up Loudon so hopefully we will find some success there too.”

Hallstrom will kick off his season on Saturday and Sunday at Oxford Plains Speedway with the PASS North Super Late Models.

HAM LAKE, Minn. – Ryan Bowers has joined forces with BDS Motorsports to run the Midwest Power Series.

“It’s really good and I’m excited for the opportunity,” Bowers said. “It’s definitely a top-notch operation. My confidence is high knowing I have a great team behind me and I’m ready to get started.”

The 360 winged sprint car series goes green on May 3 at Princeton Speedway in Princeton, Minn., and continues the following day at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. However, Bowers will make his debut with the team next Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, to shake things down.

Bowers is hopeful to be on point once the Midwest Power Series season starts and that he will be a contender each night as $3,000 is up for grabs to any driver who can sweep the opening weekend. With the first two nights each paying $3,000 to win this makes the first weekend potentially worth a total of $9,000.

“My goal is to win the championship,” he said. “To do that I’m going to need to stay competitive along the way and in contention every night.”

The Midwest Power Series is slated to run 16 races across four tracks from May through September. The series primarily runs at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., which hosts 10 nights. The series visits Cedar Lake Speedway three times and makes a lone appearance at Princeton Speedway for the opener, at Knoxville Raceway on June 1 and at Ogilvie Speedway in Ogilvie, Minn., on June 22.

Bowers said BDS Motorsports will also race a combination of 410 and 360 sprint car events during select shows in the Midwest, including at Jackson Motorplex and Knoxville Raceway, when the Midwest Power Series is off.

“Along with staying competitive every night I’m really looking to bring home some wins along the way,” he said. “I’m excited to get the opportunity to run for this top-notch organization and I want to put the car in Victory Lane early and often.”

ROSSBURG, Ohio – Encouraged by a favorable spring forecast, Eldora Speedway officials have announced the 66th season opener scheduled for Saturday night will use a traditional showtime of 7:30 p.m.

A four-class bash, highlighted by a $5,000-to-win feature for the Sunoco American Late Model Series plus the winged sprint cars of the K&L Ready Mix NRA Sprint Invaders, DIRTcar Modifieds and Eldora Stock cars will kick off the 2019 season. The pit area will open to competitors at 3 p.m. and the grandstands will open at 4 p.m. The cars will hit the high-banked half-mile clay oval for hot laps and qualifying at 6 p.m. The first race will go green at 7:30 p.m.

Adult admission is $19 and children ages 12 and younger are admitted free to all general admission areas. Eldora continues to provide free parking for its patrons immediately adjacent to the grandstand.

Family-friendly pricing at the concessions is a staple of the 66-year old venue. Coca-Cola products in 12 oz. cans are still just $1 and the Eldora’s ‘World Famous Pizza Burgers’ and chicken wings will be hot and ready.

A full-service bar is located under the historic covered grandstand and ice-cold beer is still $2 per 12 oz. can.

POMPANO BEACH, Calif. – Starworks Motorsports has locked Parker Chase in for the full IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

Chase was originally scheduled to co-drive the No. 8 Audi R8 LMS in just the endurance races on the IMSA schedule, but will now contest the full season with the team.

His primary sponsor, Vertical Bridge, has committed to the upcoming rounds at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Detroit, Watkins Glen Int’l and Road America, with hopes to fill out the remainder of the races.

“I’m very excited to be racing in the sprint races as well as the four endurance races,” said Chase. “I can’t thank Vertical Bridge Enough for their continued support this year, and I’m ready to get on track at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course next week.”

Chase will race alongside sports car racing veteran Ryan Dalziel, who is also committed for the remainder of the season.

“We’re excited to officially have Parker secured as Ryan Dalziel’s co-driver,” said team owner Peter Baron. “He’s a great young talent and shows strong speed everywhere we go. He and Ryan have proven to be a great combination, and hopefully our luck turns as we begin the next segment of races so we can fight for some valuable points. We’re looking forward to fighting at tracks where our Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO will be competitive.”

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has told officials to watch the Maple Leafs' skate-bump tactics.

"I'd just call it feet contacting feet," Cassidy told reporters in Boston on Monday, one day after the Bruins staved off elimination to force a Game 7. "Whether it's by accident or by design I don't know. I don't want to speculate."

Game 7 is in Boston on Tuesday -- the second-straight year a first-round series between these teams needed to go the distance. The Bruins won in last year's seventh game, 7-4.

On Monday, Cassidy was asked by a reporter whether he felt slew footing was an issue in the series.

Cassidy said he didn't think so, because the act of slew footing requires an arm -- but the coach did say he felt Toronto players were bumping into the back of Bruins skates a lot. "Whether it's just dumb luck, or how they battle for pucks," Cassidy said, "we've brought it up with the supervisor."

The NHL assigns a supervisor of officials to each NHL series, and coaches are encouraged to open a dialogue with the supervisor about any trends they see on the ice.

"There's a couple of things we find that Toronto does that we brought up," Cassidy said. "That's what [the supervisors] are here for, that's what they asked for. Is there anything you see? I'm sure Toronto brings some stuff up with us. We'll see where it goes."

Cassidy provided a few examples of the skate bump tactics. He said "there's been a few of them every game" and "that's what I believe caused the [Jake] DeBrusk/[Nazem] Kadri battle."

DeBrusk and Kadri had a few scuffles in Game 2; Kadri cross-checked DeBrusk late in the third period and was suspended for the remainder of the round.

Cassidy also pointed to a time when Sean Kuraly "went down from behind" after a faceoff.

When asked by a reporter about a play in the first period of Game 6 -- when Bruins forward Joakim Nordstrom was called for high sticking after he appeared to have his skates taken out because of contact from Toronto defenseman Travis Dermott -- Cassidy was emphatic.

"There you go," Cassidy said. "They go into the corner and he all of a sudden is flying backwards and his stick gets up. So it will be pointed out. It's still a high stick if it catches a guy in the face, unfortunately. But I think the original contact caused the high stick. Because Nordy's stick was on the ice battling for it. Usually, a high stick comes up in the act of ... this one came up in the act of falling backwards because his foot got kicked out, so I would hope they would notice the contact there."