MANCHESTER: Amr Shabana, the world number one from Egypt, looked like an even hotter favorite to become World Open champion for a fourth time as he celebrated reaching the semi-finals by posing with Manchester United s Premier League trophy here Friday.
The trophy was transported a couple of miles across the city from Old Trafford to the SportCity site which was the venue for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and where Shabana now gave a squash lesson to his young compatriot Mohamed El Shorbagy.
I used to play football but had to keep going away for squash tournaments, said Shabana, who beat Shorbagy 11-2, 11-3, 11-6 before posing in the shirt of the Premiership joint top scorer, Amr Zaki, another Egyptian compatriot, who plays for nearby Wigan.
Shabana was ominously comfortable both during and after a match which lasted less than half an hour and in which the top-seeded titleholder produced some masterful moments while overwhelming his 17-year-old opponent.
It has happened to me and it happens to everyone, said Shabana generously.
I guess I played at the top of my form today, but he has played 15 games in three days and you can t blame him if he s a little bit tired.
Shabana, who scored heavily with wrong-footing changes of direction and sudden sharp drops, was referring to the fact that his opponent had had to battle through the qualifying competition and had played five matches in five days.
I don t think anyone will have an easy time against him in a year or two s time, said Shabana, who next plays Ramy Ashour, the former Super Series champion from Egypt who beat former British Open champion Nick Matthew in four games and is arguably the biggest threat to the champion.
Shabana reached the third round with a straight games win over Borja Golan, the Spaniard who was runner-up in the French International championships in Paris a fortnight ago.
Shabana looked a little below his best while reaching the third round with a 12-10, 11-7, 11-4 win over Golan.
However Shabana is renowned for timing his best form for the later stages, just as he did in last year s final against Gregory Gaultier
If he wins the World Open, Shabana will become only the fourth man to achieve this feat, after the two legendary Pakistanis, Jansher and Jahangir Khan, and the great Australian, Geoff Hunt.
He had come closer to the historical feat after Gregory Gaultier, the second seeded Frenchman, was defeated on the third round.
Gaultier, who had set his heart on a third-time-lucky triumph at the World Open, instead suffered a controversial third round defeat on Thursday.
The world number two from Aix-en-Provence was beaten by Adrian Grant, his friend and sparring partner from England – a setback which left Gaultier first speechless, then displaying his distress, and then launching a tirade against the refereeing.
Gaultier was beaten 9-11, 12-10, 14-12, 1-11, 13-11, despite making a convincing start, then generating what seemed unstoppable momentum in the fourth and fifth games, and eventually earning himself three match points.
On the third of these, it seemed that Grant may have unintentionally denied a fair view of the ball to Gaultier, but instead of the Frenchman being given a penalty point which would have given him the match, a let was awarded.
That was match to me, said Gaultier, criticising the three-way majority decision from English, Scottish and Welsh referees.
It was obviously a (penalty) stroke. I am very very upset.
It may have been all the harder for Gaultier because he had been was desperately unlucky with refereeing decisions on match points in the 2006 World Open final in Giza.
After losing the 2007 final in Bermuda as well, had set his heart on getting the title this time.
Nevertheless Grant managed the best performance of his life to score the biggest win of his career.
He recovered from 4-7 down in the second game, saved two game balls in the third, and got back from 1-5 down in the fifth, at which stage Gaultier had taken 16 out of 18 points.
I knew that if I could stay with him I would have a good chance in the fifth because the crowd were giving me a lift and the pressure would be on him and he would get nervous, Grant said.
This is more or less what happened, with Gaultier s error ratio creeping up when it mattered.
I lost my head and that s it, he said bitterly.
Meanwhile, Australia s David Palmer, the British Open champion, reached the quarter-finals, and kept alive his hopes of a third world title, with a 11-5, 11-13, 11-3, 12-10 victory over Daryl Selby, the world number 36 from England.
Palmer next faces James Willstrop, the world number three from England, who won 11-7, 13-11, 11-8 against Davide Bianchetti of Italy. -AFP
