Nick Matthew is the 2012 Allam British Open Champion!
England’s Nick Matthew overcame fiery Egyptian Ramy Ashour to win his third British Open title.
Matthew produced a high level of accuracy throughout the match to win 11-9, 11-4, 11-8 in 49 minutes in front of a capacity audience at London’s O2 Arena.
Ashour hit the tin 14 times in the match as Matthew’s precision squash forced him into mistakes. The 24-year-old from Cairo surrendered an 8-6 lead in the first game and was totally outplayed in the second as Matthew dominated the middle of the court and worked his opponent from corner to corner.
Matthew led 6-2 in the third game and seemed on the brink of a quick finish but Ashour responded to draw level at 8-8.
However, Matthew regained control and more loose play from Ashour gave him the next three points.
Matthew said: "Ramy is a genius and a magician with the racket but he made a lot of errors today. There is a fine margin with those shots and had they been a few millimetres higher they would have been winners.
“I am 32 in July and may not have too many more finals left, but Ramy has many more finals to come.
“This was a brilliant tournament and it’s great to have the British Open back on the calendar. I’m already looking forward to next year’s event in Hull.”
Squash queen Nicol David collected her fourth British Open title today after sweeping aside the precocious challenge of Egyptian Nour El Sherbini.
The petite Malaysian took just 33 minutes to overwhelm the 16-year-old world junior champion 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 in front of the sell-out crowd at London’s O2 Arena.
El Sherbini began each game in promising fashion but once the 28-year-old Malaysian got into her stride she dominated the court and knew exactly how to place the ball beyond the reach of her much taller opponent.
David, who is based in Amsterdam, said: "Nour is certainly one to watch for the future but right now I am so happy to win this title again. A lot of young Egyptians are coming through and that’s good for the game.
“I had better get back home and start training harder.”