In an all-Egyptian final, Karim Darwish swept by world champion Rami Ashour 3-0 to win the inaugural El-Gouna International Open. Inas Mazhar reports from the Egyptian Red Sea resort It was Darwish's first win of a PSA Super Series tournament in 2010. And he deservingly claimed the title after beating the world's top ranked player Rami Ashour in a game that saw world-class squash. As described by world squash online, the final was dubbed 'The dream final' of the $142,500 PSA Super Series event -- the seventh of the year -- but which failed to live up to expectations when Ashour, the world number one bidding to win his third Super Series crown in a row, sustained an injury early in the second game. The world's No 4 but the tournament's third seed Darwish came from behind in the first game when he was 10-7 down to take a high-quality first game 16-14 in a game that saw the two champions display their best squash ever and entertain the spectators with their high-level performance. However, things went differently in the second game. Darwish seemed more confident, especially when he took a 4-3 lead before the current world champion Ashour slipped and injured his ankle. According to the rules, the referee allowed Ashour a three-minute break for treatment before returning to the court. But as soon as play was resumed, it was clear that Ashour was still suffering. He was literally off balance as Darwish won seven points in a row to clinch the second game 11-3 and advance with confidence to the third. In the third game, it was obvious the world champion was far from perfect as Darwish took a 5-0 lead. Suddenly, just before the serve, Ashour shook hands with Darwish to conclude the match. The referee then announced Darwish the winner. "As much as I'm happy to win the event, I feel sorry for Rami and I hope he can recover soon and catch up with us in the Kuwait Open which we are both going to take part in a few days," said the 29- year old Darwish after the game. "I was so confident before the game and after winning my semi-final, I knew I could win the final as well. So, I was concentrating on the game and played strong and sharp balls. "I'm really happy to win this tournament -- it's an important one for me. Thanks to all the sponsors, particularly Orascom Developments, and my own sponsors," Darwish added, thanking Amr Mansi, the tournament director, "for successfully running his first big event as a tournament director." Mansi is a current squash player and has been working on staging the event for the past 10 months. The road to the final was not easy for the world champion Ashour who had to play his second longest match of his career. It took him 96 minutes to beat his opponent the Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in the first semi-final 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2. The match was tense but produced top notch squash from both players. The two collided in the third game as Gaultier fell to the floor, clutching his leg for a couple of minutes before being escorted off the court by the match referee for treatment. After a 13-minute break the battle continued but Ashour immediately put in two drops, both of which found Gaultier's movement out, and the local hero quickly finished the game. While the Frenchman said he was disappointed after falling, Ashour was happy with the game and said it was "another tough, strong and good squash we played in our encounters together." The eventual winner Darwish had booked his berth in the final with an 11-6, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5 triumph over his veteran opponent, the 34- year old Thierry Lincou, the No 7 seed from France who upset third seed Amr Shabana in the previous round. The two players had met 14 times and with Darwish's victory, each now as seven wins. Before Ashour and Darwish played the final, Ashour was celebrating the 29th PSA Tour final of his career -- and his seventh this year -- while Darwish was marking his 31st Tour climax. Ashour was one win away from his third successive Super Series title success, while Darwish was seeking his first title in the 2010 PSA Super Series. Before the match, Ashour boasted an 8- 5 career lead over Darwish on the PSA Tour, having won their most recent clash in the Hong Kong Open semi-final in August. But it was Darwish who triumphed in the pair's last Tour meeting on home soil, winning in straight games in Cairo in May to reach the final of the Sky Open. Visibly upset by his injury which forced him to quit, the 23-year old Ashour left the court immediately without participating in the closing ceremony or receiving his runner-up trophy. He virtually fled the site with his coach Mohamed El-Sayed and jumped into a three-wheel public motorcycle which took him back to his hotel. Assem Khalifa, head of the Egyptian Squash Federation, congratulated Darwish for his victory and all the Egyptians who took part in the tournament. "Having an all-Egyptian final being played means that Egyptian squash is at its best. I thank everyone for all their effort in producing such a successful event where we saw high-level performances from the top players in the world." Abdullah El-Nokrashi, Orascom's representative at the tournament, said he was proud of the success of their inaugural tournament as the official sponsor. "It was a great tournament and we are really happy with it and because of what we saw here we have decided to make it an annual event from now on," El-Nokrashi said. "We thank the tournament director Amr Mansi for such a wonderful event and because he succeeded in persuading us to sponsor this event when we are known to be a company hard to sell us anything. But he managed to do it and we are happy with it." The victory, the 18th PSA World Tour title of his career, sees Darwish move up to fourth place in the latest 2010 PSA Super Series Rankings. Despite his injury, Ashour extended his lead atop the world seedings to 125 points, ahead of second-placed Englishman Nick Matthew. England's James Willstrop, a quarter-finalist in El-Gouna, holds on to third place, while Gaultier slips to fifth. The line-up of the all- important top eight is unchanged. Lincou strengthens his status by rising to sixth, sharing 180 points with Egypt's Shabana. The PSA Super Series Tour immediately reconvenes in Kuwait where the $172,500 Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah Kuwait Open gets under way today.
