LONDON: Egyptian Amr Shabana, the world's number 8 squash player, ended his British woes on Sunday, beating France's Gregory Gaultier to win the World Series of squash title in the UK. It was his first victory on British soil, and came as a relief for the former number 1. Four-time champion Shabana defeated Gaultier 3-2 (6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8) for his first England tournament victory in his lustrous career. The 32-year old, Shabana, reached the final after thrashing world number one James Willstrop 2-0 in the semi-final the day before. As Shabana celebrates victory, ATP World Tour finals organizer Chris Kermode believes the future of the sport can continue to improve if the year-end event is held in London. “Tennis has been a huge success,” said Kermode, who is looking to stage the ATP finals at the 02 for a further five years. “There was lots of doubt as to its success. But what the Finals have shown is demand for sport in London. “There is huge potential for squash if marketed correctly but the event you put on has to transcend the sport. “Squash is so accessible to a vast amount of people. Go back to the squash boom of the Eighties and it was played in every single town. If squash was in the Olympics it would sell 10,000 tickets – simple as that.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/98koh Tags: Amr Shabana, Squash, World Series Section: Egypt, Egyptian Sport, Sport
