Rampant Ramy Romps To Canadian Classic Crown

Egyptian teenager Ramy Ashour reached another milestone in his phenomenal rise through the world squash rankings when he crushed Australia's world No2 David Palmer in straight games in the final of the PACE Canadian Classic at the John Bassett Theatre in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to earn the first PSA Super Series title of his brief career to date.

The 19-year-old record two-times world junior champion from Cairo - currently ranked six in the world but well outside the top 30 just a year ago - defeated the World Open champion from Lithgow in New South Wales 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 in the climax of the first Super Series event of 2007.

The experienced Palmer, a 30-year-old former world number one, could find no chink in Ashour's armour. He tried slow-balling him, he tried exchanging drop shots; he even tried slamming him off the court. However, the exuberant young Egyptian had an answer for everything and most of those answers found the ball nestled in the nick for an outright winner.

Although Palmer led the first game 5-4, those were his only brief moments of glory. Ashour received two penalty strokes to lead 6-5 and from that moment on the Australian was a condemned man.

Ashour’s reading of the game and his blinding speed were simply too much for the number two seed who has been in the world’s top ten for nearly seven years. The brilliant young Egyptian ran away to win the first game in under ten minutes and then raced through the second in under eight minutes.

It was almost a humiliation for Palmer who could do nothing to stem the tide as Ashour washed over him in the third game to finish the 31-minute drubbing.

"He picked me to pieces," Palmer said of his opponent. "I thought I started well and then hit a couple of errors and lost it. I tried changing the game, but that didn't work either."

Ramy was his usual bubbly self: "It was a good day for me – I always try to enjoy myself. I play every match as though it is the last match of my life," said the 19-year-old.

The pair now head for Chicago where the second Super Series event of the year gets underway on Tuesday. Ashour and defending champion Palmer are in the bottom half of the draw of the Infor Windy City Open and could meet again in the semi-finals.

Before the PACE final, the packed auditorium was treated to a filmed tribute to Canadian great Jonathon Power, who won the Classic title three times in six years. He was presented with a trophy by former great Sharif Khan, who was North American champion for 13 years. The audience was also given glimpses of a possible future champion as Power's very pregnant wife Sita was brought on stage. The baby is due any moment. Dunlop, the official equipment supplier for the tournament, invited the entire audience to a special champagne reception for Jonathon following the finale.

Final:
[6] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [2] David Palmer (AUS) 11-7, 11-3, 11-4 (31m)