Ramy & Shabana Set Up All-Egyptian Semi At Grand Central Terminal

A devastating win by teen sensation Ramy Ashour over England's fifth seed James Willstrop in the quarter-finals of the Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions takes the squash star of the future into an all-Egyptian semi-final clash against the current world number Amr Shabana in the PSA Super Series event in its tenth year at Grand Central Terminal in New York.

Bells were sounding and lights began flashing from a false fire alarm in Grand Central as 19-year-old Ashour - making his debut in the established event - and 23-year-old Willstrop prepared to step onto the glass court. The unexpected 'introduction' was fitting, as just an hour later an enthralled capacity crowd realized that they had had just been treated to the first glimpse of the future of squash. And it was brilliant.

The much-anticipated match up between the current and former World Junior Champions was squash at its best. "Two players who are magicians on the court," is how Tournament Director John Nimick described the match. Both Willstrop and Ashour have beautiful touch and they utilized very possible shot combination, mixing drops with lobs and cross courts and two wall boasts as they moved each other from corner to corner. Willstrop jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first game, but the young Egyptian evened the score at four-all. After securing a 9-6 lead, Ashour won the first game 11-9.

In the second, Willstrop again took an early lead at 4-1, and this time never relinquished it, winning the second game 11-5. In each of the next two games, the players continued to stretch the court - and themselves. In the end, it was the younger Ashour, with his unflappable court sense and competitive fire, who carried the day with both his brilliant shot-making and extraordinary court movement, to win 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-6 after 57 minutes.

"He is a fantastic player," said Willstrop, who used several double pump shots to try to throw off his opponent during the match. "As good as his shot-making is, it is his movement that is brilliant. I think I played pretty well tonight, but at the critical moments Ramy played better," explained the Yorkshireman who last week became the British National champion for the first time.

"I am wordless," said the exuberant youngster after the match. "I haven't been this excited in a while. James is such a good player and to play as well as I did against him is really great."

Ashour will face his countryman, the ToC defending champion Amr Shabana in Thursday's semi-finals. The world number one never let Scotland's John White into the match, winning 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 in just 36 minutes.

After watching the Willstrop-Ashour contest, Shabana observed, "They weren't out on the court as long as I would have liked!"

Ashour and Shabana have only met twice before on the PSA Tour - with the experienced Shabana currently boasting a 2/0 lead, with a 11-10, 3-11, 11-5, 11-10 victory over the young pretender in last October's Hong Kong Open final, followed by a (remarkably similar) 10-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-10 win in the US Open semi-finals in Boston in November.

Quarter-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [6] John White (SCO) 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (36m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [5] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-6 (57m)