El Halaby Retains Baltimore Cup

Egyptian Yasser El Halaby successfully defended his Baltimore Cup title when he beat Canada's Shawn Delierre in the final of the $10,000 PSA Tour squash event at the Baltimore Country Club in Baltimore, USA.

The climax took place less than 24 hours after fourth seed Delierre prevailed against top-seeded compatriot Shahier Razik in a 150-minute semi-final marathon - the longest-recorded squash match in history since the scoring system went to PAR (point-a-rally) 21 years ago!

In the final, El Halaby struck the ball crisply and dominated the T, trying to impose his attacking style on an opponent who was perhaps a little tired from his match the day before.

It took 40 minutes for the 24-year-old third seed from Cairo to wrap up his 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 win.

"Delierre actually appeared to have recovered well, but El Halaby ruthlessly exposed any slowness in movement in a high quality final," explained tournament organiser Ben Garner. "The packed crowd greatly appreciated both the quality of the play and the effort shown by both players, who had both had tough routes to the final.

"The members hope to see the popular El Halaby back next year to chase a hat-trick of titles," added Garner.

The win marked the fifth PSA Tour title of El Halaby's career, and the second this year.

Final:
[3] Yasser El Halaby (EGY) bt [4] Shawn Delierre (CAN) 11-6, 11-7, 11-5 (40m)