Ashour Outlasts Matthew In North American Open Final

In, fittingly, the longest match of the tournament, Egypt's Ramy Ashour ultimately prevailed in the Davenport North American Open by beating Englishman Nick Matthew in the 91-minute, five-game final of the $93,000 PSA Super Series Silver squash event at the University of Richmond in Virginia.

Ashour, the 21-year-old third seed in his first final since winning the World Open title last October in England, took the first two games in this scintillating climax - and led 5-3 and 9-8 in the third.

But Matthew, the eighth seed from Sheffield who is returning to the top flight after shoulder surgery last year, maintained his focus to win the game - then led throughout the fourth to level the match.

It was nip and tuck in the decider - with never more than two points separating the pair until the last point of the match when another Ashour drop landed just beyond the outstretched Englishman to give Ashour the title in an 11-8, 13-11, 10-12, 5-11, 11-8 scoreline.

At the presentation ceremony, Ashour thanked his opponent and joked that he never thought the match would go so long.

"I'm really happy winning this match. I think I'm back on track and have my confidence back," added the 21-year-old from Cairo who now boasts 11 PSA Tour titles, of which seven are Super Series crowns!

The runner-up, celebrating his third successive appearance in a Tour final, added: "It was great that everyone got behind both of us. Thank you very much for your support, it made it a pleasure to play."

Final:
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [8] Nick Matthew (ENG) 11-8, 13-11, 10-12, 5-11, 11-8 (91m)