England's Willstrop Wins Opener In Super Series Finals In Manchester

James Willstrop, the Yorkshireman who leads English interest in the ATCO Super Series Finals, stormed to a sensational opening victory in the flagship PSA Tour event at the National Squash Centre in Manchester when he upset third-seeded Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in the first Pool round in the ATCO Group.

Willstrop, the 23-year-old world No7 from Leeds, and Gaultier, the 24-year-old world No4 from Aix-en-Provence, met countless times on the world junior circuit - with the Frenchman coming out on top on all occasions.

But in what - remarkably - was the pair's first encounter on the PSA Tour, it was England's former world junior champion Willstrop that prevailed, winning 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4 in 51 minutes.

"I really enjoy coming here, it's great to play in front of an English crowd, especially a Northern one," Willstrop told the event's official website www.superseriesfinals.net

Willstrop is a regular at the NSC - the England squad's training base - and won his first British National title on the same court earlier in the year.

"I've always been on the wrong end of things with Greg. I've had a few thoughts about it and taken a bit of stick over it, so it's good to get a win over someone you struggle with.

"I've had a good summer's training, but once you start playing tournaments again it's always a bit of an unknown. There were patches where we both show a bit of rustiness, but it will probably be like that for everyone over the next few days as it's the first tournament of the season."

The match also marked Willstrop's first since signing a new contract with racquet brand Prince: "Overall I felt really good out there, and I love the new racquet. It's a good start but I'll be taking it one game at a time," added the jubilant victor.

In the other ATCO group clash, Willstrop's England team-mate Nick Matthew, also a Yorkshireman, delighted the enthusiastic crowd when he surged to a 2/0 and 5-1 lead against the Egyptian world number one Amr Shabana.

Matthew, the 27-year-old from Sheffield who became the first Englishman to win the British Open crown for 67 years last September, admitted later that he had played well in the opening two games - but "needed to get to six or seven first in that third game".

It was the two-times world champion from Cairo, however, who ultimately took control in the third and went on to win 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 in 77 minutes.

Arguably, the most eagerly-anticipated match of the evening was the all-Egyptian clash between world No12 Karim Darwish and Ramy Ashour, the teenager who was making his first appearance on English soil since rocketing to No2 in the world list after picking up four Tour titles this year.

The youngster did not disappoint - beating his senior national team-mate 11-4, 11-10 (4-2), 7-11, 11-4 in his maiden Super Series Finals appearance.

"It's been a great year for me - I never expected to do this, so to get into this tournament I've heard about for so long, the best eight players in the world," said the exuberant 19-year-old from Cairo. "And what a big crowd, I didn't expect that either, they were great."

The late evening finished with a battle between two of the sport's, and the event's, biggest names - David Palmer, the 2002 champion from Australia, and Thierry Lincou, the 2004 champion - and three-times a finalist - from France.

With 16 previous major encounters between them since 1999 - and the head-to-head tally poised at 8-8 - the pair were certain to provide an appropriate finale for the opening day.

The battle lasted just three minutes short of an hour - and it was second seed Palmer who edged ahead in the career tally, beating the fourth-seeded Frenchman 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5.

1st pool round:
ATCO Group
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4 (51m)
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [6] Nick Matthew (ENG) 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (77m)
Manchester Group
[7] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [8] Karim Darwish (EGY) 11-4, 11-10 (4-2), 7-11, 11-4 (50m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt [4] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5 (57m)