Ashour Downs Gaultier To Set Up NetSuite Decider With Nick Matthew

Egypt's World Squash Champion Ramy Ashour signalled his return to the upper echelons of the sport following a five-month injury absence courtesy of a magnificent victory over defending champion Gregory Gaultier in the semi-finals of the 2015 NetSuite Open, the PSA M100 event in its fifth year in San Francisco.

In front of a capacity crowd outside the stunning San Francisco Ferry Building Ashour, who beat Gaultier in the title decider in 2013, unloaded his entire arsenal of outrageous shots in a back-and-forth encounter in which he made the world No.3 from France appear average at times.

The victory sees Ashour, who has only competed at three events during an injury-blighted 12 months, secure a place in his 54th PSA World Tour final where he'll be hoping to claim title number 37 against England's world No.2 and top seed Nick Matthew.

"It's amazing to be back in San Fran - there's a great energy from the crowd here and it's good to be here and be performing well," said Ashour.

"To play against someone like Greg takes a lot out of you - he's a top athlete and it's not easy to play him - and it's the same against all the top ten players so I'm just happy with my result today and hopefully I can do the same with Nick tomorrow.

"We both know each other's games and it won't be an easy match - but I'm certain it will be an entertaining match and a really tough battle. I'm going to give it 100 per cent and may the better player win."

27-year-old Ashour shot out of the blocks against 2014 champion Gaultier, hitting winners for fun as he completely outclassed the former world No.1 in the opening game. But it was role reversal in the second, as the Frenchman enjoyed the better of proceedings to level the scores and set the scene for what followed.

The 32-year-old from Aix-en-Provence - looking to make the final for the fourth year in a row - continued to enjoy the upper hand during the third game before a nervy tie-break ensued which Gaultier took - but only after squandering several game-ball opportunities.

The ebb and flow continued in the fourth as Ashour raced into a 6-0 lead and a lung-bursting rally to go 7-0 ahead, which had the on-looking crowd watching in disbelief. The run appeared the break Gaultier's resolve both mentally and physically and from then on it was the Cairo man known as 'The Artist' who dominated proceedings - eventually taking the match 11-4, 5-11, 10-12, 11-2, 11-3.

"We both played well and pushed each other to the limits. We have great respect for each other on and off court and it's a fair rivalry between us and there'll be more battles to come for sure," added Ashour.

Matthew booked his place in the final courtesy of a composed and professional 3/1 victory over world No.4 Miguel Angel Rodriguez - an 11-2, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5 victory in 49 minutes which extends Matthew's unbeaten record over the Colombian to six wins.

NetSuite Open image courtesy of www.squashpics.com