If you dont know Amr Shabana, you dont know squash.
And you certainly werent at North Vancouvers Evergreen Squash Club last week as it was turned into Shabana-land with the Egyptian legend putting on a show to win the 2012 Comfort Inn Open.
A former world No. 1 player who is now ranked No. 8, Shabana came into the Open fresh off of a win at the ATCO PSA World Series Squash Finals in London, England, an event that featured the eight top players of 2011. A considerable buzz followed Shabana from London to North Vancouver.
In the first round, the first appearance for Shabana, the place was packed, said tournament director Paul Marley. It was jammed they were sitting in the aisles.
The buzz, however, almost turned into blahs as Shabana fell behind New Zealands Martin Knight in the opening match, suffering an embarrassing 0-11 loss in the third set to go down 1-2.
They call it whitewashed in the U.K., we think of it as a bagel, said Marley of Shabanas shutout loss.
Whatever you call it, it certainly woke Shabana up as he rebounded to win the match 3-2 and then ripped through the rest of the field with a 3-0 win over Cameron Pilley in the quarterfinals, a 3-1 win over Tarek Momen in the semis and a 3-1 win over countryman and No. 2 seed Hisham Ashour in the final played on Sunday.
It was Ashours second consecutive runner-up finish at the Open. He went down swinging, however, claiming the first set and jumping out to an early lead in the second before Shabana took control to win 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10. The squash being played in the fourth set was sublime, said Marley, and most of the fans were secretly hoping for Shabana to lose so that theyd get to see a fifth and deciding frame. The old pro Shabana is 32 and held the sports No. 1 ranking for 33 straight months from 2006 to 2009 was having none of it.
He must have a mind that is so strong and so disciplined because when it got to the tough points you kind of knew that Shabana was going to get it done, said Marley, adding that Shabanas mental skills are as strong as his physical ones. While other pros at the tournament displayed sweeter hands, Shabana was more of a grinder who put constant pressure on his opponents.
He doesnt make a lot of errors, said Marley. He gets everything, he punishes players by putting the ball in difficult spots and then he doesnt get too emotional he maintains his cool.
This years edition of the Open featured the best field in the eight-year history of the event with a tournament-record $50,000 prize purse up for grabs. Seven of the top 17 players in the world signed up to play. As the tournament wore on it was the players from squash-mad Egypt that rose to the top, claiming all four semifinal spots.
Marley said the Egyptians competed hard against each other while maintaining very high levels of sportsmanship.
Theyre buddies they travel together and they train together, they have dinner together and they room together, he said. Thats the secret of the Egyptian success. . . . They help each other all the time.
It all made for a scintillating event for the Lower Mainlands squash aficionados as well as the players.
The place was packed, there was a buzz, said Marley. The crowds were massive. And not many venues can match ours, apparently, as far as the number of people and the enthusiasm and the knowledge. (The players) love coming here for that reason.
