The successor to PSAlive.tv has been announced as Squash TV and is currently providing free live web streaming from the Saudi international squash tournament as a good will gesture to new customers before it begins business as normal in January from the Tournament of Champions in New York. This is good news for squash fans, who will have access to free highlights of the major squash tournaments and be able to pay to view live and archived footage. So far, the quality of service from the production team, working with media specialists ‘Perform’ appears to be good, and time will tell as to how well the whole package comes together.
Quarter-Finals in Saudi
[15] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) v [8] Adrian Grant (ENG)
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [7] Wael El Hindi (EGY)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) v [6] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [13] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Todays matches promise a few close encounters, most notably in the first game between Aamir Atlas Khan and Adrian Grant. Khan has been in giant-killing form as he makes his mark on the PSA tour, whilst the more established Grant will be keen to push himself further up the rankings with a super series semi-final.
Another notable clash will be the match between the PSA squash veterans Thierry Lincou and David Palmer, who have both shown that they can mix it with the best in the latter years of their careers. Their PSA head-to-head record stands at 9-9, indicating that there isn’t much between the two players.
It will also be interesting to see how the in-form Ramy Ashour deals with the even younger Egyptian Mohamed El-Shorbagy, who has already proven himself to be a handful among the best in the world, having beaten both James Willstrop at the world open and Nick Matthew at Canary wharf in the past year.
Saudi semi-final Predictions
[15] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) v [3] Nick Matthew (ENG)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) v [1] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
Squash News
James Willstrop has remarked that the PSA tour schedule is too taxing on the player’s bodies, saying that he has had little rest since the summer when his season began. His comments come after the players had a quick turnaround between the PSA Mumbai Mastersand the Saudi International which is currently being played. Willstrop’s view is supported backed up by the evidence, with Gregory Gaultier and Karim Darwish missing the Saudi International through injury and Amr Shabana failing to recover from an injury sustained in Mumbai.
Squash World Number One
Nick Matthew and Ramy Ashour remain on course for a final showdown to contest the PSA squash world number one spot. It seems that Matthew will need to at least reach the semi-finals with Ashour losing in the quarter-finals to be crowned champion. More likely however, he will need to win the tournament to be the first Britain in five years to reach the top spot.
