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 11-8 13-11 10-12 5-11 11-8 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.
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."
Semi-finals:
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [1] Karim Darwish (EGY) 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 11-7
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 14-12, 11-9, 6-11, 11-3
Quarter-finals:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [5] David Palmer (AUS) 11-4, 11-5, 11-7
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-8, 11-4, 11-9
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [7] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11-5, 11-8, 11-1
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [2] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-9, 11-7, 5-3 ret.
2nd round:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [14] Renan Lavigne (FRA) 6-11, 11-3, 11-9, 14-12
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [15] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 12-10, 11-6, 11-7
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [12] Joey Barrington (ENG) 11-9, 11-8, 11-5
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [11] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 11-8, 11-4, 11-4
[7] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [10] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-0, 11-5, 11-4
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [9] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-7, 11-9, 11-9
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5
[2] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [13] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-9, 6-11, 3-11, 11-6, 11-5
1st round:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [Q] Arshad Iqbal Burki (PAK) 11-6, 11-1, 11-3
[14] Renan Lavigne (FRA) bt [Q] Yann Perrin (FRA) 11-7, 11-9, 11-5
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [Q] Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) 11-5, 11-0, 11-6
[15] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Yasser El Halaby (EGY) 11-6, 11-5, 11-2
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-6
[12] Joey Barrington (ENG) bt [Q] David Phillips (CAN) 13-11, 11-5, 12-10
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 11-5, 11-8, 11-9
[11] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [Q] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 11-2, 11-5, 11-6
[10] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt Julien Balbo (FRA) 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5
[7] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-5, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5
[9] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [Q] Robin Clarke (CAN) 13-11, 11-6, 11-5
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Patrick Chifunda (ZAM) 11-1, 8-11, 11-4, 11-5
Tom Richards (ENG) bt [16] Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-8, 12-14, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Liam Kenny (IRL) 11-7, 12-10, 11-5
[13] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [Q] Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) 11-0, 11-6 ret.
[2] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-7, 11-8, 12-10
Qualifying finals:
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt John Rooney (IRL) 13-11, 11-2, 11-9
Robin Clarke (CAN) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 5-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-6
Arshad Iqbal Burki (PAK) bt Wade Johnstone (AUS) 11-4, 7-2 ret.
Yann Perrin (FRA) bt Martin Knight (NZL) 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (60m)
Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) bt Robbie Temple (ENG) 11-2, 6-11, 11-6, 12-10
Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) bt Joshua Greenfield (NZL) 11-6, 11-8, 11-3
David Phillips (CAN) bt Bradley Hindle (AUS) 9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-5
Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 11-7, 15-13, 11-3
1st qualifying round:
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bye
John Rooney (IRL) bt David Vidal (ESP) 11-7, 11-6, 14-12
Christopher Gordon (USA) bt Lekgotla Mosope (BOT) 15-13, 11-7, 12-10
Robin Clarke (CAN) bt Esteban Casarino (PAR) 11-6, 11-8, 11-5
Wade Johnstone (AUS) bt John Street (USA) 11-6, 11-5, 11-4
Arshad Iqbal Burki (PAK) bt Willy Clark (USA) 11-5, 11-3, 11-4
Martin Knight (NZL) bt Curtis Tomlinson (ENG) 11-4, 11-2, 11-3
Yann Perrin (FRA) bt Ryan Thompson (RSA) 11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 11-4
Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) bt Eddie Charlton (ENG) 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 11-3
Robbie Temple (ENG) bt Jonas Laursen (DEN) 11-5, 11-4, 11-5
Joshua Greenfield (NZL) bt Zac Alexander (AUS) 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9
Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) bt Johan Bouquet (FRA) 11-3, 13-11, 11-4
David Phillips (CAN) bt Michal Reid (CAN) 11-9, 11-3, 11-3
Bradley Hindle (AUS) bt TG Raubenheimer (RSA) 11-3, 11-7, 11-9
Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt David Hetherington (USA) 11-6, 11-5, 11-4
Campbell Grayson (NZL) bye
Issued by iSPORTmedia