What's been happening in the world of squash (16th to 22nd of January 2017)

Gawad and Serme continue their run

Karim Abdel Gawad is now only 539 matches away from Jahangir Khan's famous unbeaten run … The reigning world champion extended his winning streak to 16 units last week at the Tournament of Champions in New York, after beating Frenchman Grégory Gaultier in four hard fought games in the final. Gawad continues to build an extraordinary season, having won the last three major events, and also reached the final in Hong Kong and the semis at the US Open. This record is all the more impressive considering he'd made the last 4 of a World Series event only once before this season. Thanks to his triumph in NYC, not only he's extending his lead in the Road to Dubai Standings but also he'll be closing the gap with world number 1 Mohamed El Shorbagy in February's rankings. “Winning the Tournament of Champions, here in this venue, is an amazing feeling,” he said. “Matches with Greg are always tough and they can change at any moment. I've learnt a lot from him and I thought it was a great match tonight. It's been an amazing week. To win three big titles after the World Championship and Qatar Classic is a great feeling and I have to thank my coaches for the support and hard work that has been put in for the past few years." (Source: www.psaworldtour.com)

As he often does, the world number 2 had an early scare, being taken to the fifth game by Cameron Pilley, but he won 11-9. After that Gawad was very solid to see off two dangerous opponents – Simon Rosner and James Willstrop. He had a slow start in the final though, making many unforced errors which Grégory Gaultier took full advantage off to get the lead (11-6). He then equalized at 1-1, and the third game was crucial, with a lot a calls towards the end. But Gawad came out on top (12-10) and there was only going to be one possible winner after that. Mainly because the Frenchman had used a lot of physical and mental energy in his semis against El Shorbagy, which was both a monumental and controversial match. For the very few of you who haven't seen or heard of it, here is what happened: Gaultier was up 2-0 after two games of exceptional squash from both players, and the drama begun at 8-7 in the third. The referee John Massarella called a ball from El Shorbagy down, but the video ref corrected it to the astonishsment of Gaultier, who lost his concentration and the game. Then in the fourth he took an injury break because of his glute. The Frenchman could no longer move and it looked like he was going to shake hands, but his camp pushed him to continue. Rightly so, because Gaultier came back in the fifth playing on one leg but with a plan in mind: take every single opportunity to go short and use lobs to get out of trouble when under pressure. On the other hand, his opponent was clearly unsettled and getting frustrated by the Frenchman's celebrations after each point he scored. So much that after being up 5-3 up he only won 2 of the next 10 rallies and lost this dramatic match. Gaultier was very clear when questioned about a possible exageration of his injury. “I was in real pain, I was about to shake hands but my corner pushed me to continue and to play point by point. Then I focused on my other leg and tried to play smart. Of course it played in his head and he started to be shaky, but I gave all I had and at the end I was fighting for every point. I've been injured for most of 2016 and couldn't prove much. Everyone talks about the Egyptian players, but there are also guys from France, England and even New Zealand who want to show what they are capable of and put their names on some trophies as well.”

Grégory Gaultier was close to retire against Mohamed El Shorbagy and ended up winning after a controversial finale

In the women's draw, Frenchwoman Camille Serme continued her impressive run in the United States: after clinching the US Open last fall, she won back-to-back World Series titles in New York. Like in Philadelphia she had a tough road to the final, successively beating number 2 and number 1 in the world, Egypt's Nouran Gohar and Nour El Sherbini, both times in 4 games. The final against long time rival Laura Massaro was a tense affair. Serme won the first (13-11) but Massaro was in the driving seat in the next two games. The Frenchwoman has been so successful lately partly because of her ability to handle difficult situations, and she proved it again, coming back strong and dominating the next two games. She therefore maintains her 100% record in finals of major events … “I can't believe that I came back and won that match," she said to MC Will Carlin after the match, with tears in her eyes. "It was a strange match, we didn't play our best squash. I think we were both tired and a bit nervous. In the second and third games she was using the right tactic, slowing the pace down with some very nice lobs. My coach tried to wake me up, he even yelled at me a bit (laughing) … Today the most important thing was to fight, and I did. When the ToC was only a men event, I dreamed of playing it, so winning here is an amazing feeling.” “Camille dug very very deep to win this title," said her coach Philippe Signoret. "This tournament will be a milestone for the future.” Good news for the French number 1: her next tournaments will be in the US, first in Cleveland, and then in Chicago for the Windy City Open. The last player who won three World Series events in a row was Nicol David in 2014.

Camille Serme was her back against the wall against Laura Massaro but found a way to win her third major title

Photo credits: Mike Pepper