RESULTS:    JP Morgan Tournament of Champions, New York, USA

2nd round:
[10] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-3, 6-1 ret. (15m)
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Yasser El Halaby (EGY) 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (29m)
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [16] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-9 (82m)
[7] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [9] Peter Barker (ENG) 2-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-2, 11-8 (81m)
[6] David Palmer (AUS) bt [12] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-4, 11-9, 11-1 (30m)
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (51m)
[13] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [8] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 6-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (73m)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [11] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (31m)


Egypt's Amr Shabana, seeded to win his third title in four years, bowed out of the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions after sustaining a knee injury during his match against England's Nick Matthew in the $117,500 PSA Tour Super Series Gold squash event at Grand Central Terminal in New York.

Matthew, who won his first round by a walkover, was on court for just 15 minutes before Shabana retired with the score at 11-3, 6-1 in the Englishman's favour.

The 12th seed will be well rested for his quarter-final encounter with fellow Yorkshireman James Willstrop. The fifth seed played a relaxed match against Yasser El Halaby, the Princeton University graduate who had a roaring fan contingent in the stands. 

But the 24-year-old Egyptian did not have the experience to mount a significant challenge to Willstrop, who won 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 in 29 minutes - and will now hope to extend his 8-7 Tour head-to-head count against his England team-mate.

Third seed Ramy Ashour narrowly escaped with a victory at Grand Central Terminal to hold onto the opportunity to defend the title that he won for the first time last year. The 21-year-old Egyptian found himself in a real battle against 16th seed Laurens Jans Anjema who elevated his game to take the reigning World Champion to the brink of defeat.

After winning the first game 11-9, Ashour quickly lost the second 3-11.  The 26-year-old Dutchman jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second, but Ashour evened the score at four all.  After several lead exchanges, the third seed secured the third game 12-10.  Anjema responded by winning the fourth 13-11.  Down 7-9 in the fifth, the Egyptian found his touch, winning four straight points to stay in the tournament.

"I feel like I have lost my technique, which is the worst thing that can happen to a squash player," said Ashour, perhaps feeling the pressure of being the sport’s young superstar and world champion.  "When I got out on the court today, I felt like everything was happening all at once."

Ashour’s quarter-final opponent will be former world number one Thierry Lincou, the only player to claim two consecutive victories over Ashour in the past year. The 32-year-old Frenchman had to make a big comeback in his match against England’s Peter Barker to reach the last eight.

After losing the first two games to the ninth seed, 2-11, 7-11, Lincou was energised to turn the tide when his fellow Frenchman Renan Lavigne admonished him:  "You cannot lose this match 3-0," said his French team-mate.  Lincou’s response:  "I decided I just had to hit the ball properly."  And he proceeded to do so – adding power and length to his hitting, and also throwing in some drop shots to win the next three games 11-7, 11-2, 11-8. 

Quarter-final line-up:
[10] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [5] James Willstrop (ENG)
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [7] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [6] David Palmer (AUS)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) v [13] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)