Nick Matthew heads stellar line-up by the Bay
By NATHAN CLARKE
Five of the greatest players to grace a squash court during the last decade, including the spellbindingly talented three-time and current world champion Ramy Ashour, will find themselves going toe-to-toe in what promises to be the most competitive NetSuite Open ever in San Francisco this September.
In a star-studded field the PSA M100 tournament, which has been growing in reputation as one of the standout events on the PSA World Tour over the past few years, will feature five recent World No.1s including Ashour, four-time Egyptian world champion Amr Shabana, England’s three-time world champion Nick Matthew, four-time World Championship runner-up Gregory Gaultier and James Willstrop, the Englishman who topped the standing for eleven months in 2012.
Frenchman Gaultier returns to the tournament, which is played out at the iconic Justin Herman Plaza, as defining champion having beaten Shabana to the title in 2014 but will face his stiffest challenge yet if he is to retain the title – with the likes of Colombian World No.5 and PanAm Games gold medal winner Miguel Angel Rodriguez, World No.6 Simon Rösner and World No.7 Peter Barker also among the field in a mouthwatering line-up.
The action gets under way on Friday September 25 when squash fans in the Golden Gate City are certain to be treated to some electrifying action and New York native Mike Lewis, the World No.199 and tournament wild card, will be hoping to make his mark on the professional tour with a strong showing.
“We are delighted to have so many of the world’s top players competing in the 2015 NetSuite Open in what looks certain to be one of the most competitive and entertaining tournaments on the squash calendar this year,” said NetSuite Open promoter John Nimick.
“We were enthralled by the exploits of Gregory Gaultier and Amr Shabana in 2014 and to see them joined by the likes of Ramy Ashour, James Willstrop and Nick Matthew is a mouth-watering prospect for squash fans in the region.
“Not only that but with dangerously talented players such as Miguel Angel Rodriguez and Simon Rösner coming into this tournament largely unmentioned it wouldn’t surprise me if we saw some major shock during the tournament and I for one cannot wait for the competition to get underway.”
2015 NetSuite Open M100 – Entry List (Seed, Name, Nationality, Ranking)
1) Nick Matthew (ENG) [2] 2) Gregory Gaultier (FRA) [3] 3) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) [4] 4) Ramy Ashour (EGY) [5] 5) Simon Rösner (GER) [6] 6) Peter Barker (ENG) [7] 7) Amr Shabana (EGY) [10] 8) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) [11] 9) James Willstrop (ENG) [18] 10) Cameron Pilley (AUS) [19] 11) Nicolas Mueller (SUI) [22] WC) Mike Lewis (USA) [199]
The 2015 NetSuite Open takes place at Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco, with tickets for the tournament priced from $40 and available to purchase by visiting http://netsuiteopensquash.tix.com