By A. J. Hakim
If there were any doubts about Karim Darwish’s form following a month off to nurse a sore back, they were quashed in the 2010 Motor City Open, presented by Suburban Volvo. Darwish, the tournament’s top seed, dominated three-seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar of Malaysia en route to an 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 finals victory. The Egyptian’s supreme performance capped a weekend in which he swept through the draw without losing a game.
Darwish took home $6,400—of a tournament-record $40, 000 purse—and a Rolex watch from Greenstone Jewelers. The MCO win was Darwish’s first appearance at the MCO—hosted by the Birmingham Athletic Club north of Detroit, Michigan’s premier squash venue—since 2004 when he made it to the semifinals as a 23-year old ranked No. 9 in the world. Since then, he has lived up to his promise, dominating pro squash in 2009 as World No. 1. This was only his second event after a back injury sidelined him last December.
From his opening-round match against Alan Clyne (11-9, 11-7, 11-4), to his drubbing of Mark Krajcsak (11-7, 11-3, 11-2) and then fellow Egyptian Omar Abdel Aziz (11-4, 11-5, 11-3) in the semis, Darwish dictated the pace with cat-like quickness and deadly shot-making.
In the bottom half of the draw, Iskandar—ranked World No. 20—reached the final after upsetting Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the second seed and World No. 9. Using the BAC’s bouncy court to his advantage, the speedy Iskandar forced the 33-year old Lincou into long, exhausting rallies. Down 1-2 in games, the Malaysian rallied to win in the tourney’s best match: 5-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4.
Though Iskandar entered the final having lost all four of his previous matches against Darwish, he had taken the Egyptian to the limit in Hong Kong last October. But he would be no match for the top seed here.
Darwish quickly found his rhythm and jumped out to a 9-2 lead in game one.” I didn’t expect that I’d be that comfortable, but I knew that he was a little bit tired from (the Lincou) match,” said Darwish, who improved to world No. 4 in the February rankings. “I took advantage of it, and I tried to play more offensive, tried to attack every ball and tried to get him to the back as much as possible.”
Iskandar’s lone opportunity—a 6-1 lead in the second game—vanished quickly as he struggled to maintain his aggressiveness, dropping four straight points on errors. The Malaysian’s confidence plummeted, along with his momentum.
“It’s those differences that make a match,” said Iskandar afterwards, “and someone like Darwish, who likes to keep a good rhythm, you need to keep (rhythm) with him – or break it. Today, I chose to keep it with him, which probably wasn’t the right thing to do.” Back on top, Darwish closed out the second game and slammed the door in three.
“I was really focused, and really wanted to finish it as quick as possible,” said Darwish. “I didn’t want to go in and play a long match, so I think I played really well today.”
Other notables at the MCO’s 11th annual event included fifth-seed Julian Illingworth. As the highest-ranked American player ever at World No. 32, Illingworth was the crowd’s Yankee hope. Alas, he was upset in the first round by Chris Ryder of England. Olli Tuominen, the 2008 MCO winner, went down in the quarters to Abdel Aziz, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6. The event’s Cinderella story was qualifier Ryan Cuskelly of Australia whose spirited play won over the weekend’s sell-out crowds. He put together another gem against Lincou in the quarters before succumbing: 11-6, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6.
In the end, though, the Motor City belonged to the dazzling Darwish. “I really liked the atmosphere here at the club,” he said at the winner’s ceremony, arms full with trophy, a check from Suburban Volvo Chairman and CEO David Fischer, and the coveted Rolex watch presented by Robert Greenstone of Greenstone Jewelers. “The people are so friendly. I really enjoyed it this week.”
Find full tournament coverage at TheMotorCityOpen.com
