CW Countdown : Longest Matches
LONGEST MATCHES IN CANARY WHARF HISTORY
BY ALAN THATCHER
Mostafa Asal and Diego Elias return to London as the number one and three seeds for our 20th anniversary GillenMarkets Canary Wharf Classic after an epic semi-final last year that became the equal longest match in the tournament’s history.
Asal and Elias competed at full throttle for 127 minutes before the Egyptian overcame the Peruvian 11-4 in the fifth game.
The length of the contest equalled the phenomenal battle between English rivals Nick Matthew and James Willstrop in 2010.
That was also a semi-final. While Matthew went on to beat Gregory Gaultier in the 2010 final, Asal’s exploits against Elias left him with depleted energy reserves in the final against Fares Dessouky.
Their battle in the 2015 quarter-finals was one of the greatest matches we have seen at Canary Wharf, with Selby squeezing home 14-12 in the fifth after 125 minutes.
Golan lost in one minute less to Fares Dessouky in the 2017 quarter-finals and I thought it worth recording that Paul Coll’s first round win over Simon Rosner that year lasted 116 minutes.
Our longest best-of-three match also took place last year when Mostafa Asal overcame Joel Makin 11-9, 11-13, 11-8 in 95 minutes in the quarter-finals.
2004:
Final: James Willstrop (Eng) 4-2 Thierry Lincou (Fra) 9-7, 9-5, 5-9, 9-4, 9-10, 9-2 (87m)
2005:
Semi-Final: John White (Sco) 3-2 Jonathon Power (Can) 9-4, 9-6, 7-9, 0-9, 9-2 (81m)
2006:
Quarter-Final: Anthony Ricketts (Aus) beat Gregory Gaultier 11-8, 4-11, 8-11, 11-7, 14-12 (105m)
2007:
Semi-Final: John White (Sco) 3-2 Thierry Lincou (Fra) 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 10-12, 11-9 (95m)
2008:
Final: James Willstrop (Eng) 3-2 Cameron Pilley (Aus) 9-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3 (78m)
2009:
First Round: Peter Barker (Eng) 3-1 Daryl Selby (Eng) 11-13, 11-8, 11-4, 11-9 (94m)
2010:
Semi-Final: Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-2 James Willstrop (Eng) 11-7, 5-11, 18-20, 11-8, 10-8 rtd (127m)
2011:
First Round: Daryl Selby (Eng) 3-2 Tom Richards (Eng) 11-13, 11-9, 11-7, 13-15, 11-9 (97m)
2012:
Semi-Final: Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-2 Peter Barker (Eng) 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3 (94m)
2013:
First Round: Daryl Selby (Eng) 3-2 Simon Rosner (Ger) 11-9, 4-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5 (85m)
Qualifying: Gregoire Marche (Fra) 3-2 Chris Ryder (Eng) 12-10, 5-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-6 (85m)
2014:
Qualifying: Charles Sharpes (Eng) 3-2 Steve Finitsis (Aus) 11-13, 11-9, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 (92m)
2015:
Quarter-Finals: Daryl Selby (Eng) 3-2 Borja Golan (Esp) 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 3-11, 14-12 (125m)
2016:
Semi-Final: Omar Mosaad (Egy) 3-2 Borja Golan (Esp) 8-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (96m)
2017:
Semi-Final: Fares Dessouky (Egy) 3-2 Borja Golan (Esp) 12-10, 15-17, 13-11, 11-13, 11-5 (124m)
First Round: Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-2 Simon Rosner (Ger) 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9 (116m)
2018:
Final: Mohamed ElShorbagy (Egy) 3-2 Tarek Momen (Egy) 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3 (86m)
2019:
First Round: Borja Golan (Esp) 3-2 Cameron Pilley (Aus) 11-8, 6-11, 11-8 (65m)
2020:
Final: Mohamed ElShorbagy (Egy) 3-1 Ali Farag (Egy) 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 15-13 (79m)
2021:
Final: Paul Coll (Nzl) 3-1 Ali Farag (Egy) 7-11, 13-11, 11-5, 11-6 (69m)
2022:
Semi-Final: Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-2 Diego Elias (Per) 14-16, 11-9, 11-13, 11-8, 11-4 (127m)
