England's Nick Matthew and Egypt's Ramy Ashour Thursday entered the final of the Saudi International Squash Tournament at the Sunset Beach in Al-Khobar. Besides the cash prize that either Ashour or Matthew will be awarded, the winner will become No. 1 in the first PSA world rankings of 2010. Nick Matthew, the first Englishman to make the Saudi final, reached the 30th PSA Tour final of his career when he beat England teammate Adrian Grant 11-3, 3-11, 11-6, 11-7 in the first semifinal. Despite suffering from food poisoning, left-handed Londoner Grant – competing in his first Super Series semi – extended third seed Matthew for 61 minutes. Top seed Ramy Ashour was in sensational form in the second semifinal, where he fought back in the second game to beat experienced Australian David Palmer, the 33-year-old fourth seed, 11-8, 14-12, 11-3 in 38 minutes. Palmer has appeared four times in the Saudi semifinals and was bidding to make the final for the first time. Ashour said that the tournament is the biggest event, the biggest prize money and it is the biggest in everything. Describing the final match, the Egyptian said it is going to be the most important match for him and believed that it is of the same importance to Nick Matthew. He added that the only thing he could do is that he does his best. Ashour pointed out that it was in his mind that his opponent Palmer was older and more experienced that he himself was, but he also trusted his fitness energetic performance. The Saudi International is celebrating its fifth year as one of the leading events on the PSA World Tour – and for the fifth time, the winner will go on to top the world rankings. The final will be Ashour and Matthew's eighth career PSA World Tour clash. It will also be the pair's third final meeting this year, and only eight days after Ashour clinched victory in the climax of the PSA Masters in India. Ashour currently boasts a 4-3 lead, but it was Matthew who prevailed when they last met in Saudi Arabia, in the quarterfinals in December 2008.
