Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet defeats Omar Mosaad to win squash's Canary Wharf Classic

The World No.10 downed four-time winner James Willstrop and World No.12 Cameron Pilley en route to the finale where he played with grit, determination and skill to gain revenge for his quarter-final defeat to Mosaad just two weeks ago in the 2016 Windy City Open and lift just the third, and most prestigious, PSA World Tour title of his career – without hitting a single error in the process.

Castagnet began in impressive fashion, storming to a 6-2 lead in the first game only to see Mosaad mount a resurgence to take the next nine points unanswered and take the lead. 

Lightening looked like it would strike again in the second when, after going 6-1 up, Castagnet once again saw his lead cut to just two points. But he held his nerve to press ahead and level the scoreboard and with confidence restored the 29-year-old enjoyed control of proceedings from that point onwards, seeing out the match 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 after a whirlwind four days in London that saw him spend over 250 minutes on court.

“I can’t believe I have won this title tonight,” said Castagnet. “This is such a prestigious tournament and to put my name on the trophy with players like Thierry Lincou, James Willstrop and Nick Matthew – some of the best players in the World – is a great pleasure for me and a huge achievement.

“Omar and I had a great battle in Chicago a few weeks ago when he won 3-1 but today it was my turn. I tried to be more aggressive and play to the front of the court and force mistakes from him.

“He came back very strong in the first game and in the second he started to come back again and I was worried. But getting that point to go to 7-4 was important mentally and I am happy with how I played.” 

Speaking after the match World No.4 Mosaad said: “I have played three tournaments in a row and it was tough on the body, but I’m really happy with reaching the final in two out of three. 

“I truly enjoyed playing in front of the Canary Wharf crowd this week and I hope I’ll be back next year.”