Canary Wharf Classic Lights up East Wintergarden - Professional Squash Association

Omar Mosaad is the title favourite in Canary Wharf

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The Canary Wharf Classic, PSA M70 tournament begins on Monday March 7 with a number of the world’s leading players – headed by World Championship runner-up Omar Mosaad – descending on the iconic East Wintergarden which has showcased some fascinating battles and scintillating showdowns in its esteemed 12-year history.

Now entering its 13th year and making the step up to a PSA M70 event for the first time, the Canary Wharf Classic sees Mosaad lead the charge as he eyes up an 11th PSA World Tour title.

The Egyptian has been in fine fettle in recent months since his defeat to Gregory Gaultier in November’s PSA Men’s World Championship with two semi-final finishes at the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open and the Windy City Open presented by Guggenheim Partners and EquiTrust Life Insurance Company, in addition to a final appearance at the Taeq SquashColombia PSA Open, allowing him to move up to his career-best ranking of World No.4, a position he has held since December.

Despite his good form, Mosaad is still yet to lift any silverware on the PSA World Tour so far this season but, seeded first for the event, the ‘Hammer of Thor’ is the favourite to capture what would be his maiden PSA M70 crown. A testing fixture against Chris Simpson lies in store for Mosaad though as Simpson makes his first appearance in Canary Wharf since 2012.

Germany’s Simon Rösner is also hunting for silverware and takes the second seed spot as he kickstarts his attempts to end a 16-month PSA World Tour title drought. The World No.9 has struggled to reach the latter stages of tournaments over the past year but followed up a semi-final finish at the UCS Swedish Open with a strong display against Mohamed Elshorbagy in the Windy City Open where he only narrowly lost out to the World No.1.

The 28-year-old, whose last triumph came at the Reidbuilt Homes Edmonton Open in November 2014, gets his tournament under way against Charles Sharpes.

Fresh off the back of becoming a viral sensation after a stunning dive and retrieval during the Windy City Open, Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet will be looking to capitalise on the fine performances that have seen him reach the last four of both the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions and the Motor City Open over the past three months.

World No.10 Castagnet is aiming to add a third PSA World Tour crown to his collection, with his last success coming back in 2014, and will line up against Joe Lee in round one.

Former World No.1 James Willstrop returns to East Wintergarden to challenge for his fifth Canary Wharf Classic title as he looks to improve on last year’s quarter-final finish. ‘The Marksman’, who is currently ranked 13th in the world, made a remarkable return to form in the World Championship after a stunning victory over Elshorbagy but has struggled since and been unable to make it past the second round in any of his recent events. If the Yorkshireman’s unparalleled accuracy and expert shot selection come to the fore however, he could be a real force to be reckoned with as he looks to reign supreme in London again. He will face the exciting New Zealander Paul Coll in the opening round of a draw that also contains the likes of World No.11 Marwan Elshorbagy, Hong Kong Open runner-up Cameron Pilley and England’s Daryl Selby.

Main Draw: PSA M70, Canary Wharf Classic, London, England
[1] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
[Q] Declan James (ENG) v [7] Daryl Selby (ENG)
[8] Borja Golan (ESP) v [WC] Ben Coleman (ENG)
Fares Dessouki (EGY) v [4] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY)
[3] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [Q] Joe Lee (ENG)
Paul Coll (NZL) v [5] James Willstrop (ENG)
[6] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [Q] Mohamed Reda (EGY)
[Q] Charles Sharpes (ENG) v [2] Simon Rösner (GER)

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