World number one Nick Matthew is set to become the third Englishman this millennium to win the title twice when the 2011 Delaware Investments US Open Squash Championships get underway on Friday (30 September) in Philadelphia.
The fifth PSA World Series event of the year is taking place for the first time on the campus of Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. The tournament will feature 22 of the top 25 men in the world competing for the $115,000 prize fund and the most prestigious squash title in the United States.
After winning the title for the first time in 2007, Yorkshireman Matthew is seeded to reclaim the crown - following triumphs by fellow countrymen Peter Nicol in 2002 and 2003, and Lee Beachill in 2004 and 2005.
Matthew, who has reached the final of all four PSA World Series events this year and was runner-up in last week's ROWE British Grand Prix in Manchester, will take on a qualifier in the opening round before facing either Omar Mosaad (Egypt) or Cameron Pilley (Australia) for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 31-year-old from Sheffield is expected to renew his domestic rivalry with England No2 James Willstrop in the semi-finals. World No4 Willstrop, a shock second round casualty in Manchester, opens his Philadelphia campaign against former England team-mate Alister Walker, the New York-based 29-year-old now representing Botswana.
Egypt's world No3 Karim Darwish is expected to line up against Matthew in the final. The former world number one from Cairo, who reached the British Grand Prix semi-finals, faces top-ranked Malaysian Mohd Azlan Iskandar in the first round.
Egypt's Wael El Hindi is the event's defending champion. But the New York-based former world No8 has a tough first round hurdle - third-seeded compatriot Amr Shabana, the four-time World Open champion who was a semi-finalist last week in Manchester.
Delaware Investments US Open 1st round draw:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Qualifier
Omar Mosaad (EGY) v Cameron Pilley (AUS)
Tom Richards (ENG) v Qualifier
[7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) v Stewart Boswell (AUS)
[5] Peter Barker (ENG) v Olli Tuominen (FIN)
Hisham Mohamed Ashour (EGY) v Qualifier
Daryl Selby (ENG) v Qualifier
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) v Alister Walker (BOT)
[4] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Wael El Hindi (EGY)
Adrian Grant (ENG) v Qualifier
Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v Qualifier
[8] David Palmer (AUS) v Qualifier
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v Christopher Gordon (USA)
Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) v Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Jonathan Kemp (ENG) v Qualifier
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
1st qualifying round draw:
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v John White (SCO)
Henrik Mustonen (FIN) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
Siddharth Suchde (IND) v Jamie MacAulay (SCO)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v Kamran Khan (MAS)
Chris Ryder (ENG) v Graham Bassett (USA)
Martin Knight (NZL) v Peter Dylan Murray (USA)
Joey Barrington (ENG) v Iago Cornes (ESP)
Simon Rosner (GER) v Matthew Karwalski (AUS)
Tarek Momen (EGY) v Adrian Waller (ENG)
Robbie Temple (ENG) v Joe Russell (ENG)
Julien Balbo (FRA) v Todd Harrity (USA)
Julian Illingworth (USA) v Shawn Delierre (CAN)
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) v Zac Alexander (AUS)
Jan Koukal (CZE) v Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY)
Alan Clyne (SCO) v Christopher Hanson (USA)
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) v Gilly Lane (USA)
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