Tournament organisers couldn' t have dreamed of a better finale with the top two seeds set to stage one of the most intriguing squash battles seen on Australian soil.

It pits the incumbent world No1, the hard-working Englishman without a weakness in his game, against one of the most freakishly-gifted players the sport has seen.

Such is Ashour's brilliance, the 22-year-old Egyptian is threatening to take the sport in an entirely new direction of aggression. Spectators and opponents alike are constantly left in awe at the youngster's unrivalled ability with a racquet, from all corners of the court.

Matthew knew exactly what he was up against if he was to hang onto his title as the world's best.

''Ramy will be wanting to prove that he's the No1 because he had the No1 previous to me,'' Matthew said.

''He's unique, you have to almost train differently for him than you do the other guys.

For more on this story, see the print edition of today's Canberra Times.