England's Adrian Grant picked up his 21st career PSA World Tour title
after he saw off Egypt's Karim Ali Fathi in the final of the 2014 Lagos
International Squash Classic, PSA International 25 event taking place in
Lagos, Nigeria.
After seeing off Pakistan’s Farhan Zaman in the semi-final stage, Grant,
the number one seed, continued his run of form to ease past number five
seed Fathi, who earned his place in the final after an impressive 3-1
win over Omar Abdel Meguid, putting in a dominant display to take the
match and the trophy with an 11-9, 11-6, 11-2 victory and complete a
week of action that saw him drop just one game en route to the title.
It was Pakistan's Danish Atlas Khan that caused Grant the most
difficulty during their quarter-final match-up, after he breezed past
qualifier Jonas Daehler in the opening round, as the 34-year-old
Londoner stormed through the field to win his first tournament since the
2013 Coronation London Open.
Victory ensures that the World No.30 goes into the 2014 Qatar PSA World
Championship, which begins this week in Doha, in fine form and he'll be
aiming to capitalise on that when he begins his campaign against a
qualifier on Friday November 14.
Seeds
Regain Control In Lagos Classic
#PSAWorldTour
Tp seeds Adrian Grant and Omar Abdel Meguid moved into the semi-finals
of the 2014 Lagos International Squash Classic, PSA International 25
event in Nigeria, as balance was restored on day two of action.
After earning surprise berths in the quarter-finals after the retirement
of both their opponents on day one of the tournament, local Nigerian
hopefuls Babatunde Ajagbe and Adewale Amao bowed out of the competition
at the hands of Pakistan's Farhan Zaman and Egyptian Karim Ali Fathi,
respectively.
Wildcard Ajagbe, the World No.177, got off to a promising start in his
encounter with Zaman, taking the first game 11-7, but the Pakistani,
ranked World No.69, showed his class to bounce back and race away to the
take the next three games, including a comprehensive 11-1 victory in the
fourth to seal the match.
Amao, the World No.467, has no such joy against Fathi, with the World
No.47 putting him to the sword, completing an emphatic 3-0 victory in
just 28-minutes.
Grant and Meguid both ensured they remain in contention to contest the
final with both players come through hard-fought encounters against
Danish Atlas Khan and Peter Creed, respectively, with both men
completing 3-1 victories in just over an hour of play.
Nigerian
Duo Move Into Lagos Quarter-finals
#PSAWorldTour
Local Nigerian squash players Babatunde Ajagbe and Adewale Amao, the
World No.177 and No.467, will carry home hopes into the quarter-finals
of the Lagos International Squash Classic, PSA International 25 event,
after progressing through the first round at the expense of the
tournament's number three and four seeds.
Ajagbe, the tournament wildcard, earned his place in the quarter-finals
after South African Shaun Le Roux, the World No.41, was forced to retire
after just 5-minutes of action with Amao, who earned his place in the
main draw after coming through qualification, progressing courtesy of
the retirement of Pakistan's Nasir Iqbal after 60-minutes of their
encounter.
The pair will now go into quarter-final encounters against Pakistan's
Farhan Zaman and Egypt's Karim Ali Fathi, respectively, when they'll be
aiming to keep alive their hopes of winning the first PSA World Tour
tournament to take place in Nigeria since 2008.
Elsewhere, top seeds Adrian Grant and Omar Abdel Meguid cruised through
their first round encounters to join Danish Atlas Khan and Peter Creed
in the quarter-finals.