Rising English squash star Tom Ford celebrated his first PSA World
Tour title on home soil when he beat fellow countryman Mark Fuller
in the final of the Marlborough College Open, the inaugural PSA
Challenger 5 event at Marlborough College in Marlborough in the
English county of Wiltshire.
Ford, the 21-year-old top seed from Cheltenham, secured his
anticipated place in the final without dropping a game.
His opponent was the event’s eighth seed, who made his breakthrough
in the quarter-finals by taking out second seed Adam Murrills – a
straight games win he followed by getting the better of fourth seed
James Earles, another Englishman.
Ford led throughout the first game of the final, but
Nottingham-based underdog Fuller came back strongly in the second to
reach game-ball at 10-8. Fuller fought hard to move to ten-all
before the rally of the tournament gave the favourite his own
game-ball which he duly took to move 2/0 ahead.
Fuller refused to die down and won the third before Ford regrouped
in the fourth - opening up a commanding lead before taking the title
with his first championship ball.
The 11-7, 12-10, 7-11, 11-6 victory in 62 minutes marks the third
PSA Tour title Ford’s career.
“I'm really pleased to have started the year with a win,” the
Worcester-born World No.81. “Even better to do it with my family and
friends there to support me.”
