Number three seed Ben Coleman secured his sixth PSA World Tour title
after a titanic
3-2 victory over New Zealand's Martin Knight in the final of the Wasatch
Funds Salt Lake City Open, PSA M10 event.
The World No.63 booked his place in the showpiece event after a fine win
over top seed Henrik Mustonen while Knight bested Farhan Zaman in the
semi-final to seal his final berth.
Coleman started emphatically with a typically high-energy game plan as
he ran Knight into all four corners of the court, earning an 11-3
triumph in the process. The experienced Knight recovered well though in
the second to level things up.
A tense tie-break then ensued in the third game with neither player
giving the other any breathing space. Coleman engineered an opening in
the latter stages to go back in front with a 12-10 victory. Despite
being up against it, Knight refused to let Coleman get the better of him
in the fourth and stormed to an 11-2 win to send the match into a fifth
and final game.
The two traded a number of highly-contested blows as the match drew to a
close with Coleman coming back from 10-5 down to force another
tie-break. The Englishman eventually prevailed, outlasting his opponent
to claim an 11-3, 8-11, 12-10, 2-11, 13-11 victory and his second PSA
World Tour title of 2015.
“I'm really happy to win the tournament,” said Coleman.
“The match itself was tough. I think Martin played really well. I
thought he would be fresh for the final.
“I was aware that I had a harder semi-final than him but I left
everything out there and I'm happy I could get the win of course. I was
a little bit disappointed in the third game because I started slowly. I
think I relaxed a bit though and won a few quick points.
“I noticed him getting maybe a little bit tight. The fifth from 10-5 is
all a bit of a blur. I remember hitting some really good winners but I
wouldn't want to push it that close to be honest.
“At 10-5 I won one point and all of a sudden you get to 10-7, 10-8 and
then I felt like I was going to win which seems crazy. It's just the way
that squash goes. I'm sure Martin will be disappointed but that's what I
was here to do.
“I cut it tight in the end but I'm really happy to do well. It's tough
because squash can be an amazing place but it can be quite a lonely
place at times. He'll be disappointed, sure, but we've all been through
it.
“From my point of view he will bounce back but I'm looking to push on
now.”
Coleman into Salt Lake Open final
The World No.63, whose last title came at the Life Time Fitness Atlanta
Open at the start of the year, edged a tight opening game before
engineering some breathing space for himself in the second after
demonstrating an incredible amount of court coverage.
A resurgent Mustonen managed to claw a game back in the third after
recovering from a 7-3 deficit but Coleman kept up his frenetic energy on
court to earn an 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5 victory, securing his place in
the showpiece finale where he will face the experienced number two seed
Martin Knight.
“I’m very happy to win of course, that was my plan,” said Coleman.
“It was a tough game but a good one for the crowd. It was even better of
course that I won. I fully expected to have to play my best squash out
there.
“He [Mustonen] is the top seed here, he’s been quite high in the
rankings and he’s a very good player but I played how I wanted to play
out there. I’m happy that I was able to come out strong in the fourth,
forget about the third and get a good lead to win convincingly in the
end.
“A few people have said to me [about Coleman’s court coverage]. It’s
nice to hear and it’s definitely a strength of mine and something that I
am always working on. As long as that can help me become a better squash
player then I am happy of course.
“The last time I played him [Knight] was about a year and a half, maybe
two years ago. I actually beat him then out in Canada. It was a tough
match though and I fully expect another tough match.
“I’ll be ready though after a nice recovery and I plan to go all the
way. He’s a bit older which means he does carry a lot of experience but
it does also mean that he might get a little bit more tired than me.
We’ll find that out but it’s going to be a tough game in many ways.
“I think it will be a great game and a great final.”
Knight meanwhile booked his spot in the final after an assured straight
games victory over Farhan Zaman and the 31-year-old New Zealander is yet
to drop a game in the tournament.