England’s Tom Ford produced a majestic display to see off Geoffrey
Demont 3-1 in the final of the Goodlife Open, PSA M10 tournament and
secure his second PSA World Tour title of 2015.
Ford came into the final full of confidence after shocking home
favourite Shawn Delierre in the previous round while Demont had been
in fine form in the build up to the showpiece event, dropping just a
solitary game as he romped to the final in Ottawa, Canada.
Despite his semi-final fixture against Delierre going the full
distance to five games, Ford came out fighting in the early stages
of the match and went two games ahead against an out-of-sorts
looking Demont.
The Frenchman made amends though in the third as a number of
attacking shots enabled him to rise to a 9-2 lead. Ford clawed his
way back into the game but Demont saw it out courtesy of some
stunning rallies that saw him clinch it with a tight backhand drop
shot.
However, the effort of taking the third game appeared to take its
toll on the 24-year-old who succumbed to an 11-2, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8
defeat in Ford’s favour.
“The previous match [against Delierre] took a lot out of me
emotionally and I’m really happy to win today,” said Ford.
Gruelling Matches Par For The Course At Goodlife
Open
The Goodlife Open, PSA M10 main draw begins on Thursday November 5
with a veritable feast of action set to descend on Ottawa, Canada.
Three-time winner Shawn Delierre is the hot favourite as he makes
his first appearance at this event since 2012 where he defeated
Martin Knight in the final to capture the title.
The 33-year-old Canadian, who also won this tournament in 2006 and
2007, has been in decent form throughout 2015, winning the PSA
Regatas Resistencia Open five months ago in addition to reaching the
final of the Paraguay Open.
Delierre will be eager to add to the 15 PSA World Tour titles he has
picked up so far in his extensive career and the World No.56 opens
up against compatriot David Baillargeon in round one.
Reiko Peter has won a trio of PSA World Tour titles this year and
represents Delierre’s closest challenger to the crown.
The number two seed was eliminated from the first round of the
Welaptega Bluenose Squash Classic in his last PSA World Tour
appearance but will be determined to bounce back in strong fashion
in Canada. Peter faces Lyell Fuller in the first round.
England’s Tom Ford is also in the mix as he searches for his second
PSA World Tour title of the year. Worcester-born Ford captured the
Marlborough Open in January but failed to make it out of of
qualifying at the recent CLIC Sargent St George’s Hill Open.
Ford lines up against Egypt’s Ahmed Effat Ashoush in the opening
round and could face number five seed Joe Chapman in a tasty looking
quarter-final clash.
Frenchman Geoffrey Demont has plummeted down the World Rankings in
recent months but showed that he was approaching something
resembling his best form when he achieved a semi-final spot at the
LOC Charing Cross Classic earlier on in the month. With a solitary
PSA World Tour title to his name, Demont has shown that he certainly
has a degree of title-winning pedigree but he will have to be at his
very best to challenge in Ottawa. Jesus Camacho is his opponent in
round one.
