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Borja Battles To Motor City Success
Spain’s Borja Golan
made the most of his first appearance in the Motor City Open by taking
the $30,000 PSA Tour squash event title after beating top seed Adrian
Grant at Birmingham Athletic Club in Detroit,
USA.
The second seed took home
$5,000 and a Rolex watch after an emotionally-tense, physical struggle that
lasted over 90 minutes, not including a break in play to dress a wound suffered
by Grant.
Golan triumphed 10-12,
11-9, 11-5, 14-12 in a battle that featured 71 lets, a whack to Grant’s shoulder
and that six-minute delay to bandage a deep scrape on Grant’s knee.
"When there’s two clashing
styles like that, it gives way to a lot of lets," judged referee Julian
Wellings, head pro of the host club. "They kept going for drop-counter-drop
and, because these guys are so quick to the ball, you’re bound to get in each
other’s way and that was lending to a lot of lets because they couldn’t get
through each other."
Grant, starting composed,
took the opening game - but the Englishman quickly grew frustrated with Golan,
who gave little ground to allow Grant around him to retrieve balls.
"I found it quite
frustrating to get around him," conceded the Londoner after the match. "On
these courts you have to win six or seven shots to actually win the rally. It’s
not like a glass court where you get rewarded for attacking, attacking. Here,
you really have to work it.
"In the beginning of the
fourth I got a cramp in my leg. I’ve never had a cramp, so once that happened I
started compensating and using my left leg a lot. And then I started getting it
in both, so, once that happens, I felt I needed a wheelchair or something! I
knew I was pretty much done after that because I couldn’t run."
Golan kept up the pressure
to earn his 19th title on the PSA Tour.
"He’s a very good player,"
said the victorious Spaniard of his opponent. "He plays very tight shots and
has one the best basic games in the tour. And in his forehand he’s very
dangerous, so I just tried to put more pressure on his backhand, and tried to
make longer and put a lot of pace all the time, and it paid off because he was
more tired than me and he started to cramp."
Grant & Golan Make Motor
City Final
The top two
seeds Adrian Grant and Borja Golan will contest the final of the
Motor City Open after securing straight games wins in the semi-finals of
the $30,000 PSA Tour squash event at Birmingham Athletic Club in
Detroit, USA.
Grant, the
favourite from England, brought to an end the 'giant-killing' run of unseeded
Egyptian Tarek Momen. The 20-year-old from Cairo upset two higher-seeded
Australians, Stewart Boswell and Cameron Pilley, to claim his
surprise place in the semis.
But
left-handed Londoner Grant was too strong for the promising Egyptian, winning
11-9, 11-9, 12-10 to earn his 21st PSA Tour final appearance - but his first in
Detroit at his third attempt.
Second seed
Golan, in his maiden Motor City Open appearance, also defeated a surprise
opponent, Olli Tuominen. The Flying Finn, a firm favourite in Detroit,
earned his place in the last four after upsetting Laurens Jan Anjema, the
third seed from the Netherlands.
But the
in-form Spanish number one cruised to an 11-5, 11-4, 12-10 win over Tuominen to
claim the 26th Tour final appearance of his career.
Momen Maintains Momentum In Detroit
Just 24 hours after
upsetting fourth seed Cameron Pilley in the first round of the Motor
City Open, unseeded Egyptian Tarek Momen struck again to reach the
semi-finals of the $30,000 PSA Tour squash event in its ninth year at
Birmingham Athletic Club in Detroit,
USA.
The 20-year-old from
Cairo, ranked 29 in the world, beat fifth seed Stewart Boswell - the
world No19, who is also from Australia - 11-9, 11-8, 11-7.
Momen will now face top
seed Adrian Grant for a place in the final. London-born left-hander
Grant, the world No11, eliminated North American interest in the event after
beating Canada's No8 seed Shahier Razik 11-8, 15-13, 11-7.
Olli Tuominen
produced his best result on the PSA Tour for almost a year when he upset
Laurens Jan Anjema, the third seed from the Netherlands. The sixth-seeded
Finn from Helsinki battled for four games to overcome Anjema 11-8, 11-7, 5-11,
11-8 - and will now face second seed Borja Golan in the other semi-final.
Golan, the Spanish number
one, beat Egypt's Hisham Mohd Ashour, the No7 seed, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6.
Tarek Takes Pilley In Detroit Upset
Unseeded Egyptian Tarek
Momen pulled off the only upset on the opening day of the Motor City Open
when he despatched fourth seed Cameron Pilley in straight games to claim
an unexpected place in the quarter-finals of the $30,000 PSA Tour squash
event in its ninth year at Birmingham Athletic Club in Detroit,
USA.
The 20-year-old from
Cairo, ranked 29 in the world, beat his Australian opponent ranked 12 places
higher 11-9, 13-11, 11-4.
Momen will now face
another Australian Stewart Boswell, after the fifth seed from Canberra
beat fellow countryman Ryan Cuskelly, a qualifier, 11-4, 11-4, 11-4.
Top seeds Adrian Grant
and Borja Golan are on course to meet in a final showdown. Grant, the
event favourite from England, beat compatriot and tournament organiser Julian
Wellings, the Birmingham Athletic Club pro, 11-7, 11-6, 11-3.
Spanish number one Borja
Golan, the second seed, defeated Egyptian qualifier Yasser El Halaby
11-5, 11-6, 11-3.
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