Palmer Powers
To Rocky Mountain Success
Veteran
Australian David Palmer notched up the 27th Tour title of his illustrious
squash career when he upset favourite Laurens Jan Anjema in the final of
the Calgary Winter Club Rocky Mountain Open in Canada.
The
34-year-old from Lithgow in New South Wales reached the final of the PSA
World Tour International 35 event at Calgary Winter Club in
Calgary after holding off the challenge of rising Swiss star Nicolas
Mueller in four games.
Dutchman
Anjema, ranked 12 in the world, had to overcome Omar Mosaad in the other
semi, beating the world No16 from Egypt also in four games.
But the final
was the standout match of the championship in its second year - in which Palmer,
a four-time British Open champion and twice World Open champion,
recovered from 2/1 down to topple Anjema 11-7, 5-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-6.
"It was a
phenomenal final and the highlight of our event," exclaimed event spokesman
Ian Park. "The two players had a fiercely competitive match, but above
anything else it was the classiest match that I have ever seen.
"These two
players, along with player referees, were amazing representatives of the game
and promoted squash in the best possible light."
It was a
sensational conclusion to his Calgary campaign for the now US-based Palmer, who
had already extended his record as the current player with the most appearances
in PSA Tour finals by reaching his 54th.
Top Seeds To
Contest Calgary Climax
The top two
seeds Laurens Jan Anjema and David Palmer will contest the final
of the Calgary Winter Club Rocky Mountain Open after surviving
four-game semi-finals in the PSA World Tour International 35 squash event
in its second year at Calgary Winter Club in Calgary in the
Canadian province of Alberta.
Event
favourite Anjema, the Dutch national champion from The Hague, dropped the third
game against third seed Omar Mosaad but bounced back to beat the world
No16 from Egypt 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 13-11.
Anjema, ranked
12 in the world, is celebrating his 26th appearance in a PSA Tour final.
Veteran
Australian Palmer showed that he is still a major force on the Tour when he
battled back from a game down, then survived two testing tie-break games before
marching on to overcome Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller 9-11, 12-10, 12-10,
11-4.
Mueller, the
21-year-old world No35 from Zurich, became the only unseeded player to make the
last four after a breakthrough first round victory over England's world No18
Adrian Grant.
But the
experienced Palmer, the 34-year-old four-time British Open champion and
twice World Open champion was too strong for the rising Swiss star - and
now extends his record as the current player with the most appearances in PSA
Tour finals.
Palmer, the
second seed from New South Wales but now based in the USA, is celebrating his
first Tour final since August 2009 - but the 54th of his illustrious career.
Mueller Moves
Into Rocky Mountain Semis
Nicolas
Mueller
became the only unseeded player to make the semi-finals of the Calgary Winter
Club Rocky Mountain Open when he beat Australian Zac Alexander
in the quarter-finals of the PSA World Tour International 35 squash event
in its second year at Calgary Winter Club in Calgary in the
Canadian province of Alberta.
Both players
scored notable first round wins - Swiss number one Mueller overcoming England's
world No18 Adrian Grant in four games, and qualifier Alexander recording
one of the best successes of his career by removing Egypt's No4 seed Hisham
Mohd Ashour, the 2010 runner-up.
Mueller, the
world No35 from Zurich, maintained his momentum by defeating Queenslander
Alexander 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 - and will now face Australian number one David
Palmer for a place in the final.
The
illustrious Palmer, a former world number one and world champion who is the
event's second seed, beat fellow Tour veteran Shahier Razik, the
33-year-old Canadian number one from Toronto, in straight games.
Dutchman
Laurens Jan Anjema and Egyptian Omar Mosaad will line up in the
anticipated semi-final in the top half of the draw. Top seed Anjema, the world
No12 from The Hague, beat Australia's Ryan Cuskelly 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 in
48 minutes.
But third seed
Mosaad, the world No16 from Cairo, was taken the full distance by unseeded
fellow countryman Tarek Momen, ranked 28 in the world, before closing out
the match 11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-9 after 68 minutes.
Zac Zaps
Ashour In Rocky Mountain Upset
Australian
qualifier Zac Alexander produced the biggest upset on the opening day of
main draw action in the Calgary Winter Club Rocky Mountain Open
when he beat Egypt's No4 seed Hisham Mohd Ashour to secure an unexpected
place in the quarter-finals of the PSA World Tour International 35 squash
event in its second year at Calgary Winter Club in Calgary in the
Canadian province of Alberta.
The
22-year-old from Brisbane, who took out two higher-ranked players to survive the
qualifiers, recorded one of the biggest wins of his career when he recovered
from 2/1 down to beat Ashour, the world No17 from Cairo, 11-9, 6-11, 5-11, 11-7,
11-8 in 42 minutes.
Alexander,
ranked 64 in the world, now faces unseeded Nicolas Mueller. The Swiss
number one, ranked 35 in the world, also scored a significant upset by beating
England's world No18 Adrian Grant 11-13, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5. The
left-hander from London had arrived in Calgary fresh from PSA Tour title
success at the Manitoba Open in Winnipeg.
It was a bad
day for Englishmen following two further defeats. In his first appearance in
Canada since relocating to New York at the beginning of this year, world No19
Alister Walker failed to capitalise on a two-game lead against Tarek
Momen and, in a 76-minute marathon, went down 9-11, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 14-12
to the Egyptian ranked nine places below.
And
London-based qualifier Robbie Temple was forced to quit after two games
against Shahier Razik as the Canadian No1 marched into the quarter-finals
after his 11-8, 11-4 (ret.) win.
The event's
top two seeds claimed their anticipated quarter-final berths after straight
games wins. Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema eased to an 11-7, 11-5,
11-3 victory over Italian Stephane Galifi while US-based Australian
David Palmer, the No2 seed, defeated Scottish qualifier Alan Clyne
11-9, 11-7, 11-7.
| 
