Richie Fallows (Eng)
11/4, 11/2, 11/6 [2] Joe Lee (Eng)
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Houston Open, Houston, USA
Grayson Grabs Houston Open Crown
New
Zealander Campbell Grayson claimed the sixth PSA World Tour
title of his career when he beat Mexico's Cesar Salazar in the
final of the Houston Open at Life Time Fitness in
Houston.
It was
an unexpected climax to the PSA World Tour Challenger 10
tournament which was the seventh event of the year in the new US Pro
Squash Series.
Third
seed Grayson reached the final - his first this year but the ninth of
his career - after overcoming unseeded Englishman Lewis Walters
in the semi-finals.
Salazar, the No4 seed from Mexico, gained his revenge for a straight
games defeat by Joe Lee in the US Open qualifiers last
October, by upsetting the second-seeded Englishman in an hour-long
battle to claim his second Tour final berth of the year.
But it
was Campbell's day in Houston. The 27-year-old from Auckland beat
Salazar 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in 40 minutes.
"Grayson played his best squash for the final and Salazar had no answer
for his dominant play," said Life Time squash Tour Director Andre
Maur. "After getting to the semis finals in the Atlanta Open in
January, he became the second new winner of the Life Time Squash Tour.
Lucky
Lewis Laps Up Houston Lift-Off
Struck
down with food poisoning and unable to last out the first game, top seed
Julian Illingworth was forced to hand victory to Lewis Walters
in the quarter-finals of the Houston Open at Life Time Fitness
in Houston.
With
match completed at 10-10 (ret.), the Englishman becomes the only
unseeded player in the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour Challenger
10 tournament - the seventh event of the year in the new US Pro
Squash Series.
"Semi
finals of the Houston Open tomorrow," tweeted Walters. "However not the
way I would have liked to get there. I wish Julian a speedy recovery,"
added the 25-year-old from Nottingham.
Walters will meet Campbell Grayson, the third seed from New
Zealand, who beat Joe Chapman of the British Virgin Islands 11-6,
11-2, 11-3.
The
other semi-final will pitch fourth-seeded Mexican Cesar Salazar
against England's No2 seed Joe Lee.
Cesar
recorded his third successive Tour victory over his twin brother
Arturo Salazar, winning 11-5, 12-10, 11-8 in 40 minutes.
"Match
of the day was the last between Lee and qualifier Syed Hamzah Shah
Bukhari," said Life Time squash Tour Director Andre Maur.
"Joe took a convincing 2/0 lead but let the third slip away to make it
2/1. The fourth he was back on track and he won 11-8."
Illingworth Leads Home Interest In Houston
US
number one Julian Illingworth led home interest in the Houston
Open through to the quarter-finals after beating Pakistan qualifier
Shahjahan Khan in the opening round of the PSA World Tour
Challenger 10 squash event at Life Time Fitness in Houston.
The
Houston Open is the seventh event of the year in the new US Pro
Squash Series.
Top
seed Illingworth despatched US-based Khan 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 - and will
now face England's Lewis Walters for a place in the semi-finals.
Walters, the world No99 from Nottingham, was fully extended in his
victory over qualifier Baba Tunde Ajagbe.
The
world No362 from Lagos - the only Nigerian member of the PSA and the
first player from his country to contest a main draw PSA Tour match
since 2008 - Ajagbe twice led the more experienced Englishman.
Walters held his nerve, however, to close out the match 5-11, 11-6,
8-11, 11-2, 11-9.
But
the event's biggest upset came when Pakistan qualifier Syed Hamzah
Shah Bukhari, ranked 200 in the world, ousted experienced compatriot
Yasir Ali Butt.
The
19-year-old from Lahore twice came from behind to beat Butt, the world
No70, also from Lahore, 8-11, 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-7.
Life
Time Events Give PSA US Pro Series A Further Boost
The recently-launched US Pro Squash Series - a collaboration between the
Professional Squash Association (PSA) and US Squash - has been given a
further boost this week by the inclusion of the Life Time Grand Prix
Squash Tour.
Life Time Fitness has 107 clubs with 44 squash locations and 116 courts
nationwide, with more clubs being built in 2014. Events staged at clubs
in Atlanta, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago and Boca Raton this
year will add to the growing list of events already included within the
US Pro Squash Series.
Life Time Grand Prix Tournament Director & Promoters Andre and Danielle
Maur are very excited, not only for the PSA Pro players, but also for
squash in the US, which is growing at an incredible pace.
"This year's locations are in Atlanta, Houston, Vegas, Chicago, Phoenix
and Boca Raton, and next year we will add more locations to the tour,"
said Andre Maur. "We have a fantastic team with tournament coordinators
Jahanzeb Khan in Houston, Richard Glanfield in Vegas, Garry John in
Phoenix and Franz Schwerer in Chicago, who are all excited to welcome
players to their events.
"Our tour brings $60K in total prize money ($10K each) to the PSA," Maur
continued. "We will be adding one more location in 2014 and another in
2015 to round us out with eight stops on our Grand Prix Series."
Maur, a former player on the PSA World Tour, has been promoting and
directing tournaments for the past 20 years. "But this is by far my
biggest challenge," added Maur. "I know the expectations and how to
treat the players to the highest professional level."
The 2013 Life Time Grand Prix Tour includes the Houston Open (25-28
April); The Las Vegas Open (9-12 May); Chicago Open (24-27 October);
Phoenix Open (14-17 November); and the Betty F Griffin Florida State
Open (5-8 December)