After finishing as runner-up last year, New Zealander Martin
Knight went one better this year by winning the GoodLife Open
in the Canadian capital Ottawa, where he beat Pakistan's
Danish Atlas Khan in the final of the PSA World Tour
Challenger 10 squash event in its ninth year at GoodLife
Fitness.
Knight, the top seed from Auckland, reached the final without
dropping a game all week - whilst second seed Khan, a 19-year-old
from Peshawar, was taken to four games in all his battles en-route
to the climax.
"The first game saw the players trading points, Danish keeping it
close with a very focused Martin," explained tournament promoter
Heather Wallace. "Danish however was not able to sustain his
good play, Martin finishing strong, taking the first game 11-8.
"The second game again was close, with Danish winning most of his
points from the backhand side, however his backhand was also his
undoing as he made many errors to the front left of the court.
Towards the end of the second game, Danish lost some composure when
he tied the game 9-9, then thought he won the next rally to get to
game ball, but was denied when a let was played over one of his
pickups.
"Knight was as focused as ever at this crucial point in the second
game: He kept the pressure on, Danish again hit two backhand short
errors to give the game to Martin 13-11.
"The loss of the second game definitely had an effect on Danish and
at 6-0 down in the third he retired with a shin problem which
resulted from an awkward front court pick up earlier on in the
match."
The win marks the fifth PSA World Tour title of Knight's career -
and the 29-year-old's second in the past three months.
Top seed Martin Knight has reached the final of the
GoodLife Open for the second year in a row - and will hoping to
make up for the disappointment of a runner-up finish last year when
he takes on No 2 seed Danish Atlas Khan in the climax of the
PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its ninth year
at GoodLife Fitness in the Canadian capital Ottawa.
The 29-year-old world No 50 from New Zealand took just 38 minutes to
end Canadian interest in the event by beating third seed Dane
Sharp 11-8, 11-4, 11-2.
"The players traded points in the first game which was close with
long rallies," said tournament promoter Heather Wallace.
"Dane lost patience midway through the second game with three errors
in quick succession, which gave Martin a good lead.
"He capitalised on this and took the second game. Dane started to
tire in the third, with Martin running out the third game easily."
Teenager Khan, the world No 73 from Peshawar, denied Eric Galvez
a third appearance in the final since 2006 when he beat the
fourth-seeded Mexican 8-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 in 54 minutes.
"The first game was very chippy," Wallace reported. "But from the
second game onwards Danish picked up the pace, taking the ball much
earlier - forcing Galvez to scramble for the remainder of the
match."
Knight and Khan will be celebrating their first Tour meeting. The
Kiwi is marking his fourth Tour final in the past three months - and
the 12th of his career - while 19-year-old Khan is celebrating his
third final appearance since September and the ninth of his career.
Seeds Make GoodLife Semis
All four seeds safely secured their places in the semi-finals of the
GoodLife Open after contrasting quarter-final successes in
the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its ninth
year at GoodLife Fitness in the Canadian capital Ottawa.
Mexican Eric Galvez took a step closer to a third appearance
in the final since 2006 when he beat England's Michael Harris
4-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6.
A
number of unforced errors early in the match cost fourth seed Galvez
the first game. "Mike came out playing very well and forced me to
work harder in the remainder of the match to win it," said the
30-year-old from Puebla later.
Galvez now faces Pakistan's Danish Atlas Khan after the No 2
seed from Peshawar removed Australia's Scott Arnold 11-8,
5-11, 11-5, 11-8.
Canada's Dane Sharp took home interest into the last four
after seeing off Frenchman Geoffrey Demont. But the No 3 seed
from Toronto was stretched for 72 minutes - and twice had to come
from behind before overcoming Demont 10-12, 11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 11-8.
"I
had to fight hard to close the court down against Geoffrey since his
volleys were killing me, sending me all over the court," admitted
27-year-old Sharp later. "I started to play much higher, then
attack."
Sharp's next opponent will be last year's runner-up Martin Knight.
The top-seeded New Zealander, ranked 50 in the world, was too
experienced for Thomas Ford, beating the English teenager
11-4, 11-6, 11-9.
Dane Delivers Home Hopes In Ottawa
Dane Sharp
led home hopes through to the quarter-finals of the GoodLife Open
after dismissing compatriot Matthew Serediak in the first
round of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its
ninth year at GoodLife Fitness in the Canadian capital
Ottawa.
The 27-year-old from Toronto beat 29-year-old Serediak 11-6, 11-4,
12-10 and will now face France's Geoffrey Demont for a place
in the semi-finals.
Top seed Martin Knight - who stopped Sharp in the opening
round last year - also secured a straight games success, beating
Canadian wild card Adrian Dudzicki 11-6, 11-5, 11-8.
The New Zealander, runner-up 12 months ago, now meets Thomas Ford,
the 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 winner of an all-English clash with James
Earles.
Fourth-seeded Mexican Eric Galvez successfully began his bid
to reach a third GoodLife final since 2006 with an 11-8, 11-7, 11-6
victory over Australian Justin Beard.
The No 4 seed from Puebla now faces Englishman Michael Harris.
In a clash described by tournament promoter Heather Wallace
as "undoubtedly, the match of the day", Harris beat higher-ranked
Canadian Michael McCue 4-11, 11-4, 13-11, 13-11 in 70
minutes.
"McCue came out of the blocks fast, taking advantage over Harris's
loose and error-prone play in the first game, winning it 11-4,"
reported Wallace. "The tables turned in the second when Harris found
better length & became more aggressive in his play taking the ball
earlier and into the front court much better.
"In the third game, Harris blew a 9-3 lead, allowing McCue back into
the game, but with a lot more work, eventually winning the third,
13-11. The fourth game was a much more conservative affair with both
players trading points and playing patient length, again Harris
squeaking it out, 13-11, to take the match 3/1 in 70 minutes."
