Australia's Anthony
Ricketts secured his first Brit Insurance Super Series Squash
Finals title when he beat England's Lee Beachill in four
games in the final at the Broadgate Arena in
London.
But the climax of the
$75,000 PSA Tour event was tinged with controversy. At the end of
the second game, with the score at one-all after Beachill had drawn level,
the Aussie ace requested a ball change - and to Beachill's horror the
match officials agreed.
Ricketts insisted his
request was in the rulebook - but neither the referee nor marker knew for
certain, so the 27-year-old from Sydney's appeal was granted.
Ricketts, the second seed,
then went on to take the next two games and record an 11-7, 6-11, 11-4,
11-10 (2-0) victory - leaving Beachill to bemoan the surprise decision.
"I don't blame Anthony
Ricketts for asking, but what is disappointing is that the officials
didn't know if he was right or not," he said.
"You can't just go on one
player's say, as that decision makes a huge difference. I'm very
frustrated with the circumstances.
"I'd got my length right
and was judging the ball perfectly - and that was reflected by the fact I
won the second game.
"I'm not annoyed about
losing, as that is sport and Anthony played very well - but to lose on a
decision like that is terrible."
Ricketts, the British
Open champion who now has eight PSA titles to his name, was naturally
delighted with his triumph: “This was my chance to win this event and I
took it,” said Ricketts to
www.squashplayer.co.uk
“I’ll now rest up and prepare to attack next season, hit the No1 spot and
hang onto it.”
In the day's earlier game,
France's Thierry Lincou beat world No1 Amr Shabana 10-11
(2-4), 11-8, 11-10 (5-3) to claim third place in the tournament