PSA: Grayson’s success in Saskatoon

November 26, 2012 - 11:04am
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Grayson (centre) wins a marathon final

Grayson Celebrates Saskatoon Success

26 November 2012

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open, Saskatoon, Canada

Final:
[2] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt [1] Zac Alexander (AUS) 11-5, 7-11, 12-10, 3-11, 11-9 (94m)

New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson survived a 94-minute battle in the final of the Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open in Canada to upset top-seeded Australian Zac Alexander and win the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its 11th successive year at the Saskatoon YMCA in Saskatoon.

Both players come through marathon encounters en-route to the climax – Alexander a 94-minute semi-final and New Zealand national champion Grayson a quarter-final which was two minutes longer.

“The crowd was ecstatic to witness a fantastic five-game final match,” commented event promoter Brad Birnie. “Grayson put on a demonstration of determination and will by earning the victory over defending-champion Alexander in five games.

“Obviously gassed after his last two extremely long matches, Grayson took plenty of time between rallies, retrieved many winners from Alexander and played immaculate length and numerous precise short shots at the right moments.”

The 11-5, 7-11, 12-10, 3-11, 11-9 victory marks the 26-year-old from Auckland’s fifth career Tour title.

Saskatoon Open Sets Trans-Tasman Test

25 November 2012

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open, Saskatoon, Canada

Semi-finals:
[1] Zac Alexander (AUS) bt Shaun le Roux (RSA) 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 (94m)
[2] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt [4] Steven Finitsis (AUS) 11-8, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9 (71m)

Top seeds Zac Alexander and Campbell Grayson will put trans-Tasman rivalry to the test in Canada when they meet in the final of the Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open, the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its 11th successive year at the Saskatoon YMCA in Saskatoon.

Australian Alexander, the defending champion, twice stemmed comebacks by unseeded Shaun le Roux before beating the South African 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 in 94 minutes. It was Le Roux’s second five-game marathon in 24 hours after taking 113 minutes to overcome Mexican qualifier Eric Galvez in the quarter-finals.

“After the marathon match the previous night, Le Roux showed no sign of fatigue as he stretched Alexander to five for the first time this tournament,” commented event promoter Brad Birnie.

The win takes 23-year-old Alexander into the 17th PSA Tour final of his career – but his first this year.

Second-seeded New Zealander Grayson took 71 minutes to overcome fourth seed Steven Finitsis 11-8, 6-11, 12-10, 11-9 and deny Alexander a battle against a fellow countryman.

The 26-year-old Kiwi national champion is celebrating his eighth Tour final and second this year.

It will be Grayson’s fifth Tour clash with Alexander, the Aucklander boasting a 3/1 head to head advantage.

More Marathons In Saskatoon

24 November 2012

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open, Saskatoon, Canada

Quarter-finals:
[1] Zac Alexander (AUS) bt [Q] Ben Coleman (ENG) 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 (55m)
Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt [Q] Eric Galvez (MEX) 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10 (113m)
[4] Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) 8-11, 11-2, 14-12, 11-8 (78m)
[2] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Gonzalo Miranda (ARG) 10-12, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8 (96m)

Marathon battles continued to be the order of the day in Saskatoon, Canada, where South African Shaun le Rouxsurvived a 113-minute encounter in the Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open to become the only unseeded player to make the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its 11th successive year at theSaskatoon YMCA.

The Cape Town-born 26-year-old’s opponent was former champion Eric Galvez, a Mexican qualifier who had reached the quarter-finals after a bruising 126-minute upset over third-seeded Australian Rex Hedrick.

But this time Le Roux had the edge – the world No81 recovering from a game down to beat Galvez 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10.

The South African now meets top seed Zac Alexander for a place in the final. Australian Alexander, the defending champion ranked 44 in the world, beat English qualifier Ben Coleman 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 in 55 minutes.

Two hour-long-plus clashes resolved the line-up for the other semi-final. Fourth-seeded Australian Steven Finitsis needed 78 minutes to overcome England’s Jaymie Haycocks 8-11, 11-2, 14-12, 11-8 – while it took New Zealand’s No2 seedCampbell Grayson more than an hour and a half to conquer Argentina’s Gonzalo Miranda 10-12, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8 in 96 minutes.

Semi-final line-up:
[1] Zac Alexander (AUS) v Shaun le Roux (RSA)
[2] Campbell Grayson (NZL) v [4] Steven Finitsis (AUS)

Galvez Boasts Saskatoon Marathon Upset

23 November 2012

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open, Saskatoon, Canada

1st round:
[1] Zac Alexander (AUS) bt Matthew Serediak (CAN) 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 (29m)
[Q] Ben Coleman (ENG) bt Danish Atlas Khan (PAK) 13-11, 9-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-4 (94m)
Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt [Q] Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 (43m)
[Q] Eric Galvez (MEX) bt [3] Rex Hedrick (AUS) 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 11-5 (126m)
[4] Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt [Q] Farhan Zaman (PAK) 11-2, 11-6, 11-9 (36m)
Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) bt Dane Sharp (CAN) 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (38m)
Gonzalo Miranda (ARG) bt Alfredo Avila (MEX) 11-9, 11-8, 13-11 (57m)
[2] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Andrew Schnell (CAN) 11-2, 11-3, 11-7 (31m)

Mexican qualifier Eric Galvez survived one of the longest matches of his career in the Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open in Canada when he upset third-seeded Australian Rex Hedrick to secure a place in the quarter-finals of thePSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its 11th successive year at the Saskatoon YMCA in Saskatoon.

A former Pan American champion and world No33, Galvez has slipped down the rankings over the past five years and currently languishes just outside the top 100. But the 29-year-old from Puebla has clearly rediscovered his former touch and, after coming through two rounds of qualifying, battled for 126 minutes to see off Hedrick, the 24-year-old world No69 from Melbourne, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 11-5.

“This match had it all,” said tournament organiser Brad Birnie. “Long, punishing rallies, four injury time-outs, bleeding, neither player making many mistakes. Really a titanic battle between two evenly matched players. Galvez gathered himself several times through injury breaks to upset the third seed.”

Now leading Mexican interest single-handedly, Galvez will next face South African Shaun le Roux, who also defeated an Australian, qualifier Scott Arnold, 11-3, 11-7, 11-5.

And the Mexican is joined by a second qualifier who is now also bidding for a place in the last four. England’s Ben Coleman- the lowest-ranked qualifier in the field – beat Pakistan’s 18-year-old Danish Atlas Khan 13-11, 9-11, 6-11, 12-10, 11-4 in 94 minutes.

“In the first major upset of the evening, a marathon of lets, long rallies, conduct warnings and an injury time-out when Khan hit himself in the face with a front court drive,” explained Birnie. “Coleman won out as Khan seemed to be injured in the fifth, although he played on gamely.”

The top two seeds both put out Canadians to stake their claim on quarter-final berths. Australian favourite Zac Alexanderbeat wildcard Matthew Serediak 11-4, 11-4, 11-9, while second-seeded New Zealander Campbell Grayson ousted Calgary’s Andrew Schnell 11-2, 11-3, 11-7.

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Zac Alexander (AUS) v [Q] Ben Coleman (ENG)
[Q] Eric Galvez (MEX) v Shaun le Roux (RSA)
[4] Steven Finitsis (AUS) v Jaymie Haycocks (ENG)
[2] Campbell Grayson (NZL) v Gonzalo Miranda (ARG)

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