WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: North Shore Squash International, Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand

Men's semi-finals:
[6] Kashif Shuja (PAK) bt [4] Tony James (AUS) 15-8, 15-11, 14-17, 13-15, 15-13 (80m)
[2] Phillip Barker (ENG) bt [3] Timothy Manning (AUS) 15-8, 17-16, 15-8
Final:
[2] Phillip Barker (ENG) bt [6] Kashif Shuja (PAK) 15-7, 15-11, 15-5 (38m)

Women's final:
[2] Tamsyn Leevey (NZL) bt [5] Kasey Brown (AUS) 9-7, 9-1, 9-0 (34m)

Second Seeds Score In New Zealand North Shore

New Zealand's No2 seed Tamsyn Leevey cruised to victory in today's (Sunday) women's final of the North Shore Squash International.  

The 26-year-old from Wellington demolished fifth-seeded Australian Kasey Brown 9-7 9-1 9-0 in just 34 minutes in Auckland, New Zealand, to claim her second WISPA World Tour title.

England's second seed Phillip Barker was equally dominant in the men's decider.  The 22-year-old from Essex crushed Pakistan's Kashif Shuja 15-7 15-11 15-5 to claim his first PSA Tour title.

New Zealand-based Shuja's chances were not helped by two energy-sapping matches ahead of the final.

The sixth seed edged out fourth-seeded Australian Tony James in today's earlier semi-finals, winning the 80-minute battle 15-13 in the fifth.

Shuja also went to five in the quarter-finals the night before, beating top-seeded Dutchman Dylan Bennett in 81 minutes.

The players now head south to Rotorua, for next week's Geyser City Open, with more PSA and WISPA world ranking points up for grabs.

New Zealand number one Glen Wilson is yet to decide whether he will play, after withdrawing from qualifying for North Shore due to an ankle injury.  A decision is expected in the next couple of days.