WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Bank Alfalah Pakistan Open Squash Championship, Islamabad, Pakistan

Final:
[8] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [10] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 6-11, 11-9, 11-10 (3-1), 11-3 (58m)

Willstrop Wins Pakistan Open Title

England's James Willstrop claimed the biggest squash title of his career today (Friday) when he beat Australia's Anthony Ricketts in the final of the $85,000 Bank Alfalah Pakistan Open Championship at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad.

It was the 21-year-old Yorkshireman's first appearance in a PSA Super Series event final.  After dropping the first game against the former world No6 from Sydney, eighth seed Willstrop powered to a 6-11 11-9 11-10 11-3 victory in 58 minutes.

Chief Guest at the final - only the second in the event's 20-year history not to feature Pakistani interest - was Mr Shaukat Aziz, the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The two players arrived at the event's climax in contrasting styles:  Ricketts, the tenth seed, took more than three hours to upset fourth seed Karim Darwish, seventh seed Gregory Gaultier and fifth seed and defending champion Jonathon Power in the previous three rounds - while Willstrop, the former world junior champion, brushed aside his three opponents, including the 2003 world champion Amr Shabana and No2 seed Nick Matthew, in less than 70 minutes.

"I think he played the right game," Ricketts conceded to Framboise Gommendy of www.squashsite.co.uk.  "He manages to get winners in there I couldn't do anything about.  And I felt physically flat, after all that court time, and they were all hard games.  I had a couple of games points in the third, that normally I would have taken, but today, I was just flat, out of energy."

A delighted Willstrop was quick to heap praise on others afterwards:  "I want to thank two people back home that have helped me.  Damon Brown, who has helped me get fit, and my brother David Campion.  And of course, my coach, my father, the man who has made me the player that I am, Malcolm Willstrop."

Willstrop's Islamabad success rounds off a sensational year for the Pontefract prodigy.  The Pakistan Open brings to twelve the number of PSA tour events in which he has competed this year - all of which he has achieved his seeding, and six of which he has exceeded his predicted finish.