Egypt's third seed Hisham Mohd Ashour continued his stunning run in the National Bank Financial Group Open in Canada by upsetting No2 seed David Palmer in the final of the PSA World Tour International 35 squash event at Club Sportif MAA in Montreal to claim the biggest Tour title of his career.
The 28-year-old from Cairo, who made his breakthrough in the previous round where he ousted Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema, leapt to a 5-1 lead in the opening game. But the illustrious Palmer, the 34-year-old former world No1 and world champion who was celebrating his 55th appearance in a PSA Tour final, batted back to take the game and open up an early advantage.
"In the second, Palmer continued where he left off, imposing his pace and playing the ball early, and took advantage of a still flat-looking Ashour," explained a tournament spokesman. "But at 0-2 down, Ashour switched on, and as his movement improved, he began finding his marks at the front.
"However, Palmer's short game was on too, so in the next few rallies the crowd witnessed spectacular attacking from both players as they punished each other to 4-4."
Ashour went on to press home his advantage and ultimately closed out the match 9-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 after 46 minutes.
The Egyptian world No17 clearly flourishes in North America, where his Montreal final marked his fourth successive appearance in a PSA Tour climax in Canada. The triumph represents the third Tour title of Ashour's career, but his biggest by a considerable margin.
RESULTS: PSA International 35 National Bank Financial Group Open, Montreal, Canada
Final:
[3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt [2] David Palmer (AUS) 9-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 (46m)