Charles Sharpes survived an all-English final of the inaugural MANTIS Fantasysquash.Net Nottingham Open to win the PSA World Tour Challenger 5 title at Nottingham Squash Club in Nottingham, England.
But the London-born second seed had to fight from the very start - battling through five-game marathons lasting 96 and 108 minutes in the first two rounds before seeing off unseeded Dutchman Sebastian Weenink in a 51-minute four-game semi-final.
His unexpected opponent in the final was Anthony Graham, the Zimbabwe-born fourth seed who made his breakthrough in the semi-final where he ousted Rasmus Nielsen, the event favourite from Denmark, in five games.
Sharpes dominated from the start in the final, hitting good width and length and then moving onto the loose ball early and putting Graham under a lot of pressure.
Graham tried to slow the pace in the second, finding a better length and using height to recover and extend the rallies. But from 8-4 down, Sharpes managed to find the nick and his length and found a way back into the game to go on a seven-point run to take the game 11-8.
Graham reduced the deficit in a scrappy third game - but 19-year-old Sharpes came back in the fourth, getting back to basics, hitting straight and finding his length. From four-all, Sharpes pulled away to close out the match 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4 after 74 minutes.
"I'm really happy to win my third PSA title," said a jubilant Sharpes, from Kingston-upon-Thames, afterwards. "It wasn't a pretty final but they all count.
"It's been a tough week, I'm looking forward to a well earned rest now.
"I would like to thank everyone who has helped me with my squash and especially my coach," concluded the new Nottingham Open champion.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 5 MANTIS Fantasysquash.Net Nottingham Open, Nottingham, England
1st round:
[2] Charles Sharpes (ENG) bt [Q] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 11-5, 6-11, 13-11, 3-11, 13-11 (96m)
Ben Coleman (ENG) bt Steven London (ENG) 11-8, 12-10, 11-6 (39m)
Sebastian Weenink (NED) bt Jonathan Harford (ENG) 9-11, 11-8, 6-11, 6-3 ret. (43m)
[Q] Lucas Serme (FRA) bt [3] Eddie Charlton (ENG) 11-13, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (53m)
[4] Anthony Graham (ENG) bt [Q] James Earles (ENG) 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 (29m)
Declan James (ENG) bt Neil Hitchens (ENG) 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (49m)
Ben Ford (ENG) bt [Q] Johan Bouquet (FRA) 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 (38m)
[1] Rasmus Nielsen (DEN) bt Alex Ingham (ENG) 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 (24m)
Quarter-finals:
[2] Charles Sharpes (ENG) bt Ben Coleman (ENG) 6-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-9, 11-5 (108m)
Sebastian Weenink (NED) bt [Q] Lucas Serme (FRA) 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5 (51m)
[4] Anthony Graham (ENG) bt Declan James (ENG) 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 (68m)
[1] Rasmus Nielsen (DEN) bt Ben Ford (ENG) 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5 (44m)
Semi-finals:
[2] Charles Sharpes (ENG) bt Sebastian Weenink (NED) 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7 (51m)
[4] Anthony Graham (ENG) bt [1] Rasmus Nielsen (DEN) 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7 (70m)
Final:
[2] Charles Sharpes (ENG) bt [4] Anthony Graham (ENG) 11-5, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4 (74m)