England's Daryl Selby and Frenchman Thierry Lincou will replay the 2010 Bluenose Classic final when they meet in this year's edition of the PSA World Tour International 50 squash event climax at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
But it isn't the finale predicted by the draw, after Selby ousted second-seeded Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema and unseeded Lincou, the 2010 champion, followed his quarter-final win over top seed Amr Shabana by despatching Egypt's No3 seed and last year's runner-up Hisham Mohd Ashour in just 36 minutes.
Fourth seed Selby romped to an 8-2 lead in the opening game against Anjema, though the 2008 champion closed the gap to 7-10 before the Englishman took the game on a nice drop.
In the second game, Selby continued playing flawless squash, not giving Anjema any place on the court to score a point as he patiently worked up to another 8-2 lead. Anjema was able to finally get some momentum in his favour for a few minutes as he fought his way back into the match down 8-10. On game ball however, Selby again found that perfect length to the back corner to take the second game.
Anjema, the world No9, led briefly in the third, but Essex man Selby, ranked two places lower, was now in the zone and closed out the match 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 after 53 minutes.
"I was up against a tough opponent but I was feeling 100% confident on this court," said Selby, now in the 16th PSA World Tour final of his career. "I only feel like I play like this a couple of times a year, I'm just glad that it's here at a five star event. I felt like I was in control of the match. I managed to hang in there and forced LJ to go a little lower and hit the tin several times.
"Tomorrow is going to be one of the biggest matches I have had on the PSA World Tour and I'm looking forward to it."
Anjema's comments after the match really underscored the quality of play in the match. "Daryl played beautifully," said the 29-year-old from The Hague. "I really enjoyed playing tonight. I played my heart out there and that is all I can ask of myself. I didn't lose tonight's match, Daryl simply won it."
Veteran Frenchman Thierry Lincou eased into his second PSA Tour final this month - and the 44th of his distinguished career - after beating Cairo-based 29-year-old Ashour 12-10, 11-5, 11-5.
After the game Lincou, the 35-year-old former world champion and world number one, said that he "felt really up for" the game and his game plan was to "try and contain his attacking" and to "try to close the court down," also noting that he was "moving well today".
RESULTS: PSA International 50 Bluenose Classic, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Semi-finals:
Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [3] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 12-10, 11-5, 11-5 (36m)
[4] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (53m)
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