Pett Powers To Cape Town PSA Crown from PSA Media May 1, 2014 -
The extraordinary squash career of Englishman Oliver Pett reached
another milestone in South Africa today when the 25-year-old qualifier
overturned top-seeded local hero Shaun le Roux in the final of the
Keith Grainger Memorial UCT Open Squash Championship to win the third
PSA World Tour title of his career – all of which he achieved unseeded! The Sussex man, now
based in Gosport in Hampshire, was competing in only his third event in
three weeks following his return to the international circuit after
taking a year off. It was a straight
games semi-final upset victory over Pakistan’s No2 seed Tayyab Aslam
that took Pett (pictured below, foreground, in action with Le Roux)
into the final of the PSA Challenger 5 event marking its second year at
the University of Cape Town in Cape Town. Cape Town-born Le
Roux, the defending champion ranked 54 in the world, marched in to the
final – his third in succession on the PSA Tour and looking for his
third win – after downing England’s No4 seed Nathan Lake in four games. “It was an epic final
that was watched by a packed crowd of enthusiastic supporters,” said
tournament promoter Kerr Rogers. “The first game lasted 22
minutes with Oliver winning 11-9, followed by 11-5 and a nail biting
12-10 in the third with Shaun a few game points up not able to finish
off the game. “Credit to Oliver for
remaining patient and forcing the error with intense pressure
squash. Oliver gave an emotional response at the prize-giving,
thanking various sponsors and friends for all their support over the
past year, which has been the toughest one for him, with a special
mention of his mother who is fighting cancer in England.” Pett’s latest success
follows his maiden Tour title triumph at the Windy City Open in
Chicago, USA, in February 2011 – when he was also a qualifier, yet
overturned both the top two seeds en-route to the title – and later in
April the same year when he lifted the West of Ireland Open trophy,
unseeded, after upsets over the No1 and No3 seeds. The UCT Open was held
in the memory of young squash player Keith Grainger, the brother of
former world No1 Natalie Grainger, who died in 2001. RESULTS: Keith Grainger Memorial UCT Open Squash Championship, Cape Town, South Africa 1st round: [1] Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt [Q] Paul Atkinson (RSA) 11-4, 11-2, 11-2 (28m) [Q] Rudi Willemse (RSA) bt Haseeb Gul (PAK) 11-1, 11-6, 11-8 (23m) [Q] Hossam Nasser (EGY) bt Nasr Khan (PAK) 11-0, 11-5, 11-8 (15m) [7] Thoboki Mohohlo (RSA) bt Mubarak Mohsin (UAE) 10-12, 11-2, 13-11, 11-3 (40m) [Q] Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) bt [8] Anthony Graham (ENG) 11-9, 11-1 ret. (20m) Amaad Fareed (PAK) bt [WC] Munro Montanus (RSA) 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (20m) [Q] Gary Wheadon (RSA) bt Tristan Eysele (ENG) 11-4, 11-3, 3-11, 11-9 [4] Nathan Lake (ENG) bt Jonathan Maloney (ENG) 11-6, 11-6, 11-2 Shehab Essam Hosny (EGY) bt [3] Tom Ford (ENG) 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 (35m) Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) bt Courtney West (AUS) 11-2, 11-5, 11-2 (25m) [Q] Oliver Pett (ENG) bt Gareth Naidoo (RSA) 11-5, 11-5, 11-1 (29m) [5] Alex Ingham (ENG) bt Diego Gobbi (BRA) 11-6, 11-7, 11-2 (25m) [6] Muhammad Saqib Yousaf (PAK) bt Marc ter Sluis (NED) 11-8, 3-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-4 (75m) [Q] Rodney Durbach (RSA) bt Baba Tunde Ajagbe (NGR) 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 (44m) Arthur Moineau (FRA) bt [Q] Aaron Fuchs (RSA) 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (25m) [2] Tayyab Aslam (PAK) bt Kyle Maree (RSA) 11-5, 11-3, 11-8
