Declan James Takes Christchurch Open Men's Title by Nathan Clarke 14TH JUN 2015
- Declan James ensured a superb week for English squash was rounded off
in style after he bested Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu in the final of the
DoubleDot Media Christchurch International Open, PSA Challenger 10
event.
James, playing in the final the day after England No.1 Nick Matthew was
revealed to have been awarded on OBE by Her Majesty the Queen, overcame
Australian Rex Hedrick to reach the final where Indian National
Champion Sandhu lay in waiting after he knocked out top seed Raphael
Kandra to book his place in the showpiece event.
With the title on the line it was Sandhu who started the stronger,
taking the first game 11-8 following a series of excellent rallies.
James, playing in his second PSA World Tour final in a row, managed to
use his impressive range to good effect in the second and counteracted
his opponent’s rapid speed around court to win the second game.
The third game was equally close with James taking the lead, hitting
some excellent cross-court shots into the nick, before a string of
errors from Sandhu enabled him to wrap up the match with an 8-11,
12-10, 11-9, 11-6 victory to lift his fifth PSA World Tour title.
“I am thrilled to win but I’m looking forward to a break,” said James.
“My body is feeling pretty tired after a series of tough matches in New Zealand.”
Result – Final: DoubleDot Media Christchurch International Open 2015
[4] Declan James (ENG) bt [3] Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND) 3-1: 8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6 (67m)
