20-Dec-2011
The News
NEW DELHI: The climax to an incredible end-of-the-year run by James Willstrop on the international squash circuit saw the Englishman clinch his third successive PSA World Series title on Sunday at the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters in India in a victory that will ensure his status as world number one in the January Dunlop PSA rankings.
The 28-year-old from Leeds, whose title triumphs in the Hong Kong Open and Kuwait PSA Cup in November catapulted him to the second place in the world rankings this month, faced French rival Gregory Gaultier in the climax of the ninth and final PSA World Series event of the year at the Siri Fort Complex in New Delhi.
Willstrop went into the match with 14 successive Tour match wins under his belt since November, but was lining up against the last player who beat himóin the World Open semifinal in Rotterdam.
And the opening game was a classic. The battle lasted almost an hour, with rarely more than a point separating the pair until the Frenchman emerged the winner 21-19 after one of the highest-scoring games in the history of the ‘PAR to 11’ scoring system.
But Willstrop fought back in the second game to draw level and was in control in the third as it became clear that all was not well with his opponent. After treatment in the break, world No3 Gaultier returned to the court, but after a few points, the Frenchman conceded the match to give Willstrop the title. |
