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New Zealand's Kashif Shuja has been beaten in the final of the Clare Valley Australian Open Squash Championships in Clare, South Australia. |
The third seeded kiwi has gone down in straight games to top seed David Palmer, with the Australian world number five claiming an 11/7 14/12 11/8 victory.
The win rights one of Australian squash's great anomalies, with Palmer never having won his home championship before, despite having four British Open and two World Open titles to his name.
Palmer says winning the title was one of his main career goals when he first started playing. "I just didn't think it would take me this long to win the Australian Open," the 32-year-old said.
Shuja, the world number 41, pushed Palmer hard and played some stunning squash in the final, surprising his higher ranked opponent with some of his shot making.
"He's a talented player - he's number 40 in the world and after this he'll probably go to number 30, so he can play," Palmer said.
"But I thought I was on top for most of it. He had me running around a bit, but that's part of he game. When my attacking shots aren't working I can rely on my retrieving ability."
Shuja was left ruing his lack of self-belief on important points.
"I'm happy with the way I played today - it was a much better game than the last time I played him," Shuja said.
"He absolutely dominated me the last time we played.
"Obviously because of who he is and the way he plays he has a presence about him and I think I doubted myself at the end of each game and that made a huge difference."
Result
1. David Palmer (AUS) def 3. Kashif Shuja (NZL) 11/7 14/12 11/8.
Full draw/results...www.squashsite.co.uk/ausopen08.htm
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