Alexander Wins Biggest Title At GoodLife
by Howard Harding
17 October 2011 - Australian Zac Alexander won the biggest PSA World Tour title of his career when he upset top seed Mark Krajcsak in the final of the GoodLife Open, the PSA Challenger 10 squash event in its seventh year at Goodlife Fitness in Ottawa, Canada.
The 22-year-old from Brisbane reached the final after surviving an 83-minute last four marathon - while Hungarian Krajcsak also needed almost an hour to overcome his opponent in the other semi-final.
And the 27-year-old from Budapest moved 2/1 ahead and built up a 4-2 in the fourth game. Queenslander Alexander dug deep, however, to salvage the game to force a decider.
"At the start of the fifth game, bets were flying around the crowd on who was going to take the fifth - with no clear favourite," said tournament organiser Heather Wallace. "It was a tight game with long rallies, with Krajcsak at the beginning of the game being more creative to take an early lead.
"But Alexander answered with some deception of his own, to regain the lead 7-4 - which caused Krajcsak to tighten up and make some quick errors."
Alexander capitalised on these errors to take the fifth game and the match 11-6, 3-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6 after 68 minutes.
"I'm so happy to get over the line today," said Alexander after claiming the ninth Tour title of his career.
"It's been a tough week and to win 3-2 tonight in the final was really tough.
"This is my biggest tour win to date. Hopefully, I can continue this form into the World Open in Rotterdam in two weeks."
Alexander clearly enjoyed his stay in Ottawa, telling the crowd: "I will definitely be back next year."
He also paid tribute to his coach Rodney Martin, with whom he has been working in the US. "My win is a result of all the work Rodney did with me and I thank him for that."
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 GoodLife Open, Ottawa, Canada
Final:
[2] Zac Alexander (AUS) bt [1] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 11-6, 3-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6 (68m)
Back To Main
