Rosner & Pilley Make Surprise PSA Santiago Final
by Howard Harding
20 October 2012 - Upsets in both Santiago Open semi-finals in Spain have set up an unexpected final showdown between third seed Simon Rosner and fourth seed Cameron Pilley in the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event being staged on an all-glass court at the Central Area Shopping Center in Santiago de Compostela.
A packed crowd in the north western Spanish city saw local hero Borja Golan go down to German number one Rosner in a 73-minute marathon.
Defending champion Golan, the world No16 looking for his third Santiago Open title since 2008, recovered from two games down to take the third and reduce the deficit.
But Rosner, ranked just two places below the Spaniard, held his nerve to close out the match 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8.
"I'm really happy to have reached the final," said the 24-year-old from Paderborn after the first Tour victory over his European rival in five meetings since 2005. "That is a great win for me considering what a great player Borja is.
"It was really intensive and hard and I'm so relieved to have been able to finish it off in the fourth. The crowd was great and of course they were backing their local hero!
"I'm now looking forward to my final against my roomie Pilley!"
Golan, in his sixth appearance in the event since 2002, was full of praise for his opponent: "My match with Simon was very intense. It was really nice to play at home with all the crowd behind me. We both played quite well and I want to congratulate Simon for his win.
"I have a lot of respect for him," added Spain's highest-ranked player of all-time. "I would like to have won to dedicate it to the people that came to watch me, but they know that I gave everything and that is the most important thing."
Pilley, the Australian number one defeated top seed Adrian Grant, the 2010 champion seeded to make the final for the fourth year in a row.
But the 29-year-old from New South Wales celebrated his first clash with Grant since 2007 by beating the Englishman 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 in 38 minutes.
"I played really well tonight against Adrian," said Pilley later. "It is a fast court and I took advantage of it.
"I know he gets off to slow starts so getting good starts and kicking on with it was the aim."
Rosner is celebrating the 11th Tour final of his career, but his first this year - while Pilley is marking his 26th, but his first since winning the Dutch Open in November 2010.
RESULTS: PSA International 25 Santiago Open, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Semi-finals:
[4] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [1] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (38m)
[3] Simon Rosner (GER) bt [2] Borja Golan (ESP) 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8 (73m)
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