Grant & Golan Reach Santiago Final
by Howard Harding
Adrian Grant - photo courtesy Steve Cubbins
22 October 2011 - England's defending champion Adrian Grant reached the final of the Santiago Open for the third year in a row - and will meet local hero and former champion Borja Golan in the climax of the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event at Shopping Center Area Central in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
In a repeat of his first round match in Santiago last year, Londoner Grant took on Gregoire Marche. The Frenchman stretched Grant to five games in their 2010 clash, but this time the top-seeded Englishman had the measure of his lower-ranked opponent in four games, winning 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-2.
World No17 Grant is celebrating the 27th PSA Tour final appearance of his career, and his second this year.
This seed Golan, born and raised in Santiago, is marking his fourth appearance in his hometown Tour event since 2007. After winning the title in 2008, he was forced to miss out the following year after undergoing major knee surgery.
The 28-year-old former world No10 - Spain's highest-ranked player of all-time - faced Olivier Pett, a qualifier from England who upset second seed Stephen Coppinger in the quarter-finals.
Pett took the opening game, but - cheered on by the partisan crowd - Golan, now ranked 36 in the world, regained the upper hand to close out the match 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-6.
The triumph takes Golan into the 33rd PSA Tour final of his career - but the second this month after winning the Valencia Open, also in Spain, two weeks ago.
RESULTS: PSA International 25 Santiago Open, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Semi-finals:
[1] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-2 (49m)
[3] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [Q] Olivier Pett (ENG) 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 (60m)
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