More Marathons In Saskatoon PSA
by Howard Harding
24 November 2012 - Marathon battles continued to be the order of the day in Saskatoon, Canada, where South African Shaun le Roux survived a 113-minute encounter in the Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open to become the only unseeded player to make the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its 11th successive year at the Saskatoon YMCA.
The Cape Town-born 26-year-old's opponent was former champion Eric Galvez, a Mexican qualifier who had reached the quarter-finals after a bruising 126-minute upset over third-seeded Australian Rex Hedrick.
But this time Le Roux had the edge - the world No81 recovering from a game down to beat Galvez 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10.
The South African now meets top seed Zac Alexander for a place in the final. Australian Alexander, the defending champion ranked 44 in the world, beat English qualifier Ben Coleman 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 in 55 minutes.
Two hour-long-plus clashes resolved the line-up for the other semi-final. Fourth-seeded Australian Steven Finitsis needed 78 minutes to overcome England's Jaymie Haycocks 8-11, 11-2, 14-12, 11-8 - while it took New Zealand's No2 seed Campbell Grayson more than an hour and a half to conquer Argentina's Gonzalo Miranda 10-12, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8 in 96 minutes.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Prairie AutoHaus Saskatoon Boast Open, Saskatoon, Canada
Quarter-finals:
[1] Zac Alexander (AUS) bt [Q] Ben Coleman (ENG) 11-3, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 (55m)
Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt [Q] Eric Galvez (MEX) 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10 (113m)
[4] Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) 8-11, 11-2, 14-12, 11-8 (78m)
[2] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Gonzalo Miranda (ARG) 10-12, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8 (96m)
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Zac Alexander (AUS) v Shaun le Roux (RSA)
[2] Campbell Grayson (NZL) v [4] Steven Finitsis (AUS)
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