Shawn Delierre Over Martin Knight for PSA Saskatoon Title by Nathan Clarke November 24, 2014
- Canadian number two seed Shawn Delierre defeated 2013 runner-up
Martin Knight on home-soil to earn his second PSA World Tour title of
2014 at the Saskatoon Movember Boast, Challenger 10 tournament.
The pairing clashed in a magnificent match that saw 32-year-old
Delierre roll back the years to beat Knight in straight sets and claim
his third victory in a row against his opponent from New Zealand.
Number three seed Jamie Haycocks fell short of expectations when he
went out to Andrew Schnell in the quarter-final. Schnell had already
been through a gruelling five-game encounter with his brother Graeme in
the first round but there were no signs of any tired legs as he put in
a dogged performance against the Englishman.
The shock of the event was undoubtedly qualifier Youssef Soliman’s
victory over Dane Sharp in the quarter-final. Soliman, who had already
shocked Canadian Michael McCue in the previous round, dropped the first
game by a 11-9 scoreline but he had enough in his locker to turn the
match on its head and take the next three games in a row.
His progress was cut short by Knight in the semi-final when the New Zealander gunned Soliman down in a 3-1 victory.
Knight was also number six seed Matthew Serediak’s conqueror. The
30-year-old Canadian would have been hoping to progress to the latter
stages of the event but was unfortunate to meet a dominant Knight in
the quarter-finals.
Knight was brutal in his dismantling of Serediak and won it 11-9, 11-2
and 11-7 in the pair’s first ever meeting on the PSA World Tour.
Carlos Cornes Ribadas, the only Spanish representative in the draw,
made it to the second round courtesy of a 3-0 win over qualifier David
Baillargeon but his progress was halted by Delierre en route to his
tournament triumph.
