12 December 2011-
Miguel Angel Rodriguez justified his top billing in the Betty F Griffin
Memorial Florida State Open in the USA - but the top seed from Colombia
was taken the full distance in the climax of the PSA World Tour
Challenger 10 squash event at Lifetime Athletic Club in Boca Raton in
Florida.
World number 36 Rodriguez, celebrating his 25th Tour final appearance,
was facing Kamran Khan, the 21-year-old Malaysian who made the final as
No3 seed after upsetting second-seeded Frenchman Yann Perrin in the
semis.
Khan twice levelled the match after the 25-year-old from Bogota opened
up leads - and forced the final two games into tie-breaks before
Rodriguez ultimately prevailed 11-8, 3-11, 11-3, 10-12, 12-10.
"It was a tremendous final with athleticism was on full display," said
tournament spokesman Kevin Jullion. "The final game was quite the
nail-biter all the way through, with Miguel prevailing on a couple of
stroke calls against Kamran to end the match."
The triumph marks Miguel's 18th PSA World Tour title - and rounds off a
highly successful year for the top-ranked Colombian who became his
country's first Pan American Games squash champion in October.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Betty F Griffin Memorial Florida State Open, Boca Raton, Florida, USA