Selby & Walker In Surprise Grasshopper Final
by Howard Harding
27 April 2013 - Fourth seed Alister Walker and unseeded Daryl Selby, the defending champion, will meet in a surprise final of the Grasshopper Cup in Switzerland after a marathon victories over higher-seeded opponents in the PSA World Tour International 35 squash event at the Grasshopper Club in Zurich.
Englishman Selby faced third seed Laurens Jan Anjema. The Dutchman played a solid opening game and took the lead. After Selby, the 30-year-old world No14, drew level by taking the second, it was again left-hander Anjema who took the early advantage in game three to forge 5-2 ahead.
"There were some really hard rallies in the middle of the game which Daryl came out on top of and took nine points in a row against a tiring LJ," explained event spokesman Mark Meyer. "Daryl was on top the whole way through the fourth and closed out the match 11-2."
The 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 win in 68 minutes takes Selby into his first Tour final since contesting the 2012 Grasshopper Cup climax - but the 18th of his career.
"Very happy with my performance tonight against an always strong @ljanjema," tweeted Selby later. "Hoping I can play like that again tomorrow!!"
Selby & Walker In Surprise Grasshopper Final
by Howard Harding
27 April 2013 - Fourth seed Alister Walker and unseeded Daryl Selby, the defending champion, will meet in a surprise final of the Grasshopper Cup in Switzerland after a marathon victories over higher-seeded opponents in the PSA World Tour International 35 squash event at the Grasshopper Club in Zurich.
Englishman Selby faced third seed Laurens Jan Anjema. The Dutchman played a solid opening game and took the lead. After Selby, the 30-year-old world No14, drew level by taking the second, it was again left-hander Anjema who took the early advantage in game three to forge 5-2 ahead.
"There were some really hard rallies in the middle of the game which Daryl came out on top of and took nine points in a row against a tiring LJ," explained event spokesman Mark Meyer. "Daryl was on top the whole way through the fourth and closed out the match 11-2."
The 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 win in 68 minutes takes Selby into his first Tour final since contesting the 2012 Grasshopper Cup climax - but the 18th of his career.
"Very happy with my performance tonight against an always strong @ljanjema," tweeted Selby later. "Hoping I can play like that again tomorrow!!"
Walker survived an epic encounter against top seed Borja Golan, the world No9 from Spain who won their most recent Tour encounter in straight games.
Walker, the world No13 from Botswana, took the first two games before Golan reduced the deficit by taking the third.
"The fourth game was pure drama, both players getting gradually more tired and the let count increasing," said Meyer. "The crowd were treated to an unbelievable game of squash that really could have gone either way.
"The last part of the match was a great advert for squash in two players fighting for everything and Ali was overjoyed to sneak the fourth 14-12 and the match in 124 minutes."
Selby himself summed up the battle via Twitter: "Unbelievable match between @alisterWALKER and Borja. Big respect to both for the total commitment and fight to win a gruelling match."
The 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 14-12 victory takes Walker into the 13th PSA Tour final of his career - but his first of the year.
The final will be Selby and Walker's fifth Tour clash since 2005 - with the current head-to-head record finely poised on two wins apiece!
RESULTS: PSA International 35 Grasshopper Cup, Zurich, Switzerland
Semi-finals:
[4] Alister Walker (BOT) bt [1] Borja Golan (ESP) 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 14-12 (124m)
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [3] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 6-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-2 (68m)
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