Knight & Sharpes To Share Charlottesville Final
by Howard Harding

22 September 2013 - England's Charles Sharpes and New Zealander Martin Knight will contest the final of the ilex construction Charlottesville Challenger after surviving contrasting semi-finals in the inaugural PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event at McArthur Squash Center in Charlottesville in the US state of Virginia.

Third seed Sharpes faced Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi, the unseeded Qatari teenager who upset US favourite Julian Illingworth in the first round.

The 18-year-old from Doha took the opening two games before the London-born 21-year-old Sharpes asserted his authority on the encounter to take the next three to secure a 7-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 victory.

The win moves Sharpes into his second PSA Tour final of the year and the seventh of his career.

Second seed Knight, the New Zealand champion from Auckland, also faced an unseeded opponent. Ireland's Arthur Gaskin earned his surprise place in the last four after upsetting fourth-seeded Canadian Dane Sharp in the previous round.

But the 29-year-old Kiwi, ranked 53 in the world, was too strong for the Irishman, winning 12-10, 11-7, 11-3 to claim his third successive Tour final appearance this month - and the 11th of his career.

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 ilex construction Charlottesville Challenger, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Semi-finals:
[3] Charles Sharpes (ENG) bt Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) 7-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8
[2] Martin Knight (NZL) bt Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 12-10, 11-7, 11-3