Declan James Takes Toronto PSA Classic by Nathan Clarke March 2, 2015
- England’s Declan James fulfilled his seeding in the Guilfoyle
Financial PSA Classic in Canada when he lifted the inaugural PSA
Challenger 5 squash event trophy at the Toronto Cricket Skating &
Curling Club in Toronto.
The event favourite from Nottingham reached his eighth PSA World Tour
final when he overcame fellow countryman Anthony Graham 12-10, 12-10,
14-12 in a rare semi-final featuring all-tie-break games. Unseeded
Graham had earlier upset local hope Michael McCue, the fourth seed.
James’s opponent in the final was Qatar star Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi,
the 20-year-old world No.68 from Doha who has become his country’s
highest-ranked squash player of all-time.
Seeded two, Al Tamimi defeated Canada’s No.3 seed Dane Sharp 6-11,
11-3, 11-4, 11-7 to celebrate the first PSA Tour final appearance of
his career.
The young Qatari seemed on course to spring a surprise in the final –
and twice led experienced top seed James, ranked just a single place
higher.
But from 4-3 down in the fourth, James grabbed 19 of the next 22 points to claim his 7-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-5, 11-2 title triumph.
The win marks the Englishman’s fourth PSA Tour title – and his first in North America.
