02-Jun, Final:
Four in a row for Finitsis
Andrew Dent reports

Australia’s Steve Finitsis became the first player since compatriot Stewart Boswell to win four successive PSA tournaments when he beat Zac Alexander in the final of the Fluidline Golden Open in Kalgoorlie on Monday. Finitsis, 25, beat the 19-year-old Alexander in four games to add the Golden Open to titles he won in Darwin, Merredin and Perth over the last month.

Despite losing the first game to his younger opponent, Finitsis said he hadn’t panicked. “He started well but I knew it would be hard for him to keep the pace up, and when he slowed down after the first game I was able to go on and win comfortably,” Finitsis said. “But he’ll be a good player when he is able to keep that pace going for longer.”

Finitsis, originally from Innisfail but now based in Brisbane, said he had begun the Australian tour “quietly confident” of doing well, so winning four tournaments in a row had not been a complete surprise.

“It’s definitely a result of all the training I’ve been doing, both mentally and physically,” he said. “I’ve been doing the AMOS program, an elite sport mental training program, with Jeff Hammond, and that’s helped me a lot. And Mark Forster has been helping me physically – the mental and physical aspects have come together nicely.”

Boswell went on to win seven in a row in 2005 and Finitsis said there’s no reason why he can’t add to his own record this year.

His next tournaments are the Australian Closed Championships in Sydney from June 13-15 and the Crocodile Cup in Hong Kong from June 18-22, both of which will feature players ranked higher than him.

“The tournaments are going to get harder, but I’m looking forward to when I play guys higher in the rankings than me,” Finitsis said. I’ll be able to test myself even more.”
 

11/9, 11/4, 12/10

[Q] Carl Hampson

6/11, 11/5, 11/7, 11/4

[2] Zac Alexander

11/9, 5/11, 11/6, 11/4

[2] Zac Alexander

Finitsis and Alexander in title decider

Queensland duo Steve Finitsis and Zac Alexander will meet in the third final in four tournaments after both won their semi-finals at the Fluidline Golden Open squash tournament in Kalgoorlie on Sunday.

Top seed Finitsis ended the giant-killing run of South African qualifier Carl Hampson with an 11-9, 11-4, 12-10 win while Alexander saw off a strong challenge from Melbourne’s Steven Robinson, winning 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-4.
Finitsis and Alexander met in the final in Darwin and Merredin over the past month, with Finitsis winning on both occasions.

Finitsis also won the City of Perth International last weekend and is aiming to become one of the few players to have won four PSA titles in a row.
 
Giant killing Hampson at it again
Andrew Dent reports

South African qualifier Carl Hampson continued his recent good form when he beat fourth seeded Queenslander Nathan Turnbull to reach the semi-finals of the Fluidline Golden Open squash tournament in Kalgoorlie on Saturday.

Hampson reached the final of the City of Perth International as a qualifier last weekend and beat two seeded players in Kalgoorlie on his way to the last four. In the first round he accounted for fifth seeded Victorian Joseph Desira before beating Turnbull.

He now faces Steve Finitsis, the 25-year-old Queenslander aiming to win his fourth PSA tournament in succession and the man who beat Hampson in the Perth final. If Finitsis wins he will become the first player to win four PSA titles in a row since fellow Australian Stewart Boswell in 2005.

The second semi-final will be between Melbourne’s Steve Robinson and Zac Alexander of Brisbane.