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Final:
[4] Shawn De Lierre (Can) bt [2] Mark Heather (Eng)
      11/8, 11/8, 6/11, 11/6 (37m)
  
De Lierre doubles up in Houston

Canada's Shawn De Lierre claimed his second career PSA title with an upset win over second seed Mark Heather in the final at the Downtown Club.

De Lierre led Heather after the first two games. But the Englishman then slowed down the pace, forcing long rallies, to reduce the deficit.

However, the Canadian regained control of the 'T' in the fourth game, and hit tight straight and cross court shots and a couple of volley nicks to clinch the title in 37 minutes.

DeLierre, the fourth seed and world no. 91, had upset top-seeded Phillip Barker of England in straight games in the semi-finals before taking out the No. 2 seed in the final.

De Lierre collected $900 for his week's work. His previous tour win was in last year's Quebec Open.
  

SMH kicks off
hectic month

The Sanders Morris Harris Championships in Houston, Texas, kicks off a series of PSA events in the Americas.

After Houston there are events in Sao Paulo, Oklahoma, Salt Lake City, Bogota, Brasilia, and Santa Barbara, all in the space of four weeks (see the Calendar for details).

Mark Heather

 Qualifying                                        thanks to David Barnett for the results

Qualifying Finals:
Dylan Patterson (USA) bt Michael Reid (CAN)           11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5
Andre Holderegger (SUI) bt Scott Fitzgerald (WAL)   11-8 9-11 11-7 11-8
Chris Simpson (ENG) bt  Patrick Bedore (CAN)         11-7, 11-5, 11-10 (2-0)
Mohammad Sadiq (PAK) bt David Barnett (ENG)       11-7, 11-8, 10-11 (0-2), 11-10 (2-0)

Qualifying Round One:
Dylan Patterson (USA) bt Local 3-0
Michael Reid (CAN)  bye
Scott Fitzgerald (WAL) bt Manuel Fregoso (MEX) 3-0
Andre Holderegger (SUI) bt Local 3-0
Patrick Bedore (CAN) bye
Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Imran Khan (PAK) 3-1
Mohammad Sadiq (PAK) bt Armando Olguin (MEX) 3-0
David Barnett (ENG) bt Octavi (local) 3-0
   

Semis:
De Lierre Dents Barker's
Hopes In Houston

Canadian Shawn De Lierre claimed a significant scalp to reach the final when he upset top seed Phillip Barker in straight games in the semi-finals at the Downtown Club in Houston, Texas.

Montreal-born De Lierre, the 23-year-old fourth seed from Toronto, despatched the English favourite - ranked 44 places higher in the world to celebrate his second appearance in a PSA Tour final.

Barker, also 23, from Upminster in Essex, had earlier survived a nail-biting quarter-final against fifth seed Karim Yehia, coming back from 1/2 down to beat the Egyptian 11-10 7-11 8-11 11-9 11-10 in a 74-minute marathon.

De Lierre faces another Englishman in the final - his third in the event - after Mark Heather, the No2 seed, clinched victory over Pakistan's Kumail Mehmood when the sixth seed retired injured midway through the fourth game.

Both De Lierre and Heather are looking for the second PSA titles, the Portsmouth-born Englishman in his seventh final.

Quarters:
Top Seeds Tested in Texas

The quarter-finals of the Sanders Morris Harris championships in Houston's Downtown Club saw both top seeds taken to five games before reaching the last four.

England's Phillip Barker escaped from 2/1 and 7/4 down before beating Karim Yehia in a fifth-game tie-break after 74 minutes.

At the bottom of the draw, second seed Mark Heather also found himself 2/1 down, but recovered to beat Australian Ben Gould in 70 minutes.

In the semi-finals Barker meets Shawn De Lierre, while Heather takes on Kumail Mehmood, who upset France's fourth seed Laurent Elriani in four games.

Round One:
De Lierre denies Simpson

Having successfully qualified in his first PSA event, England's Chris Simpson narrowly failed to reach the quarter-finals in Houston, losing 3/2 to Canada's Shawn De Lierre in a thrilling match, the longest match of the day.

Most of the other first round matches were straightforward affairs, with all the seeded players going through to the quarters. The match between top seed Phillip Barker and Downtown Club professional Mohammad Sadiq was a tough, high-quality match that kept the crowd entertained as Barker showed his fitness.
   
Qualifying:
Simpson's Winning Debut

Playing in his first PSA event, England's Chris Simpson successfully negotiated the qualifying competition to reach the first round in Houston.

Simpson plays Canada's Shawn De Lierre, while his opponent in the qualifying finals, Pat Bedore, gets a 'lucky loser' spot after the withdrawal of Michael Puertas. Should Simpson and Bedore both win they would meet again in the quarters!

Downtown Club pro Mohammad Sadiq delighted local fans by reaching the first round, where he takes on the top seed, England's Philip Barker.