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 First
for Finitsis in
Darwin
Jamie Broadfoot reports
Steve Finitsis took out his maiden Men’s PSA final today at
the 2008 Northern Territory Open against second seed Zac Alexander.
The score line of 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 did not reflect the match which
had both players using all four corners of the court.
In a display of contrasting styles saw Finitsis forcing the tempo of
the game with long gruelling rallies and taking the ball early and
Alexander slowly the tempo down. The first game had the players
hitting patiently up and down the backhand wall and the score line
half way through saw Alexander with a 5-4 lead. The next five points
went to Finitsis with 4 unforced errors from Alexander and a penalty
stroke. The second game saw Finitsis quickly establish control of
the rallies and putting the ball away into the nick when able to.
Alexander was moving well, but it was the pace of the game which
forced unforced errors and allowed Finitsis to put the ball away.
The third game saw Alexander cut down his error rate and begin to
work the ball around the court with some impressive drop shots and
tickle boasts. In particular, it was his forehand drop shots that
clung to the wall. Unfortunately, Finitsis was able to retrieve most
of these shots and drawing on his obvious fitness he was able to
take the third game to record a well earned victory.
 That’s
great; it’s my first PSA victory… I’ve been doing a lot of training
recently, especially on my court movement and I felt really good out
there today. I’m moving well and feel confident in getting most
balls back. Zac was going for his shots, he played well. Thanks to
the sponsors and the Darwin Squash centre for putting on this great
event.
 I
stuck to my game plan which was to not try and play the same pace as
Steve… its not my game to play at that tempo. There were a couple of
errors there at crucial stages, but all credit to Steve, he played
well and deserved the victory.
 Lisa
Camilleri came from one game down to take out the 2008 NT
Women’s Open today in a display of clean hitting and volleying. In a
tightly contested first three games, the players moved the ball
short often and at stages found themselves out of position. But it
was Camilleri who was able to play better towards the ‘business’ end
of the second and third games winning both 9-7.
Camilleri continued to move Urquhart around the court in the final
game and with fist raised looked a delighted and well deserved
winner.
|
2007 Event |
 Top
End Open 2008
Darwin, Australia, 09-11 May, $5k |
Round One
10-May |
Quarters
10-May |
Semis
11-May |
Final
11-May |
[1] Steve Finitsis
(Aus)
11-0, 11-2, 11-6
[Q] Tim Cowell (Aus) |
Tim Cowell
11-5, 11-2, 11-9
Steve Finitsis |
Steve Finitsis
11-3, 11-8, 11-4
Luke Forster |
Steve Finitsis
11-7, 11-4, 11-8
Zac Alexander |
[6] Josh Cardwell
(Aus)
11-7, 11-2, 11-5
Cheng Yao Huang (Tpe) |
[4] Joseph Desira
(Aus)
11-6, 13-11, 11-6
Luke Forster (Aus) |
Luke Forster
7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8
Aaron Fyffe |
[5] Jacob Lohrisch
(Aus)
11-2, 11-6, 8-11, 6-11, 11-8
Aaron Fyffe (Aus) |
[Q] Brent Dunkley
(Aus)
8-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-2
[7] Anson Kwong (Hkg) |
Anson Kwong
7-11, 11-3, 13-11, 11-9
Carl Hampson |
Anson Kwong
14-12, 11-5, 11-5.
Zac Alexander |
[Q] Carl Hampson
(Rsa)
8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 15-13
[3] Nathan Turnbull (Aus) |
Nathan Stevenson (Aus)
9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8
[8] Justin Beard (Aus) |
Nathan Stevenson
11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8
Zac Alexander |
[Q] Peter Taylor (Rsa)
11-8, 11-3, 5-11, 11-6
[2] Zac Alexander (Aus) |
Qualifying Finals:
Tim Cowell (AUS) def George Mikhael (NT Local Player) 11-3,
11-4, 11-7
Brent Dunkley (AUS) def Lachlan Cowley (NT Local Player) 11-5, 11-6,
11-7
Peter Taylor (AUS) def Ben Werchon (Local Player) 11-9,11-9,11-8
Carl Hampson (RSA) def Jarod Laskazeski (Local Player) 11-4, 11-7,
11-0
First Round:
George Mikhael btAdam Wyatt 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6
|
Top End Open 2008
Darwin, Australia, 09-11 May, $5k |
Round One
10-May |
Quarters
10-May |
Semis
11-May |
Final
11-May |
| --- |
[1] Donna Urquhart (Aus)
|
Donna Urquhart
9-0, 9-3, 9-0
Melody Francis |
Donna Urquhart
Lisa Camilleri |
[6] Zoe Petranovsky
(Aus)
Tansyn Noble (Aus) |
| --- |
[4] Maggy Marshall (Aus)
[5] Melody Francis (Aus) |
| --- |
Dijo Sexton (Aus)
[8] Sarah Cardwell (Aus) |
Sarah Cardwell
[3] Joey Chan (Hkg) |
Sarah Cardwell
9-0, 9-1, 9-2
Lisa Camilleri |
| --- |
|
--- |
[7] Tamika Saxby (Aus)
[2] Lisa Camilleri (Aus) |
| --- |
Top seeds cruise into Darwin finals
Jamie Broadfoot reports
The number one and two seeds in both the men’s and women’s events
cruised to comfortable victories in the 2008 NT Open in Darwin.
Contrasting to the earlier first round where the seedings took a
beating, Finitsis and Alexander will meet for the first time in a
PSA final. Finitsis pace and hard hitting proved too much for Luke
Forster who had broken through to the semi-finals unseeded.
Zac Alexander proved to strong throughout, but it could have been a
different result if the bruising 1st game had gone to Kwong who had
a number of game balls. However, the second and third games never
looked in doubt and Alexander is looking very strong for this
afternoon final.
In the women’s semi-finals, both Urquhart and Camilleri proved far
too strong against their younger opponents and who had both fought
hard to reach the semi-finals against their relative seedings. It is
anticipated to be a close and hotly fought final.
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2007 Event
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Finitsis aims for first title
Preview from Andrew Dent
Queensland’s Steve Finitsis will be aiming for his first
Professional Squash Association title when he takes to the court as
top seed at the Top End Open in Darwin this weekend.
The 25-year-old from Innisfail reached the final of the 2007 South
Australian Open and will be looking to go one better in Darwin.
But he will have to overcome stern challenges from a mixture of
rising stars and more experienced players if he is to break through
for his maiden title.
Second seed is fellow Queenslander Zac Alexander, the
19-year-old from Brisbane who won his first tournament in Kuala
Lumpur in March.
Alexander, who trains with the Australian Institute of Sport, also
reached the final of the Barossa Valley Open in late April and goes
into the tournament in top form.
The top seedings are rounded out by Nathan Turnbull, also
from Brisbane, and Melbourne’s Joseph Desira, while overseas
interest comes from seventh seed Anson Kwong of Hong Long and
Taiwan’s Cheng Yao Huang.
In the women’s event, New South Wales’s Donna Urquhart and
Queensland’s Lisa Camilleri look set to battle it out for the
title, although Hong Kong’s Joey Chan may cause a surprise.
Urquhart has risen to 36 in the world rankings, while Camilleri is
at number 50.
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2007 Event
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