Mexican Arturo Salazar successfully retained his title in the Talisman Energy Bankers Hall Club Open – but had to survive two successive battles lasting more than an hour before winning the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash title in its seventh year at Bankers Hall Club in Calgary in the Canadian province of Alberta.
The 22-year-old third seed from San Luis Potosi accounted for the top seed in the semi-finals when he beat England's Chris Simpson 11-5, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 13-11 in a 95-minute marathon.
His final opponent Jan Koukal had an even harder battle before earning his place in the climax: The No4 seed from the Czech Republic saw off top-seeded New Zealander Martin Knight 8-11, 11-8, 16-14, 6-11, 11-2 in exactly 100 minutes.
Both players surely felt the effects of the previous day's toils in the final – but it was Salazar who suffered the least as he prevailed 11-4, 7-11, 11-7, 12-10 to beat the Czech number one in 65 minutes.
The win takes Salazar's career PSA Tour tally to four titles from four final appearances.
Semi-finals:
[4] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [1] Martin Knight (NZL) 8-11, 11-8, 16-14, 6-11, 11-2
[3] Arturo Salazar (MEX) bt [2] Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-5, 9-11, 11-4, 8-11, 13-11
Quarter-finals:
[1] Martin Knight (NZL) bt [Q] Dane Sharp (CAN) 11-4, 7-11, 11-7, 13-11
[4] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [7] Laurence Delasaux (ENG) 2-11, 11-5, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7
[3] Arturo Salazar (MEX) bt [Q] Matthew Giuffre (CAN) 11-9, 11-6, 11-6
[2] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt [5] Robin Clarke (CAN) 11-7, 7-11, 11-2, 11-3
1st round:
[1] Martin Knight (NZL) bt Jens Schoor (GER) 11-8, 11-5, 11-8
[Q] Dane Sharp (CAN) bt [8] Max Lee (HKG) 12-10, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7
[4] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [Q] Peter Creed (WAL) 8-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3
[7] Laurence Delasaux (ENG) bt [Q] Andrew McDougall (CAN) 11-5, 11-3, 11-6
[Q] Matthew Giuffre (CAN) bt [6] David Phillips (CAN) 11-9, 11-5, 11-9
[3] Arturo Salazar (MEX) bt Andrew Schnell (CAN) 11-4, 11-2, 11-7
[5] Robin Clarke (CAN) bt Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) 11-7, 11-6, 13-11
[2] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Dick Lau (HKG) 11-6, 7-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-6
Issued by iSPORTmedia