RESULTS: NSC Series No8 Squash Championships, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Men's Final:
[3] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Steve Finitsis (AUS) 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7 (60m)
Women's Final:
[2] Aisling Blake (IRL) bt [5] Lauren Siddall (ENG) 11-8, 11-9, 11-3 (40m)
Second seed Aisling Blake and No3 seed Nicolas Mueller triumphed in the NSC Series No8 Squash Championships in Kuala Lumpur after contrasting finals in the Tour events at the National Squash Centre in Bukit Jalil.
Blake, the 28-year-old world No30 from Ireland, reached the final of the women's $16,000 WISPA World Tour event after a tough 85-minute battle against fourth-seeded Malaysian Low Wee Wern.
Her surprise opponent in the final was England's Lauren Siddall, the fifth seed from Yorkshire ranked 12 places lower who stunned favourite Sharon Wee in the quarter-finals before overcoming another local player Siti Munirah Jusoh, the No8 seed from Malaysia, in the next round.
But Blake needed only three games to get the better of Siddall, winning 11-8, 11-9, 11-3 in 40 minutes to earn the third Tour title of her career.
The final of the men's $10,000 PSA World Tour event was an hour-long affair which went the full distance.
Nicolas Mueller faced Australian Steve Finitsis, the unseeded 26-year-old from Queensland who had taken out two seeds to earn his place in the 10th PSA Tour final of his career.
Swiss teenager Mueller made his breakthrough in the semi-finals, downing local hero Muhd Asyraf Azan, the seventh seed from Malaysia who removed Egyptian favourite Omar Abdel Aziz in the previous round.
Mueller twice led in the final - but both times Finitsis fought back to draw level. But the 19-year from Hirzel, near Zurich, ultimately prevailed 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7 to win his second Tour title in Kuala Lumpur.
But the success also brings Mueller's Tour title triumphs in 2009 to four - becoming only the second player to mark up four PSA titles this year.