RESULTS: Motor City Squash Open, Detroit, USA
Semi-finals:
[1] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [7] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 11-4, 11-5, 11-3
[3] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [2] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 5-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4
Third-seeded Malaysian Mohd Azlan Iskandar scored a notable upset over Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the No2 seed, in the semi-finals of the Motor City Open to reach the final of the $40,000 PSA World Tour squash event at the Birmingham Athletic Club in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Lincou, the 2003 runner-up from Marseille making his PSA Tour debut this year, built up a two-games-to-one lead
"I was feeling really well, started really well," said the 33-year-old Frenchman, ranked nine in the world, afterwards. “I had a good game plan. Then he started to pick everything up, limit his mistakes, so it was much harder for me to make a point. On the day, I think he was just fitter than me.”
Iskandar, ranked eight places lower, used the court to his advantage, playing at a quick pace and forcing Lincou into long, exhausting rallies.
The 27-year-old from KL went on to record a 5-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4 victory to earn his 21st appearance in a PSA Tour final.
Hi opponent will be top seed Karim Darwish, last year's world number one from Egypt who needed just 35 minutes to overcome compatriot Omar Abdel Aziz 11-4, 11-5, 11-3.
"Omar is a very good player," said Darwish, who is trying to regain his 2009 form as world No1 after a back injury sidelined him in December. "His fitness is really good, but today he was a little bit tired from yesterday’s match, so I took advantage of it.
"Overall, I’m happy with my performance so far," added Darwish, now in his 28th Tour final. "My confidence is coming back again. To be in the semis in New York (last week’s Tournament of Champions), and to be in the final here, it’s a great achievement and I’m looking forward to my match tomorrow."