WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Chartres Open Squash Championship, Chartres, France

Final:
[7] Mohamed Essam Hafiz (EGY) bt [2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 15-11, 11-15, 13-15, 15-5, 15-12 (85m)

Hafiz Is Top In Chartres

Egypt's Mohamed Essam Hafiz celebrated his first PSA Tour title in some style in Chartres when he upset second-seeded Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema in a five-game final thriller in the first Chartres Open Squash Championship in France.

Anjema, the 21-year-old from The Hague who lifted the Dutch Open title last week, looked on course to win his second successive title after reaching the final without dropping a game.

However Hafiz, the seventh seed, made his breakthrough when he ousted France's No3 seed Jean-Michel Arcucci in the quarter-finals - and followed this unpopular local upset in the semi-finals where he removed a second Frenchman Stephane Galifi, the qualifier who had earlier beaten the top seed Jan Koukal.

In a dramatic final which saw the underdog fight back from 1/2 down, 27-year-old Hafiz ultimately prevailed 15-11 11-15 13-15 15-5 15-12 over Anjema in 85 minutes to register his maiden success on the PSA Tour in only his second appearance in a final.