WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Volvo Motor City Squash Open, Detroit, USA

Semi-finals:
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [1] Jonathon Power (CAN) 10-9 ret.
Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt [3] Karim Darwish (EGY) 6-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5, 11-6

Flying Finn Finishes Darwish

Unseeded Olli Tuominen added another top Egyptian to his Detroit scalps when he defeated Karim Darwish, the third seed, in four games to reach the final of the Volvo Motor City Squash Open at the Birmingham Athletic Club.  He will meet fourth seed Gregory Gaultier after the Frenchman secured an unlikely victory in the other semi-final when his top-seeded opponent Jonathon Power retired midway through the first game suffering from back spasms.

After despatching England's No7 seed Mark Chaloner in the opening round and Egypt's second seed Amr Shabana in the quarters, Tuominen looked at the top of his game for his semi-final clash with Darwish.  But the former world junior champion, displaying the touch and range that won him the St Louis Open crown a week ago, jumped out to a quick 9-5 lead in game one with a beautiful reverse drop across the front tin.  Two points later, the same shot gave him the game.

The second game proved to be the turning point, and one of the best of the tournament.  Undeterred by the Egyptian's game one magic, Tuominen jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead, hitting deep then taking his opportunities up front.  Darwish quickly came back with a dazzling display of shot-making, knotting the score at 8-all.  From there, it was a battle, both players getting physical, provoking a string of lets.

The Finn earned a game point at 10-9, but Darwish struck right back, burying an aggressive service return for a winner.  In the tie-break, Tuominen turned his game up, hitting two consecutive brilliantly disguised drop shots in the front court, catching Darwish on his heels and drawing level.

Game three was all Tuominen.  After Darwish broke to a 2-0 lead, Olli made few mistakes.  He went up 3-2 on a beautiful winner from the back wall, then 5-2 after a pair of loose shots from Darwish.  Taking the match's momentum, Tuominen then sliced two winners for 8-4 before running out the game.

"I thought he was getting tired," said Olli afterwards. "But I've learned that you have to keep your head against him, because he's so talented in the front of the court."

Darwish, looking the wearier of the pair, gave one last run in game four.  At 4-4, he brought a one-two punch of a reverse corner backhand followed by a down-the-line winner, but that would be his final fling as Tuominen, playing with confidence and patience, put together a string of controlled points to take the lead and ultimately the match 6-11 11-10 11-5 11-6.

"That was my best game of the week," said the elated Finn, currently 25 in the world.  "I've been slowly getting better all year, and this match is really good for me. I've been trying to avoid going for too much too early, being patient, and trying to create situations for myself."

The second semi-final looked to be a struggle, featuring the creative shot-making of world No9 Power against the steady backcourt play of Gaultier, ranked 11 in the world.  Power, however, had looked physically uncomfortable at times in his quarter-final win over Alex Gough, and there were questions as to whether the Canadian would be able to go the distance in the next round.

The pair started conservatively, having played each other only once before.  A series of long rallies (61 shots, 67 shots, 40, and 40) brought the score to 5-5.  After that the pace of the match started to pick up, with Power dishing a pair of stunning backhand kills, and Gaultier hitting with consistent depth.

Then, at 8-8, Power began to wince with pain.  Struggling around the court to 9-10, he suddenly collapsed in a heap while chasing a deep Gaultier drive into the forehand corner. Power's day - and the match - were done.