Friday, March 29, 2024

Adrian Grant wins Dulwich Open BSPA title

All-London final as Grant beats Joe Lee in Easter decider
By Squash Mad Reporter

Adrian Grant (left) and Joe Lee
Adrian Grant (left) and Joe Lee

World no.23 Adrian Grant maintained his unbeaten record in the BSPA Dulwich Open in SE London this weekend. The defending champion lifted the trophy again with a hard fought victory over World no.30 Joe Lee.

Playing a controlled line and length, Grant held his nerve to edge the first 11/9 and then took the second with relative ease.

However, the capacity crowd were delighted to see the match extended further when Lee bounced back to take
the third and set up the prospect of a thrilling finish. Grant clearly had other ideas racing to 7/2 lead and though Lee offered some late resistance it was local resident Grant that closed things out after 70 minutes of some of the highest quality seen at the club.

The win secures Grant a berth in the Reliable Network Grand Prix Finals at Roehampton at the end of May (28-30th), and some consolation for Lee will be that he accrued enough Grand Prix points from his final spot to also join the fray in May, when he will no doubt be looking for revenge.

Earlier in the weekend, it was the Welsh who upset the seedings. Nineteen year old Joel Makin put in a solid performance to see off Dulwich No.1 Tim Garner, and Welsh No.1 Peter Creed dashed Tom Richards’ hopes of a third BSPA title.

Creed was leading 2-0 when Richards was forced to stop as a precaution having felt a muscle twinge. However, the World no.27 will hope to be fit for the Irish Open this week, where he is one of the top seeds.

On collecting his trophy Grant thanked the club for once again being part of the circuit and the members for coming and supporting the event all weekend.

Quarter-Finals:

Adrian Grant beat Scott Handley 12-10, 11-5, 3-11, 11-8
Jaymie Haycocks beat Ben Ford 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-8
Joe Lee beat Joel Makin 11-9, 11-8, 11-5
Peter Creed beat Tom Richards 11-6, 11-5, 5-5 retired

Semi-Finals:

Adrian Grant beat Jaymie Haycocks 11-8, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5
Joe Lee beat Peter Creed 3-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-3

Final:

Adrian Grant beat Joe Lee 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-7.

 

 

 

Picture by Steve Cubbins (SquashSite)

 

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