Corren, Camilleri crowned Perth champions
South Australia’s Mike Corren and Queensland’s Lisa Camilleri enjoyed yet more squash success when they were crowned respective champions at the City of Perth International in Perth on Sunday.
Corren upset top seed Matthew Karwalski in four games 12-10, 3-11, 13-11, 11-7 to take out the men’s final while Camilleri downed Melbourne’s Melody Francis 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 to win the women’s title.
Both Corren and Camilleri are multiple winners on their professional tours – Corren won his 34th title on Sunday and Camilleri her 18th.
But Corren in particular was made to work hard during the tournament and was pushed to the brink by 17-year-old Indian qualifier Mahesh Mangaonkar in the semi-finals earlier on Sunday, eventually winning 7-11, 4-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-9 to take his place in the decider.
“The semi-final was really, really hard,” he conceded later. “He (Mangaonkar) is going to be an extremely good player – I just managed to fall over the line.”
Corren, who has been training in Adelaide with Mike Nash, said the semi-final had left him drained for the decider.
“Halfway through the first game I knew I was in a bit of trouble.
“But Mike’s been helping me technically and tactically, and without that help I don’t think I would have got through.”
Corren now heads to Kalgoorlie for the Golden Open, where he is again seeded to meet Karwalski in the final.
However, Camilleri will now have a five-week break after she beat fellow AIS player Francis, who was also pushed to five sets in her semi-final win over Wales’ Tesni Evans.
“I’ve been playing terribly all week but today I played really well,” Camilleri said.
“I think she was a bit tired – that five-setter against Tesni took the edge off her.”
Results – prefix denotes seeding
Semi-finals
Men
1-Matthew Karwalski (NSW) bt 3-Justin Beard (SA) 11-9, 8-11, 11-3, 11-9
2-Mike Corren (SA) bt Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 7-11, 4-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-9
Women
1-Lisa Camilleri (Qld) bt 7-Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) 11-3, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8
2-Melody Francis (Vic) bt 8-Tesni Evans (WAL) 6-11, 11-4, 12-10, 6-11, 11-6
Finals
2-Mike Corren (SA) bt 1-Matthew Karwalski (NSW) 12-10, 3-11, 13-11, 11-7
Women
1-Lisa Camilleri (Qld) bt 2-Melody Francis (Vic) 11-6, 11-7, 11-9