JUST a week after losing to the lower-ranked Pakistani in the opening round of the Edmonton Open in Canada, Mexico’s Alfredo Avila earned his revenge in the ideal way by beating Farhan Zaman in the final of the Betty F Griffin Florida State Open Squash Championship in Boca Raton, Florida.
Top seed Avila reached the final – his seventh on the Tour – after a four-game win over Hisham Mohd Ashour, the former World No.11 from Egypt making his return to the international circuit after a seven-month break.
Second seed Zaman, the world number 68 from Peshawar, also needed four games to overcome unseeded Frenchman Johan Bouquet in the other semi to reach his third Tour final of the year.
Still smarting from his premature exit in Alberta, 22-year-old Avila was determined to make amends.
The world number 62 from Mexico City duly despatched Zaman 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 to win the fifth PSA World Tour title of his career – and his second Florida State Open crown since 2010.
Final:
[1] Alfredo Avila (Mex) 3-0 [2] Farhan Zaman (Pak) 11-9, 11-7, 11-5
Semi-finals:
[1] Alfredo Avila (Mex) 3-1 [4] Hisham Mohd Ashour (Egy) 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 11-5
[2] Farhan Zaman (Pak) 3-1 Johan Bouquet (Fra) 13-11, 7-11, 14-12, 11-4