Adelaide’s Mike Corren will be aiming to create a
piece of history at the Golden Open men’s professional
squash tournament in Kalgoorlie this weekend.
Corren’s win at the City of Perth
International on Sunday moved him to 25 titles on
the PSA tour, only one behind fellow Australian David Palmer
and Egypt’s Amr Shabana on the all-time winners’ list, the
current players with most titles.
The 36-year-old, who won his first PSA title in Hong Kong
back in 1996, has been collecting titles all over the world
in a career that has seen him based in Australia, Europe,
North America, Malaysia and New Zealand.
His enduring success is even more remarkable considering a
number of severe injuries over the years that have
threatened to end his career prematurely.
Corren has moved back to his home town of Adelaide and is
now training under Geoff Davenport at the South Australian
Academy of Squash.
 “I
might be 36 but I’m still working on my game all the time,”
he said after his win in Perth.
“I’m training twice a day – I’m not just sitting back and
resting on my laurels.
“You are only as fit as the work you put in.”
Corren goes into the Golden Open as the hot favourite
following his win in Perth and finishing runner up in Darwin
at the Top End Open two weeks
ago.
Second seed will be Nathan Stevenson from the town of
Caboolture, just north of Brisbane.
Stevenson finished runner-up to Corren at the 2009 Golden
Open and also fell to the veteran South Australian at the
2009 NSW Open.
He will be aiming to make up for his disappointment in Perth
last week when he fell in the quarter-finals to top
Australian junior Jake Alexander, who is also heading to
Kalgoorlie.
Other main contenders include third seed Justin Beard of
Adelaide and Melbourne’s Rex Hedrick, runner-up to Corren in
Perth last week and seeded fourth at the Golden Open.
The international flavour of the event is boosted by New
Zealand trio Alex Grayson, James Skiffington and Edward
Dromgool and Pakistani Wasif Ali Khan.
Qualifying will be held Thursday, with the first round
beginning at 10.30am on Friday.
The Golden Open is the third stop on the 2010 Australian
Squash Tour and one of only two tournaments outside a
capital city.
The tour began at the Top End Open in Darwin and takes in
Perth, Kalgoorlie, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Rockhampton
and Sydney, culminating in the Australian Open in Canberra
from August 9-15.
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01-Jun-10