09-Nov, Final:
Southpaw Kandra takes GoodLife Open title

Today in Ottawa, the fans were treated to some great squash! The curtain raiser in the Men's A final saw local Kiwi Steven Wren beat new comer to Ottawa Shady Elkamhawy 3-2 in a very entertaining match.

Next up, the Pro final where leftie or south paw as we call them in North America, Raphael Kandra, No. 2 seed, took the GoodLife Open title beating the right handed Declan James, No. 3 seed.

Today Declan was forced to play a lot more forehand shots playing the leftie which did not seem as comfortable for him, making errors on the forehand side which we had not seen in the previous rounds. When Declan did open up the court on his backhand, he did finish, but this was not often enough.

To Raphael's credit the pressure he put on Declan was relentless forcing many errors on Declan's forehand. Kudos to both players for their incredible shot making & coverage of the court, when it was all over with Raphael as the Champ, they left the court to a standing ovation.

Declan on Raphael's performance afterwards: "Raphael played ridiculously well the whole tournament winning the title without dropping a game!"
 

11/8, 4/11, 11/5, 11/7 (72m)

[3] Declan James

11/7, 11/7, 11/8 (36m)

[2] Raphael Kandra

7th PSA title
for Raphael

11/8, 11/4, 11/8 (23m)

[2] Raphael Kandra

08-Nov, Semis:
James Knocks out defending champion Knight

Today at the GoodLife Open, Declan James advanced to the final with a very entertaining win over Martin Knight.

The match was played in good humour which the crowd really appreciated. The first 2 games were played at a very high pace with both players matching each other in retrieving & attacking skills. D

eclan at the end of the first game hit two very tight short shots to take it 11-9. The second game was more of the same with Martin relentless in his retrieving, forcing Declan to start shooting a little too early & the errors crept in allowing Martin a free run to 11-4. In the third & fourth games, Declan took more control of the match by slowing the pace down, enabling him to pin Martin behind him more.

This opened up the court more & Declan hit some sublime tight straight winners both on the volleys & drives. Declan as a result took the 3rd & 4th games, 11-5, 11-7. After the match Declan said of his performance" The pace was very high in the first 2 games & I knew I had to slow it down after that & play more on my terms. Tactically I was happy with the way I played today."

Raphael Kandra, No. 2 seed had a much easier win, 3-0 over Canadian Dane Sharp. Raphael again today was on to the ball very fast & his variation of shot forced Dane to work very hard in matching him.

Raphael's mix of deft touches to the front mixed with low drives were too much for Dane to stay with him today & he advanced to the final.
 

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