Shawn Delierre provided a popular home winner in the final of the Saskatoon Boast in Saskatchewan, Canada, as he beat top seed Martin Knight in straight games.

Two tins for Delierre to start a highly anticipated matchup between the top seeds and a stroke to finally put him on the board.

Four out of the first five points for Knight came from tins off Delierre’s racket. It's obvious the Canadian knows he has to put his shots in well to negate the Kiwi's retrieving ability. Finally, at 5-2, Delierre draws on his reserves and shows another gear to level the match at 7 all.

There is a series of lets and it's clear that when Knight is getting the momentum in a rally that Deliere is willing to play the man and escape with cheap lets. Knight discusses this issue with the ref but no warnings are given. From that point Delierre accelerated to clinch the first game ball 11-7.

Knight started the second strongly. Delierre had to fight to catch up from 3-1 down and stay level up to 9 all. At that point again there was a series of lets that spelled frustration for the kiwi that was desperate to avoid going two games down. Delierre showed his moxy by pushing the pace and claiming the second 11-9.

The third started fast with Delierre going for shots never revealed as of yet in the match as he slotted two very good nicks and took a 3-0 lead. Knight was able to claw back to 4 all assisted by two tins from the Canadian, however, Delierre then seemed to find a new gear and built another three point lead to go up 8-5.

Knight was losing his confidence in being able to mount a comeback and it showed as Delierre was able to continue his have -no-fear shot selection and close the final game 11-7.

A disappointing showing for the repeat finalist but sincere congratulations were given to the better man on the night, Shawn Delierre, a two-time Saskatoon Boast Champion.

Shawn Delierre: "I first want to thank Sunrise Foods and many other sponsors that made it possible for the athletes to come to Saskatoon for this great event. Martin played a tougher draw by playing against Youssef the day before in an hour and a half when I only spent about 50 minutes on court with Andrew Schnell.

"I was able to keep the ball off the tin and use my talent and skill to create shots that pushed Martin's game of attrition and retrieval. It was very tough, some rallies were a minute and a half which felt like a whole day hanging out with Martin. These rallies ended in lets and I was hoping that Martin would give in but he kept going and going! I am very happy to have won this tournament in its first year and now in its 14th Annual."

Martin Knight: "In the first he made a few mistakes at the start which is not the way you want to begin a final. He was able to settle down and avoid the tin to take the first. The second game was crucial, a couple of massive rallies and I was able to get to 9-all.

"This was the crunch for me, I knew I had to win one of the first two games to be competitive. Shawn was able to squeak that game with even more massive rallies. It was just one of those days, where you know you have to get one of the first two games to be in the match, but 2-love down was just too big a hill to climb today.

"Well done, Shawn."

11-8, 12-10, 12-14, 11-8

[Q] Youssef Soliman

11-7, 11-9,
11-7 (66m)

[2] Shawn Delierre

11-7, 11-5, 11-4

[2] Shawn Delierre

19-Nov, Qualifying Finals:

Graeme Schnell (Can) bt Alex Noakes (Eng)                      11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (31m)
Youssef Soliman (Egy) bt Albert Shoihet (Can)                   11-4, 11-5, 11-6 (24m)
David Baillargeon (Can) bt Adrian Ostbye (Ice) 8-11, 11-2, 5-11, 11-5, 11-2 (65m)
Joe Green (Eng) bt Francisco Mendez Correa (Mex)   11-5, 11-5, 4-11, 11-6 (36m)

18-Nov, Qualifying Round One:

Graeme Schnell (Can) bt Mateo Buitrago (Can)            11-5, 11-5, 11-4 26m
Alex Noakes (Eng) bt Jason Gelowitz (Can)                  11-5, 11-6, 11-6 19m
Albert Shoihet (Can) bt Derek Shevkenek (Can)           11-3, 11-3, 11-2 12m
Adrian Ostbye (Ice) bt Steve Johnson (Can)                 11-3, 11-4, 11-8 26m
David Ballagreon (Can) bt Noah Wernikowski (Can)       11-1, 11-5, 11-3 22m
Francisco Menedz Correa (Mex) bt Thomas King (Can) 11-5, 14-12, 11-5 40m
Youssef Soliman (Egy) bt Michael Russell (Can)             11-3, 11-1, 11-2 16m
Joe Green (Eng) bt James Landeryou (Can)                  11-3, 11-2, 11-2 17m

Martin Knight bt Youssef Soliman 11-8, 12-10, 12-14, 11-8

Right from the beginning of the match it was clear that the young Egyptian was going to have a different level of challenger tonight.

Knight's ability to retrieve excellent shots was put on display right from the beginning. Rally after rally Soliman had thought he had won the point with excellent crosscourt drop, however, Knight was able to continue retrieving them until frustration set in for his young opponent and he would tin the ball. At 8-4 down, Soliman showed some fight back and was able to get to 8 all, however, the experienced veteran closed out the game 11-8.

Soliman stopped his tins in the second game and fought hard to stay level to four all when Knight got a quick string of errors out of the youngsters racket and ran up to 8-5. Knight had three game balls after he reached 10-7 but Soliman dug deep to fight back to a tiebreaker. The kiwi was able to refocus his attacks and closed it out 12-10.

The third game started out with highly successful nicks from the young player, one coming from a crosscourt counter drop that absolutely rolled back to the middle of the court. At 4-0, Knight was finally able to get on the board with a well constructed rally, however, he couldn't catch up and the youngster got to a game ball at 10-7. Knight turned it on and got to a tiebreaker but Soliman was able to finally convert on his sixth game ball to 14-12.

The fourth game started with another strong start from Soliman. At 3-1 and 7-4 it was looking like he was going to take the match to a fifth but Knight kicked into a newfound gear and fought back to 8 all. In the end, Soliman wasn't able to hold on as Knight took the ascendency and finished the match out at 11-8.

The crowd was ecstatic to have seen such an amazing display of squash. They were primed for a dramatic fight to find out which Canadian would be joining Knight in the final.


Shawn Delierre bt Andrew Schnell 11-7, 11-5, 11-4

It was obvious from the beginning that Delierre was taking this match very seriously. His usual flamboyant style was almost nonexistent in his direct assault on Schnell.

After a quick 3-0 start by Delierre, Schnell was able to draw even at 7 all, however, due to a couple of unforced errors and tins, Delierre was able to close the first out at 11-7. The second was level pegging to 3 all when Schnell began to complain to the ref about Delierre playing the player rather than the ball and getting cheap lets.

Unfortunately it took away from his focus on the task at hand and Delierre ran up to 9-3 and stifled any fight back by finishing at 11-5.

The third game saw a similar pattern up until 3 all where Delierre was able to string together excellent points followed by unforced errors from Schnell's racket. By the time 10-4 was reached the younger Schnell was deflated and Delierre proved that he only needed one match ball to take the win 11-4.

If this focussed and controlled player is able to show up tomorrow, he will have a real shot at winning his second Saskatoon Boast and sending the kiwi home empty handed for the second time in a row.
 

21-Nov, Quarters:
Sharp bows out but home finalist guaranteed

Martin Knight bt Matthew Serediak

Knight came out firing, pushing the play deep and extending rallies. Serediak was game for retrieving up until nine all in the first game. At that point, Knight imposed his will and shut down the Regina, Saskatchewan born player to take the first. The second was smooth runnings for the kiwi as Serediak was unable to deal with many clean winners from Knight.

Serediak came out with renewed hope in the third and it was level pegging until 7 all, however, Knight closed the door and played some high quality counter drops and two nicks to finish the match 3-0.

Youssef Soliman bt Dane Sharp

In a much anticipated battle between Canada's number two player and the newcomer from Egypt, there was a significant level of tension in the audience as well as in the players trying to decipher what weapons the Egyptian will bring to the court tonight? Sharp was able to close the court successfully on the first game and didn't allow the Egyptian to play the crosscourt nicks he had been able to exploit in the previous matchup.

It was level pegging up until five all where Sharp ran ahead to 7-5 and 10-6. The youngster showed significant fight back to get to 9-10 but the Canadian was able to close it out 11-9. The second game was rapid fire as they reached 3-1 and 4-2 for the Egyptian. Soliman then ran ahead to 9-3 and Sharp was forced to succumb to the second game onslaught 11-4.

The third looked like it was going to be quick as the youngster ran ahead to 8-2. He was showing some exquisite kills from difficult positions and slotting the ball into the nick with repeated accuracy, however, Sharp finally woke up and fought back to 7-9 but three amazing kills closed it out for Soliman. There was very close scoring to 6 all in the fourth game when Sharp dropped some shot quality and Soliman pounced on the opportunity shifting into a newfound gear and picking his corners and finishing the match with a skillful exhibition.

Andrew Schnell bt Jaymie Haycocks

The first game was close but Schnell was dictating the pace most of the time. Haycocks almost caught up at the end. They were tied a 9 all and Schnell put two good rallies together and won on a stroke call. In the second game Haycocks managed to slow down the pace and he contained Schnell and won 11-9.

Schnell's game plan worked spot on for the third game as he played hard and fast and kept the ball speed up and did not allow Haycocks to settle and closed out the third game 11-3. In the beginning of the fourth the players had a few spirited rallies but then Schnell built up a bit of a lead and Haycocks appeared deflated. Schnell closed out the forth game 11-4 playing excellent squash to capture one of his best PSA victories and a place in the semi finals. After the match he said the first 2 games were very close and he felt fortunate to construct 2 good rallies at 9 all in the first game to take the first game 11-9.

Schnell said he tried to take the time away from the Englishman and use the fast court to his advantage as the ball was skidding a bit. He said it was a pleasure to play someone of Haycocks caliber and play such a clean game with no unnecessary lets. He said he was very excited to move on to the semi finals. Schnell recovered very well from his tough 5 game match in the first round and appeared quite fresh and strong. Haycocks confirmed that Schnell took full advantage of the fast court and used his speed to full advantage.

Haycocks said he would have liked to play a slower, more controlled game, but today was just one way traffic and things were just not going his way. He gave full credit to the young Canadian and said Schnell played very well.

Shawn Delierre bt Carlos Cornes

The first two games were dominated by Delierre with his court coverage. He was quicker on the ball and hit tight shots. In the third game Cornes dug in and managed to keep the score tight giving him a fighting chance. The players did not get around each other a lot and were fighting for the middle resulting in a flood of lets and some conversations with the ref.

The third game was over 30 minutes with long punishing rallies as Cornes was fighting for his life. Delierre tried to lighten the mood a bit and played up to the Canadian crowd and fought off 2 game balls and closed out the match 14-12 in the third game by displaying his experience by forcing a couple of loose balls and clinically finishing the rallies with a dazzling display of shot making.