23-Dec, Final:

[1] Jan Koukal bt [3] Kashif Shuja   11/7, 12/10, 13/11 (47m)
  

Koukal finishes long year with a win

Czech squash star Jan Koukal has completed an historic year on the PSA World Tour in the best possible style - by winning the inaugural SYNOT TIP Open in his home city of Prague.

Competing in a record 25th PSA event of the year, the 28-year-old world No52 reached the final at the Squash Club Praha to clock up his tenth final appearance of 2011.

Top seed Koukal battled for 47 minutes against third seed Kashif Shuja before clinching an 11-7, 12-10, 13-11 victory over the New Zealander to record the 19th PSA title triumph of his career.

"I won in three - but it was a very close and tough match. Kashif played very well, but I managed to stay cool at the crucial points and play them a little better!

"I'm so happy to end this incredible and long year with a win, especially here in Prague at home in front of my friends and family.

"I don't think I ever looked so forward to Christmas as this year - as it means a rest for me!"

Kashif Shuja
in Praha

11/8, 11/8, 11/7 (43m)

[4] Joan Lezaud

11/7, 12/10, 13/11 (47m)

[3] Kashif Shuja

11/8, 13/11, 7/11, 9/11, 11/3 (70m)

Lucas Serme

Qualifying Finals:
Robert Downer - Jakob Dirnberger: 14:12, 11:6, 12:10, Downer 3:0
Will John - Chris Ferguson: 6:11, 5:11, 3:11, Ferguson 3:0
Mohamed Essam El Sherif - Zbynek Standera: 11:3, 13:11, 11:8, El Sherif 3:0
Marcus Greslehner - Frank Hartkoren: 9:11, 2:11, 10:12, Hartkoren 3:0

1st round of qualification (20.12.2011)

Robert Downer - Ariel Lewis: Lewis walk out, Downer (xx)
Martin Svec - Jakob Dirnberger: 4:11, 7:11, 11:7, 9:11, Dirnberger 3:1
Will John - Lukas Levinsky: 11:8, 11:7, 11:8. John 3:0
Daniel Zemmit-Lewis - Chris Ferguson: 5:11, 0:11, 1:11, Ferguson 3:0
Mohamed Essal El Sherif - Jakub Solnicky: 12:10, 11:9,11:9, El Sherif 3:0
Richard Nadvornik - Zbynek Standera: 2:11, 9:11, 7:11, Standera 3:0
Marcus Greslehner - Jack Jago: 11:2, 5:11, 11:5, 6:11, 11:8, Greslehner 3:2
Ondrej Uherka - Frank Hartkoren: 11:7, 11:6, 5:11, 5:11, 6:11, Hartkoren 3:2

When Jan Koukal steps onto a court at Squash Club Praha this week in a bid to win the inaugural SynotTip Open in his home city Prague, the Czech champion will make squash history by competing in his 25th PSA  event of the year.

The 28-year-old world No52 began his remarkable 2011 campaign in New York in the third week of January when he attempted to qualify for the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions, the first World Series event of the year.

Koukal went on to play in five further Tour events in the USA over the next two months before moving on to Canada, Hong Kong, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Netherlands, Kuwait and Slovakia before returning home to round off the year in the city of his birth.

During the historic journey, Koukal picked up his 18th career PSA title at the Regatas Resistencia Open in Argentina, and reached his 32nd final earlier this month at the Imet Open in Bratislava.

And the highest-ranked Czech player of all-time still found time to represent his country for the seventh year in the European Team Championships in Finland - and bring his haul of Czech Republic national titles to 12 in April.

What motivates the sport's most prolific competitor to maintain such a schedule?

"It's pretty simple actually - I really enjoy playing squash and competing.

"I don't really have much chance to train in Prague, so I'd rather play matches in tournaments. I pick tournaments in nice places - I enjoy going to most of them.

"And as squash is my job, thanks to my sponsors, I don't see a reason to play just one tournament a month or so - I would rather play every week, like tennis players, if that was possible!"

"In fact, I would have played a few more if I hadn't had to pull out of Malaysia and Australia due to injury!

"I had a pretty unlucky start to the year when I went to the US for bunch of tournaments and got bronchitis as soon as I got to New York for the ToC - and it took a while to get rid of it.

"But overall, my year was not too bad/ I've managed to reach eight finals so far, even only winning one of them. I can't complain."

"I'm definitely planning to keep it up next year and if 25 is the number for 2011, I'm sure I can beat that easily if I actually focus on it!

"I'm sure my body can handle it, even though it's tough some time. I just hope there are enough tournaments which I can connect without flying all around the world for one event at time."

"[Winning the National title 12 times] is pretty unique I guess, as I'm still only 28 and I believe I have plenty left in me still.

"First I just wanted to win the national title, then retain it. But once I got to three or four, I was hoping five ... and at seven, I started believing in 10!

"I lost once after that, but I'm back on track again now. The competition here in Czech is getting tougher every year, so I take it year by year - and I'm now just curious about how many more titles I can manage to add from now on."

"I just enjoy playing this sport - I love the life-style, competing, travelling, meeting people and just getting to experience things and places I wouldn't even have dreamed of without squash.

"I'm not too focused on rankings, as playing this many tournaments kind of kills it. I just focus on tournaments.

"I think I play squash a little differently from the others - and I just treat the circuit and my life on the tour the same."

Kashif Shuja
in Praha

"We are always talking about how many tournaments a player can play on the circuit as squash is such a tough sport. What Jan has achieved this year is remarkable and should be inspiring to his peers on the Tour.

"We wish him the best of luck for 2012 and hope that he can keep it up!"


PSA CEO