Despite carrying an injury, Australian Mike Corren claimed his 27th PSA World Tour squash title on his home courts at the South Adelaide Squash Centre in Adelaide to become the player with the most titles on the current international tour.
His 11-7, 11-8, 3-11, 11-6 upset over fellow Australian Matthew Karwalski, the top seed, in the final of the $6,000Super Satellite event takes 36-year-old Corren one title ahead of countryman David Palmer and Egypt’s Amr Shabana – both former world number ones and world champions.
The triumph was even more impressive as Corren injured his leg during a local competition in Adelaide last week and struggled to take the court for his first match on Friday.
“I had some serious treatment on Friday and on Saturday I was pretty zonked – one leg was useless and because I was overusing the other leg to compensate, that one seized up as well,” he said.
“Honestly, at the start of the tournament I thought there was no way I could win and I expected to go out in the first round.
“By rights I should have lost the quarter-finals to Josh Cardwell and then I scraped through the semi-finals against Rex Hedrick.”
Corren, who won his first tournament in Hong Kong in 1996, happily admits his achievements in the game cannot match those of players like Palmer and Shabana, but said winning even one squash tournament was a major achievement because of the physicality of the sport.
“There are some pretty good players going around who’ve never won a PSA tournament,” he said.
“So to win my 27th, on my home court, when I’m not feeling right physically – it’s a pretty good feeling.”
Corren will not be resting on his laurels after claiming his moment of squash history: The tireless pro will be bidding to extend his title lead next month – both at the Tasmanian Open in Bellerive, and later at the Victorian Open in Melbourne.
1st round:
Ross Hewitt (AUS) bt [16] Sunil Seth (AUS) 11-13, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6
Jason Mudge (AUS) bt [8] Peter Taylor (AUS) 11-3, 11-4, 11-6
[9] Alex Grayson (NZL) bt Cameron Deehan (AUS) 11-6, 11-5, 11-6
2nd round:
[1] Matthew Karwalski (AUS) bt Ross Hewitt (AUS) 11-6, 11-5, 11-8
[7] Jacob Alexander (AUS) bt [13] Chris Lloyd (NZL) 11-8, 11-5, 11-6
[3] Nathan Stevenson (AUS) bt [14] Jamie Mcervale (AUS) 11-4, 13-11, 11-4
Jason Mudge (AUS) bt [10] Ben Werchon (AUS) 11-6, 11-0, 11-2
[5] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [9] Alex Grayson (NZL) 11-8, 11-8, 11-4
[4] Justin Beard (AUS) bt [12] Joseph Watts (NZL) 11-4, 11-9, 11-13, 11-8
[6] Josh Cardwell (AUS) bt David Fumpson (ENG) 11-5, 11-8, 11-4
[2] Mike Corren (AUS) bt [11] James Skiffington (NZL) 11-6, 11-4, 11-8
Quarter-finals:
[1] Matthew Karwalski (AUS) bt [7] Jacob Alexander (AUS) 11-2, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6 (40m)
Jason Mudge (AUS) bt [3] Nathan Stevenson (AUS) 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 11-4 (57m)
[5] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [4] Justin Beard (AUS) 8-11, 11-2, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7 (69m)
[2] Mike Corren (AUS) bt [6] Josh Cardwell (AUS) 11-4, 8-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4 (60m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Matthew Karwalski (AUS) bt Jason Mudge (AUS) 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 (55m)
[2] Mike Corren (AUS) bt [5] Rex Hedrick (AUS) 11-2, 13-15, 11-7, 11-7 (41m)
Final:
[2] Mike Corren (AUS) bt [1] Matthew Karwalski (AUS) 11-7, 11-8, 3-11, 11-6 (43m)