Delierre Despatches Favourite In Northern Ontario Marathon

SUDBURY, Ont. (PSA)- Just 17 months after contesting the longest match on record under the current scoring system, Canadians Shawn Delierre of Brossard, Que., and Shahier Razik of Toronto battled for 140 minutes in the semi-finals of the inaugural PSA Northern Ontario Championship before underdog Delierre again claimed victory to progress to the final of the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event at Sudbury YMCA in Sudbury, Canada.

It was in Baltimore, USA, that the pair last crossed swords on the PSA Tour, with Montreal-based Delierre emerging triumphant against his national rival for only the second time ever - in 150 minutes.

This time Delierre, fighting back to full fitness after leg surgery last year, was a qualifier - and up against Torontonian Razik, the event favourite.

In the see-saw battle that graced the Sudbury YMCA courts, it was Delierre who finally emerged triumphant 20 minutes into the third hour of play, winning 11-7, 11-13, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5.

Now in his ninth Tour final, Delierre will meet Czech number one Jan Koukal after the second seed survived a close-fought match against Australian Zac Alexander, ultimately beating the third seed 12-10, 16-14, 11-7.

Koukal is celebrating the 19th final appearance of his career - but his fourth in North America this year.

Full results at: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/northernontario2010.htm

About the Canadian Squash Circuit

The Canadian Squash Circuit is a national tour consisting of Men’s PSA and Women’s WISPA sanctioned events across Canada. Canadian players compete for points in the Canadian Squash Circuit standings, which culminate with a year end Grande Finale  between the highest point earners from the Men’s and Women’s Circuit. The Canadian Squash Circuit’s goals are to provide Canadian squash players with an opportunity to play at a high level of competition within Canada and to increase the level of awareness of squash in Canada.

The 2009/2010 Circuit featured stops in Vancouver BC, London ON, Ottawa ON, Saskatoon SK, Richmond BC, Edmonton AB, North Vancouver BC, Calgary AB, Halifax NS, Niagara on the Lake, ON, Montréal QC and Winnipeg MB. For more information please visit http://www.squash.ca/e/can_circuit/index.cfm.