Shuja & Adel Celebrate Surprise Swiss Open Successes
23 Mar 2011
New Zealand's Kashif Shuja and Egyptian Yathreb Adel celebrated unexpected title triumphs in the 2011 Swiss Open Squash Championships at Geneva Squash Club in Geneva.
Second seed Shuja reached the final of the men's PSA World Tour Challenger 5 event as expected - and did so after winning four-game matches throughout the championship.
The 31-year-old from Auckland faced surprise Australian opponent Steve Finitsis in the final. The Netherlands-based third seed made his breakthrough in the previous round where he overcame France's top seed Julien Balbo in straight games.
Finitsis, the first Australian in the Swiss Open climax since Anthony Hill won the title in 1989, was celebrating the 16th PSA Tour final appearance of his career.
But Shuja, ranked nine places above the Aussie, celebrated his 17th Tour final in fine style, beating Finitsis 12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8 to claim the ninth PSA title of his career.
The Pakistan-born Kiwi also became the first New Zealander to win one of the Tour's longest-established titles.
There was a massive shock in the women's WISPA World Tour Tour 4 event when unseeded Yathreb Adel brushed aside all opposition to claim her first Tour title in her maiden appearance in a final.
The 15-year-old from Heliopolis made her breakthrough in the opening round - with a four-game defeat of top-seeded compatriot Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy.
Wins over the third and fifth seeds took the young teenager through to the final - where she faced France's Maud Duplomb.
But Adel was too strong for the 25-year-old sixth seed from Lyon - and stormed through to an 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 victory to become the first Egyptian winner of the women's trophy.
Men's Final:
[2] Kashif Shuja (NZL) bt [3] Steve Finitsis (AUS) 12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8
Women's Final:
Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt [6] Maud Duplomb (FRA) 11-4, 11-4, 11-5