David Evans claims a title, Leilani Joyce repeats.

10.15.00 Birmingham, SquashTalk News by M Bronstein
(Paul Price file photo © 2000 Squashtalk)

[also MEN complete results] and [ WOMENS complete]

THE BRITISH OPEN AT THE NATIONAL INDOOR ARENA IN BIRMINGHAM. 17:45 GMT

THE WELSH WONDER DOES IT IN THREE David Evans not only won the British Open, but won in style and with a 3/0 scoreline. His opponent, Paul Price of Australia, had mixed emotions - delight at getting into the final and disappointment that he could not grab the opportunity to be the first Australian open champion since the great Geoff Hunt won it for the last time in 1981.

THE SINGING STARTS RIGHT NOW
If you hear the sound of singing, you'll know the news has reached Wales and that small part of the UK is celebrating a rare champion. The six foot three Evans, who gave up rugby to concentrate on squash- something to do with too many broken bones - is a squash player of rare quality and he displayed his skills with a majestic air in overcoming Price, who is fast making a name for himself as an audacious shotmaker. Nobody in the game hits a straight nick from the service box with such surety and regularity. It is one of the joyous sights in the sport.

THE WRONG DAY TO HAVE AN OFF DAY
Sadly Price was not on song and he made more errors today than he did in the rest of the tournament. He never looked at home and his dour face reflected that his legs were seizing up and the back problem that put his career on hold this year, was beginning to nag again. In the first game he made seven unforced errors; those marvellous shots that obliterated Simon Parke, a hot favourite once Peter Nicol had withdrawn, were now hitting tin and with each error the frown on Price's brow became deeper. Evans, looking totally confident (although he said later inside was a turmoil) dictated the game to lead 6-2, Price caught up but at 9-9, Evans was awarded a stroke to lead 10-9 and went to 15-11 with the help of four Price errors.

DIS GUY'S GREAT DISGUISE
Evans is very non-British in his flair and ability to delay his shot until his opponent is tottering in several directions at once. He can disguise his shot well enough to fool the best of players and the wonderful reward of watching him is the timing - he knows just when to use it. He took the first point of the second game on a backhand drop and then charged ahead to win the game 15-6 in 9 ½ minutes.

A PARTIAL COMEBACK IS AS GOOD AS NO COMEBACK
Evans continued into the third, still showing no signs of nerves and took a 10-6 lead which is when Price found some form and with the help of some winner and one long backhand drop (compared to all the errors on his other attempts at this shot) he tied the game at 10-10. Evans recovered the lead on a Price error and then ran to 15-10, the winning point coming from a disguised backhand boast that bounced three times before Price got near it. A Welsh champion at last and highly deserved.

NO REGRETS
Evans' coach, Chris Robertson, said he had no regrets about Evans beating an Australian, referring to his Australian roots. He felt that that Evans has the potential to go to the top if he wants to. It was Robertson, a former world number two, who changed Evan's attitude to being a professional squash player and made him realise just how hard he has to work to reach elite status. His prize money of $14,875 will probably equal his winning for all of last year; this will almost certainly be one area of motivation.

"JUST THINK HOW WELL I CAN DO IF I TRAIN"
Paul Price was positive about the outcome "If I can get this far with so little preparation, just think how well I will do next January when I have finish my training program. I wasn't going to the US Open but after this week, I think I shall," he said. He will never regret or forget being part of this British Open, one of the most dramatic ever where no-one got close to picking the winner.

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SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH SOMEOBODY ELSE'S SHADOW? Leilani Joyce took an expected victory of England's Sue Wright to win her second Open title. When asked if she had her eye on beating the eight titles of fellow Kiwi Susan Devoy, she said first that she didn't think she'd be around in seven years and then: "I don't want to walk in anybody's shadow." Sorry I asked.

BEING 30 AIN'T THAT BAD
Sue Wright, on the other hand, was delighted to have got to the final, nine years after her first appearance. When you're 30 years old you are supposed to be sliding down the rankings, not going through two qualifying matches and five rounds to reach the final of squash's most prestigious tournament. It was those seven matches in seven days that gave Joyce a fairly easy win. Had Wright been in tournament play all last year and regained her former top ten ranking, the result might have been different.

REACHING THE HEIGHTS
She has a unique game, sky-high lobs and devilish boasts that make a mockery of even the best players. Despite her increased weight, she was still able to summon up the speed. She led both the first and second games 4-1, constantly catching Joyce out, but in each game, Joyce assumed the ascendancy to win by constantly sending the ball across court to keep Wright moving, rather than duelling up and down the left hand wall, which got Carol Owens into so much trouble in the semi-finals.

Joyce won the first game 9-7 in 14 1/2 minutes, the second 9-4, in 11 minutes and the third 9-2 in nine minutes, the scoreline and timing telling the story of Wright's fading strength. Although there were moments of tension, it was not an exciting final, with only the thoughtof an English winner giving the crowd something to shout about.