Yorkshire’s James Willstrop marked his last PSA Tour event before a hip operation with his first Tour title since March 2013 when he pipped England team-mate Peter Barker from Essex to the China Open trophy.
The world no.7 justified his top seeding by defeating the third seed from Essex 3/2 in a thrilling final to the $88,000 event in Shanghai.
The 31-year-old edged out Barker after a marathon 98-minute battle, staging a fine comeback after the left-hander had taken a 2/1 lead to win his first Tour title since beating Barker to the 2013 Canary Wharf Classic.
After suffering a disappointing first-round exit at the recent Hong Kong Open, his first round-one defeat in a PSA Tour event since 2006, Willstrop rebounded to put in impressive back-to-back performances against Egyptians Marwan Elshorbagy and Omar Mosaad before reaching the final of the inaugural China Open – and he began well by winning the first game 11-7.
However, the resilient Barker, who had lost his two previous Tour finals to the Yorkshireman, dug deep to nudge 2/1 ahead after producing some fine play during the second and third games.
In the end, though, Willstrop managed to find an extra gear, surviving everything Barker could throw at him to grind out the victory and lift the trophy courtesy of an 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5 triumph.
Report courtesy of EnglandSquashandRackets.com