Aslan Granted place in the final

During the Mayacamas Ranch North American Open semi-finals at the Bay Club last night the capacity crowd had the pleasure of seeing 2 very different types of game.
First on court was the World No.9 and tournament No.1 seed, John White, from Scotland now living with his wife and 4 kids in Philadelphia. Matched against Shawn Delierre (World No.44 who the night before ousted the No.4 seed and world #25, Shahir Razik), White was on top form giving the crowd, and the lower ranked Delierre, a first class lesson in Squash. White's ability to control the ball at whatever speed he chose and pin Delierre in the back corners with perfect width and length proved the deciding factor in a frenetic and high paced match. Rarely were the rallies more than a few shots long but when it mattered White's ability to get the ball in the corners tight and away from the middle gave nothing for Delierre to counter punch so it was a White wash 3-0 in double quick time, 11-9,11-6, 11-5.
The second match of the night proved to be a real nail biter with one of the longest tie breaks on record.
It was between an evenly matched Aslan Iskander of Malaysia and Adrian Grant of England. Both players are known for their speed and court coverage so it was inevitable that there were going to be some great rallies with tremendous retrieving and athleticism. The first game went to the Iskander 11-5 as the Brit hadn't quite found his range. But then it was clear, as the 2nd game went point for point from the start, we were looking at an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. For every great shot one player hit, the other was quickly on to it ane able to retrieve it with ease and get back on level terms in the rally. It reached the tie break at 10-10 and point for point they went with the occasional display of frustration because it was clear that winning a point was challenging. 14-14 and both players were covering the court so well it was hard not to give a let for almost every point that was stopped by a 'let' call. It was clear that both players were reaching every ball, reading the game so well. 19-19 and surely something or someone must give. The crowd were completely absorbed by the whole experience - often yelling out their own decisions in the hope that their favored player would sneak this incredible 2nd game.
It was Iskander who broke the dead-lock as he led 20-19 and held his nerve to take the game off a Grant error.
Suddenly it was 2-0 and Iskander looked firmly in the driving seat. However, Grant had other intentions and came back, to his credit, with a great performance in the 3rd game where most people would have flailed and took it convincingly 11-4.
The match, it seemed was far from over! Aslan would have to find another gear and reproduce some the focus and quality he did to clinch the 2nd game against his higher ranked opponent.
That's exactly what he did in the 4th game and after a period of high quality work he sneaked ahead to lead 10-7 with victory in sight. One final push saw Aslan victorious and it felt like by the end Aslan had little energy left in him for any kind of celebration. It looked more like relief on his face as he shook Grant's hand after a great game of squash. The crowd were pleased!

The Final tonight threatens to be a fitting climax to the event. White and his incredible array of shots, angles, power and touch. Iskander and his phenominal speed, court coverage and counter punching. Let the game begin!