Veteran Parke Records Notable Milestone In Croatia

Almost 17 years after reaching his first final on the PSA Tour, veteran Englishman Simon Parke celebrated his 14th in fine style in Zagreb when he beat young Frenchman Fabien Verseille to win the Croatian Open - the first PSA event ever to be held in the east European country.

It was in June 1989 that Parke reached the final of the Los Angeles Open in the USA - more than three years before his illustrious England team-mate Peter Nicol achieved his first professional final berth, and less than four years after his final opponent in Zagreb was born!

The 33-year-old Yorkshireman battled testicular cancer and ankle surgery to produce a distinguished career on the squash circuit, winning major titles including the Malaysian Open and US Open and leading England to historic World Championship success, en-route to reaching a career-high world No3 ranking.

The top seed in Zagreb, Parke reached the final without dropping a game - then despatched 20-year-old Verseille 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 in 38 minutes to secure his sixth PSA crown, and his first since winning the Salt Lake City Open in July 2002.

Verseille, the eighth seed, was celebrating his second surprise PSA final appearance in three months after defeating both second seed Mark Krajcsak and fourth seed Ian Power in previous rounds.

The final marked a grand climax to Croatia's inaugural professional squash tournament, which was a sell out many weeks ago and covered live on a prime time sports show on TV Zagreb.

Parke and fellow finalist Verseille pledged to return to the event next year in speeches made following the presentations by Zlatko Matesa, President of the Croatian Olympic Committee.

"Next year it will be $20,000 event with an all-glass court," promised McWIL Consulting Managing Director and Tournament Director Wolfgang Denk.

Final:
[1] Simon Parke (ENG) bt [8] Fabien Verseille (FRA) 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (38m)