Palmer Powers To Village Open Prize

It took the world champion from Australia more than an hour, but David Palmer powered to success in the inaugural Village Open when he beat unexpected opponent Mohd Azlan Iskandar in the final at the Printing House Fitness & Squash Club in New York, USA.

Iskandar, the fifth seed from Malaysia, pulled off his best win of the year to reach the final when he upset England's recently-crowned British Open champion Nick Matthew in the semi-finals of the new $85,000 5-star PSA Tour event.

Experts predicted that Palmer, the top seed celebrating his 41st appearance in a PSA Tour final, would have a straightforward ride to the title - but an inspired performance from Iskandar saw the former world number one from New South Wales battle for 62 minutes before clinching his 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 victory.

"This might be a turning point for Azlan, tonight here," Palmer told www.squashtalk.com afterwards. "After he beat Nick last night and tonight ... well it was three games, but boy was it tough, he really shone through this week."

The triumph marked Palmer's fourth PSA Tour final appearance this year - and his third win. But it also stretches Palmer's lead as the current player with the most PSA Tour titles. Now boasting 19 Tour trophies since his first in Ecuador in 1997, Palmer is two ahead of Frenchman Thierry Lincou and has three more than compatriot Stewart Boswell.

Final:
[1] David Palmer (AUS) bt [5] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 (62m)