Arnold Beats Partner Cuskelly To Reap Golden Success In Kalgoorlie

Top seed Scott Arnold beat training partner Ryan Cuskelly in an all-Australian final of the Fluid Line Golden Open to win his third PSA Tour title at the YMCA Squash Centre in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

The 21-year-old from Sydney said skipping last week's City of Perth International Challenge probably gave him the edge over fellow his New South Welshman in the final of the Satellite event in the West Australian gold mining centre.

Arnold beat 19-year-old Cuskelly, the No2 seed, 11-10 (5-3), 2-11, 11-7, 11-7 in 59 minutes in a battle of the next generation of Australian squash stars.

Arnold and Cuskelly train with the Australian Institute of Sport in Brisbane, where they are both training partners and flat mates.

"We live together and train with each other so we know each other pretty well," Arnold said. "Once we get on court, we're both pretty competitive, but when we come off we're best of mates again."

Arnold has now won two tournaments in three successive finals over the past month, in Joondalup and Kalgoorlie, and has seen his world ranking rise to 78.

He said a solid month's training with AIS coaches Byron Davis and Rodney Martin had paved the way for his run of successes.

"I think he felt the effects of playing four weeks straight," Arnold said. "I took last week off and that made me a bit fresher. That week off was probably the only difference between us."

Final:
[1] Scott Arnold (AUS) bt [2] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 11-10 (5-3), 2-11, 11-7, 11-7 (59m)