Dan Downs Ryding For Cleveland Classic Crown

Dan Jenson secured the tenth PSA Tour title of his career when he upset second seed Graham Ryding in straight games in the final of the Cleveland Classic in Ohio, USA.

The final got off to a flying start with both players working each other with dying lengths and delicate volley drops. Jenson, the fourth seed from Australia, took an early lead but his Canadian opponent fought back with some great length, forcing errors from the Australian - but the 29-year-old from Adelaide held on to take the first game.

The second saw Jenson, a former world No5 now fighting his way back up the top twenty after injury, come out and volley more regularly from the start. The rallies were long and both players began to tire, but Ryding seemed to be suffering more than his lower-seeded opponent.

Jenson took big lead at 7-2 in the third game with a few unforced errors from Ryding as the Australian applied the pressure and began to sense victory. Ryding took an injury time out at 7-2 when his toenail came off. The Canadian was clearly in pain had been suffering difficulty in moving to the front of the court.

The match continued but Jenson turned up the pressure and forced more errors from Ryding, ultimately claiming victory with an 11-10 11-7 11-3 scoreline after 71 minutes.

"It's great to be winning again - and I want to back amongst the top crop of players as soon as I can," said Jenson, who is sure to move a step nearer the top ten in which he was a fixture in the late nineties.

Jenson, who won the first of his ten PSA titles almost exactly a year ago in late October 1994 when he claimed the Baltimore Open crown, also in the USA, received his Cleveland Classic trophy from Cleveland Racquet Club member Jack Herrick, who is also the Chairman of board of the Professional Squash Association (PSA).

Final:
[4] Dan Jenson (AUS) bt [2] Graham Ryding (CAN) 11-10 (2-0), 11-7, 11-3 (71m)