Power Triumphs In Hungarian Open Final

The eleven month drought in the career of North America's greatest ever squash player came to an end in style in the final of the Nissan Hungarian Open in Budapest when Canadian Jonathon Power beat France's Gregory Gaultier in straight games to lift his first PSA Tour title since last November.

After three premature semi-final exits this month, the No2 seed from Montreal was determined to end the month on a high. And after straight games wins through to the final - including a 49-minute semi-final battle with Australia's former world No6 Anthony Ricketts - the scene was set for a mighty showdown by Power, the 1997 champion.

But Gaultier himself has been enjoying a fine run of form in recent months - with wins, against expectation, in the European Championship in September and at the Motor City Open in Detroit earlier this month. The fifth seed also upset third-seeded Englishman Nick Matthew in the Budapest quarter-finals.

In the final, the 21-year-old from Aix-en-Provence stretched Power to tie-breaks in the second and third games - but the second-seeded Canadian survived both without loss to record an 11-6 11-10 11-10 victory in 56 minutes.

The triumph marked Power's 33rd PSA Tour title success in the 55th final appearance of his career.

Final:
[2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11-6, 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0) (56m)