Simpson & Au Celebrate Success In Maiden Taiwan Open

The first professional squash event to be held in Chinese Taipei ended in surprise successes for both Englishman Chris Simpson and Hong Kong's Annie Au in the Taiwan Open at the National Taiwan University Sports Centre in Taipei.

Chris Simpson, fourth seed in the men's $14,750 PSA Tour event, made his breakthrough in the semi-finals when he upset top-seeded Czech Jan Koukal 11-3, 10-12, 11-5, 11-7 in 67 minutes to reach the first PSA final of his career.

The Guernsey-born 21-year-old - playing in his first Tour event since January - then faced Pakistan's Yasir Butt, the 20-year-old from Lahore celebrating his fourth Tour final of the year, but looking for his maiden title.

But Yorkshire-based Simpson was too strong for the second seed, beating Butt 11-8, 12-10, 11-1 in 45 minutes to mark his first PSA Tour title triumph.

The final of the women's $10,900 WISPA World Tour event saw Annie Au pull off her third successive upset in the championship - and also win her third Tour title in two months against expectations.

The 19-year-old left-hander battled for five games to beat India's second seed Joshna Chinappa in the quarter-finals before continuing her giant-killing run in the semis with a four-game victory over third-seeded Australian Lisa Camilleri.

In the final - her fifth on the WISPA Tour - Au despatched Malaysian favourite Sharon Wee 11-6, 11-8, 11-3 in just 25 minutes to record the fourth title success of her brief career.

Men's Final:
[4] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt [2] Yasir Butt (PAK) 11-8, 12-10, 11-1 (45m)

Women's Final:
[5] Annie Au (HKG) bt [1] Sharon Wee (MAS) 11-6, 11-8, 11-3 (25m)