Palmer Celebrates 50th Tour Final

Australian David Palmer battled back from two games down in the semi-finals of the Merritt Properties Open in the USA to reach the 50th PSA Tour squash final of his career at the Merritt Athletic Club in Baltimore.

The 32-year-old from Lithgow in New South Wales fought for an hour to overcome 20-year-old Egyptian Omar Mosaad in the quarter-finals before lining up against career-long rival Olli Tuominen in the semis.

And when the 'Flying Finn' took the opening two games, it looked as if the half-century milestone might be beyond the top-seeded Aussie.

But Palmer, known the world over for dramatic fight-backs which have seen him clinch World Open and British Open titles from seemingly impossible situations, called upon all his experience to defeat his fourth-seeded opponent 8-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-8.

"It would be nice to make it number 50 this week in Baltimore, but it won't be easy," said Palmer on the eve of the championship. "There are a lot of good players in the draw, including John White, Stewart Boswell and Peter Barker - who beat me last week in the final at Chicago."

The reigning British Open champion will indeed face Barker in a repeat of the Chicago Open final. Second seed Barker had an easier run to the Baltimore climax, beating fellow Englishman Alister Walker 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 in the other semi-final.

Palmer now joins a distinguished group of players who have reached 50 Tour finals or more - including Pakistanis Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan; Briton Peter Nicol and Canadian Jonathon Power.

Semi-finals:
[1] David Palmer (AUS) bt [4] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 8-11, 7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-8
[2] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 11-9, 11-6, 11-8