Grant Triumphs In Wolverhampton Final

England's Adrian Grant survived his longest match of the year - and his second tie-break decider in 48 hours - when he beat Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema in the final of the 2008 Wolverhampton Open, the UK's biggest club-based squash championship in its third year at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis & Squash Club in Wolverhampton, England.

It was the conclusion of an impressive run in the $30,000 PSA Tour event by the world No13 from London - who reached the final with victories over Mohamed El Shorbagy (in 63 minutes), Jonathon Kemp (92 minutes) and Alister Walker (73 minutes) before twice having to come from behind to beat the world No16 from The Hague 7-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-5, 13-11 in 105 minutes.

Both finalists, competing in the event as part of their final preparations for the Hi-Tec World Squash Championships to be staged in Manchester next week, showed remarkable resilience and powers of endurance in one of the longest matches on the men's professional World Tour this year.

The 27-year-old Englishman intelligently combined defence with subtle disguise and attack to extend the rallies and ultimately negate the explosive assault of his younger opponent, to the delight of a knowledgeable capacity crowd at the Wolverhampton club.

"This is my first tournament for two and a half months and today has proved my fitness and given me a lot of confidence leading up to next week's World Open in Manchester," said Grant, who was born in London and now lives in Halifax, Yorkshire.

"I had to dig really deep to win against LJ today, having had tough matches in every round," added the left-hander. "Although the competition for this event is getting stronger each year, I'm already looking forward to being back next September."

The triumph marks the 15th PSA Tour title of Grant's career - and brings him level with fellow countryman Bradley Ball as the Englishmen on the current Tour with the most titles.

Final:
[1] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 7-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-5, 13-11 (105m)