Waller Wins Kranj Crown

English teenager Adrian Waller clinched his maiden PSA Tour squash title at the Cloudy Tour Kranj Open in Slovenia when he beat higher-ranked compatriot Neil Hitchens in straight games in the final of the $3,000 Satellite event at the Mega Center in Kranj.

Neither player had been expected to reach the final. Fifth seed Waller, a 19-year-old left-hander from Enfield, made his breakthrough in the quarter-finals by upsetting India's fourth seed Harinder Pal Sandhu. The former British Junior champion, competing in only his ninth Tour event since making his debut last October, went on to beat Welshman Peter Creed, the sixth seed, to reach the final.

Hitchens, the third seed from Essex, claimed the unexpected place in his first PSA final after ousting top-seeded fellow countryman Lewis Walters in the semi-finals.

The final between the two training partners looked a promising match-up, and from the start Waller Adrian was very much in command. The tall Middlesex man grew in confidence as the game progressed before ultimately claiming his 11-6, 11-4, 11-3 victory, and his debut Tour trophy.

Final:
[5] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt [3] Neil Hitchens (ENG) 11-6, 11-4, 11-3