Local Star Kemp Sets Up First All-English Wolverhampton Open Final

England's Jonathan Kemp continued his giant-killing run in the Wolverhampton Open by upsetting top seed Laurens Jan Anjema to set up the first all-English final of the $20,000 PSA Tour event in its fourth year at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis & Squash Club in Wolverhampton, England.

The Wolverhampton-born sixth seed was in devastating form to overcome Dutchman Anjema in an epic 11-4, 12-10, 5-11, 8-11, 11-0, 60-minute semi-final.

The favourite, ranked 13 in the world, showed no signs of fatigue, despite a physical 84-minute quarter-final win over Englishman Joey Barrington less than twenty-four hours earlier.

Kemp sought to seize the initiative from the opening exchanges with adventurous and at times outrageous attacking squash and eventually overcame Anjema in the fifth game, despite a spirited comeback from the Dutchman which saw him level the match at two games all by winning the third and fourth games with greater consistency and breathtaking retrieval.

"I played out of my skin tonight," said Kemp, the world No28. "Playing in front my home crowd has really inspired me this week. They have given me huge support and created a very special atmosphere. I hope I can come back tomorrow and give the supporters something more to shout about."

Kemp, celebrating the 11th PSA Tour final of his career and looking for his fourth trophy of the year, faces compatriot Alister Walker, the second seed who defeated Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 to reach the final of the UK's biggest club-based squash championships.

"Today was very hard and I had to dig really deep to win," said the world No12 from Leeds. "Beng Hee is a great player and the fact that he is currently ranked nineteen in the world demonstrates the strength in depth on the men's World Tour. Today is the first time we have ever played and I'm really pleased to have progressed to the final."

The 26-year-old Englishman, who has risen nineteen places in the world rankings since last year's event, is celebrating the sixth PSA final of his career.

Semi-finals:
[6] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt [1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-4, 12-10, 5-11, 8-11, 11-0 (60m)
[2] Alister Walker (ENG) bt [4] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (78m)