Delierre Despatches Favourite In Northern Ontario Marathon

Just 17 months after contesting the longest match on record under the current scoring system, Canadians Shawn Delierre and Shahier Razik battled for 140 minutes in the semi-finals of the inaugural PSA Northern Ontario Championship before underdog Delierre again claimed victory to progress to the final of the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event at Sudbury YMCA in Sudbury, Canada.

It was in Baltimore, USA, that the pair last crossed swords on the PSA Tour, with Montreal-based Delierre emerging triumphant against his national rival for only the second time ever - in 150 minutes!

This time Delierre, fighting back to full fitness after leg surgery last year, was a qualifier - and up against Torontonian Razik, the event favourite.

In the see-saw battle that graced the Sudbury YMCA courts, it was Delierre who finally emerged triumphant 20 minutes into the third hour of play, winning 11-7, 11-13, 11-5, 5-11, 11-5.

Now in his ninth Tour final, Delierre will meet Czech number one Jan Koukal after the second seed survived a close-fought match against Australian Zac Alexander, ultimately beating the third seed 12-10, 16-14, 11-7.

Koukal is celebrating the 19th final appearance of his career - but his fourth in North America this year.