Frost Freezes Out All-Comers In Kriens

Denmark's Kristian Frost Olesen enjoyed his best-ever run on the professional squash circuit when he lifted the inaugural Pilatus Cup after defeating fourth-seeded Frenchman Julien Balbo in the final of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 event at Sportpark Pilatus in the Swiss town of Kriens.

It was the climax of a genuine 'giant-killing' run by the unseeded 22-year-old from Odense who made his breakthrough in the opening round with a five-game defeat of USA's third seed Gilly Lane.

But Frost, ranked 79 in the world, had enough left in his armoury to overcome top-seeded Englishman Chris Simpson, the world No48, in the semi-final before going on to despatch world No70 Balbo 11-5, 4-11, 11-6, 11-1 in the final.

"I didn't expect to win the first round because my draw was really tough," explained the jubilant Dane later. "So I had to change my flight at least when I won in the semis.

"I'm really happy about this win and I like to thank Mario (Tschopp) and all the guys who helped with the tournament."

Balbo, who upset Italy's second seed Stephane Galifi in a five-game semi-final marathon, was making no excuses: "Yesterday's match was tough - but we are used to play many hard matches in a few days," said the Grenoble-born 32-year-old.

"So I was not too tired, but it was so difficult to get points against Kristian because he's such a good athlete. Congratulations to him."

Olesen was celebrating his third appearance in a PSA Tour final - but his first title triumph.

There was an upset in the final of the women's WISPA World Tour 4 event when England's Lauren Briggs outplayed local star Gaby Huber, the top seed from Langnau in Switzerland, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5.

Briggs, the fourth seed, made her breakthrough in the semis where she beat Czech Republic's No2 seed Olga Ertlova, also in straight games.

"I've come back from a knee injury, so I'm glad to be back on tour," said Briggs after picking up her third WISPA title in a row. "I really like Lucerne, I've never been to this region of Switzerland before, but it is so lovely."