Top Seeds Triumph In Pioneer Junior Open

Top seeds Thomas Ford and Maria Elena Ubina triumphed in contrasting styles in the U19 finals of the Pioneer Junior Open Squash Championships, the long-established European Squash Federation Junior Circuit event in the German city of Cologne.

A surprise all-English final kept the men's title in English hands. Favourite Ford, from Cheltenham, dropped just a single game en-route to the climax - where he faced compatriot Richie Fallows.

The London-born third seed made his breakthrough in the semi-finals where he upset Jan van den Herrewegen, the No2 seed from Belgium, in four games.

But 18-year-old Ford was on-song in the final - despatching his 17-year-old opponent 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 to win the title.

Ubina, the 17-year-old US Junior Open champion from the USA, made up for the disappointment of losing last year's women's final by beating second seed Nele Gilis.

But the plucky Belgian underdog recovered from losing the first two games to force the final into a fifth game decider.

Ubina strengthened her focus, however, and clinched the match 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-8 to become the first US winner of the title this millennium.