Gaskin Ends Title Drought In Ipswich

More than three years after claiming his first title on the PSA World Tour - and after disappointment in sixth further finals - Irishman Arthur Gaskin was back to his winning ways in the Christchurch Vets Ipswich Open, the PSA Challenger 5 squash event at Ipswich Sports Club in Ipswich in England.

The three-time Irish champion reached the final after ending the impressive run of English qualifier Patrick Rooney, beating the 17-year-old from Merseyside in a four-game semi-final.

Gaskin lined up against his third successive English opponent in the final. Chris Fuller, the third seed from Nottingham, notched up his seventh Tour final appearance after upsetting Douglas Kempsell, the No.2 seed from Scotland, in the other semi.

The event was something of a homecoming for Gaskin who spent a year as the Club's Head Coach - and, with support from the partisan crowd, Gaskin took the opening game despite a shaky start.

Fuller upped the pace in the second and frequently wrong-footed the favourite, pulling him into the front corner before catching him with a surprise crosscourt to level the match.

The third game was crucial. Gaskin was catching his opponent with quick boasts and seemed comfortably up at 6-3. But just a few quick rallies later his opponent had reeled off a fistful of points to reach game ball. Gaskin dug deep, however, to reclaim the advantage and win the game.

From five-all in the fourth, Gaskin powered on to close out the match 11-8, 4-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6 after 89 minutes - to the delight of the packed crowd.

"I've had a great couple of weeks," admitted the Dublin-born 30-year-old later. "The Europeans were special and then to have time back in Ipswich was fabulous. And, of course, a win rounds it off in front of a 'home' crowd!"

Fuller was not too disappointed: "I've seen Arthur play and the game went pretty much as I expected," said the 23-year-old. "I shouldn't be too hard on myself, I think I played well - but it would have been nice to have won."