Seventh heaven for Knight

Martin Knight has won his seventh career PSA title at the NZ Southern Open in Invercargill this weekend.

Martin Knight is surely feeling on top of the world having just won the inaugural ILT & Community Trust NZ Southern Open PSA in 3 sets. With a distinct home crowd advantage, Knight was intensely focused throughout the 68 minute match, with his mind firmly set on achieving the win.

The first set saw both Knight and his opponent Rex Hedrick of Australia playing patiently, waiting for the right time to go for shots. This ensured lengthy rallies and high quality squash. Knight’s sportsmanship was evident when he requested a change of call from the referees at his own expense. Knight worked hard to keep the ball tight to the walls and keep the pressure on Hedrick, and it paid off, earning him the first set 11-8.

Returning to the court for the second set, both players increased the pace, taking more risks and playing more shots than previously. This approach worked well for Knight and he took the set 11-7.

The third set saw Hedrick showing some visible signs of physical fatigue and Knight again applied intense pressure and took an early lead before Hedrick started to make his way back into the game. At the end Knight’s focus and determination to win saw him close out the set 11-9.

Speaking after the match Knight said “I’m really happy to win, especially to do it 3-0. It was pretty tough out there, Rex has had a few hard matches leading up to the final and I wanted to put the pressure on early in the first game. I wanted to keep the pace high and not give him any breathing space but I felt like I was doing more and more work all the time. I managed to get out to a good lead in every game before Rex came back at me strongly. I wasn’t looking forward to having to go back on court for a fourth game. I’m exceptionally happy to win my biggest title in about four and a half years.”

In the women's South Island Championship final, Rotorua-based professional Amanda Landers-Murphy defeated Georgina Shelton-Agar of Auckland.  In a rare major final contested by two southpaws, Shelton-Agar put up a strong showing against her more fancied opponent, but Landers-Murphy's class was always evident.

NZ Southern Open and South Island Championships final results:

(2) Martin Knight (NZL) beat (4) Rex Hedrick (AUS)  11-8, 11-7, 11-9 (68mins)

(1) Amanda Landers-Murphy beat (2) Georgina Shelton-Agar 11-4 11-0 11-8