Ivan finds his composure to beat Creed for a place in the final

PETALING JAYA: Ivan Yuen (pic) shrugged off a momentary lapse in concentration to reach the final of the Invercargill Open squash championships in New Zealand.

Top seed Ivan dug himself into a tight spot but recovered strongly to beat third seed Peter Creed of Wales 11-5, 11-8, 5-11, 13-11 in yesterday’s semi-finals.

World No. 42 Ivan, fresh from winning his maiden national crown last month, started strongly to take the first two sets.

But his focus wavered and world No. 60 Creed gave himself a lifeline by taking the third 11-5.

Creed continued to press his advantage and looked set to force a rubber after taking a 10-8 lead in the fourth set.

But fortunately for Ivan, he found his composure to seal his place in the final after a thrilling 62-minute battle. It will be the 26-year-old’s second final of the year following his runner-up finish at the Pittsburgh Open in the United States in February.

Ivan will meet Scotland’s Greg Lobban for the title. World No. 67 Lobban reached his fourth successive final after beating Australia’s Rex Hedrick 11-6, 11-5, 11-6.

National coach Ong Beng Hee believes it is time for Ivan to step up and deliver the goods.

“Ivan played pretty well to reach the final. His focus was a little off, especially in the quarter-finals against Mahesh Mangaokar (of India) on Friday.

“It’s something he has to learn, but it’s good that he’s finally showing progress. It would be nice if he wins the title before I leave,” said Beng Hee who is quitting the Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) to take up a coaching role in Qatar next month.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s challenge at the Matamata Open in New Zealand ended after both Zoe Foo and Aika Azman lost in the quarter-finals.

Zoe was beaten 3-11, 4-11, 4-11 by homester Megan Craig while Aika lost 7-11, 1-11, 2-11 to Scotland’s Lisa Aitken.