Williams on hot streak
Tawa squash player Evan Williams has continued his winning ways, claiming his second professional tournament victory in a matter of weeks.
Early in May, Williams swept away the top seeds to take the Waikato Golden Jubilee Open in Hamilton and he replicated that form at the South Australian Open in Adelaide from May 13-17.
Seeded fifth, Williams won his opening round match in four games, and his opponent in round two, Tim Cowell, from Australia, retired in the third game with Williams having already won the first two.
Williams faced a stiff test in his quarterfinal, against Australia’s Rhys Dowling, the fourth seed who is ranked 171 in the world.
Although the New Zealander won the first two games comfortably, Dowling fought back to take the next two. Williams found his groove in the fifth to win it 11-3.
Top seed Dane Sharp, from Canada, was given a squash lesson in the semi- final, thrashed 11-4, 11-8, 11-3 by Williams in just 25 minutes. Second seed James Huang, from Taipei, was then dispatched 11-7, 11-9, 12-1- in the final.
It was sweet revenge for Williams, who lost to Huang in the Northern Territory Open in Darwin the week before.
Williams’ ranking continues to rise steadily and he sits at 183. This form – he made a comeback this year after most of 2014 was ruined by injury – suggests he’ll be back inside the top 100 soon and a real threat at the New Zealand championships in Christchurch in August.