Wheadon wins at NMMU again
CHAMPION Gary Wheadon had to call on all his reserves of determination and stamina to retain the Brian Bands Sports NMMU Open squash title in a terrific final against Tristan Eysele yesterday.
Down 2-0, top-seeded Wheadon fought back for victory in a gruelling 54-minute encounter, squeezing home 11-8 in the fifth.
The women’s final was equally well contested, with Jacqui Ryder taking her third title in a row this year, outlasting Anlen Murray 3-1.
Eysele, born in Maritzburg but now living in Surrey, UK, will play for Border in next month’s Jarvis Cup interprovincial and showed he will be an asset for the Eastern Cape side.
He was quicker out the blocks, testing Wheadon with several attacking drop shots and taking the first two games 11-7 and 12-10.
The defending champion knew he was in for a battle and showed his mettle in a superb comeback, continually forcing his opponent to play one more shot and never letting the pressure get to him.
Eysele perhaps tried to force the pace too much at times and this resulted in too many errors as Wheadon fought his way back into the match.
An example of the battle at this stage came in the fourth game when Wheadon played error-free squash and hit three winners to Eysele’s six unforced errors. The KwaZulu-Natalian levelled the match by taking the game 11-2.
Nonetheless, the fifth was extremely closely contested, with the game level at 8-8 before a drop into the tin gave Wheadon the slight edge.
The champion then finished it off with two hard, low drives that the nimble Eysele failed to pick up.
Ryder looked to have the women’s final in control when she led 10-4 in the third game, but Murray’s fighting qualities shone through as she gritted her teeth to level at 10-10.
Then came a crucial spell as Ryder snatched the next two points for an important 2-1 lead.
The top seed then took an early lead in the fourth game and maintained her momentum to finish the game in her first match point.