Final:

[2] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [3] Borja Golan (ESP)              11-10 (3-1), 11-8, 11-6 (59m)

Barker Is Three-Times Winner In Colombia

England's Peter Barker triumphed in straight games in the final of the Club El Nogal Colombian Open to claim the established PSA Tour squash title in the Colombian capital Bogotá for the third successive year.

In the pair's first PSA Tour meeting for almost four years, second seed Barker faced Spain's third seed Borja Golan at the Club El Nogal.

Golan led in the first two games, but left-hander Barker, showing consistency and patience, regained the lead on both occasions.  Barker saved four game balls in the opening game, forcing a tie-break before clinching the game 13-11.

With less pressure in the third game, the 23-year-old England international from Essex produced "incredible shots that began to frustrate the Spaniard", according to tournament spokesman Juan Carlos Santacruz.

After 59 minutes, Barker celebrated his 11-10 (3-1), 11-8, 11-6 victory - and the 10^th PSA Tour title of his career.

 Semi-finals:

[3] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [8] Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) 11-9, 11-3, 11-10 (4-2) (38m)

[2] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [4] Joey Barrington (ENG) 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 (79m)

Bogotá Hat-Trick Beckons For Barker

Spain's third seed Borja Golan will face second seed and defending champion Peter Barker in the final of the Club El Nogal Colombian Open - with the Englishman just one win away from a hat-trick of titles in the established PSA Tour squash event at Club El Nogal in the Colombian capital Bogotá.

Golan, the 24-year-old world No21 from Santiago DC, was in fine form as he defeated six-times Brazilian national champion Rafael F Alarcon in straight games.  Seventh seed Alarcon staged a fight-back in the third game to force a tie-break - but the higher-ranked Spaniard reasserted his authority to close out the match 11-9, 11-3, 11-10 (4-2) in 38 minutes.

In his 18^th PSA Tour final appearance since May 2002, Golan will face England's world No15 Peter Barker - the pair, remarkably, meeting for only the second time since December 2003.

The 23-year-old England international from Essex faced compatriot Joey Barrington, the No4 seed from Glastonbury in Somerset.  In a match characterised by long and punishing rallies, Barker maintained the upper hand in the first two games - and only in the third did Barrington establish a lead for the first time.

But Barker fought back and, after 79 minutes, secured his 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 victory - and a place in his 13^th Tour final.

Quarter-finals:
[8] Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) bt [1] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-8, 7-11, 6-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-7 (87m)
[3] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [5] Eric Galvez (MEX) 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 (82m)
[4] Joey Barrington (ENG) bt Simon Rosner (GER) 11-9, 11-10 (2-0), 11-8 (55m)
[2] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [7] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 (57m)

Alarcon Ousts Grant In Colombian Upset

Brazilian number one Rafael F Alarcon claimed the biggest scalp of his career when he upset England's top seed Adrian Grant in the quarter-finals of the Club El Nogal Colombian Open Squash Championship at Club El Nogal in the Colombian capital Bogotá.

The six-times Brazilian national champion from Sao Paulo recovered from 2/1 down to beat Grant - his first world top twenty scalp - 11-8, 7-11, 6-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-7 in 87 minutes.

Alarcon, the No8 seed, will now take on third-seeded Spaniard Borja Golan, who needed 82 minutes to overcome Mexico's Pan Am Games gold medallist Eric Galvez, the fifth seed, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-6.

The other semi-final will be the all-English clash predicted by the seedings. Peter Barker, the second seed from Essex looking for his third successive Colombian Open title, beat local hero Miguel Angel Rodriguez, the No7 seed from Colombia, 11-9, 11-7, 11-7.

Fourth seed Joey Barrington ended Simon Rosner's run, beating the unseeded German 11-9, 11-10 (2-0), 11-8.
 

1st round:
[1] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Bernardo Samper (COL) 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7 (48m)
[8] Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) bt Ernesto Lucena (COL) 11-3, 11-2, 11-10 (3-1) (23m)
[3] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [Q] Roberto Pezzota (ARG) 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (18m)
[5] Eric Galvez (MEX) bt [Q] Christopher Gordon (USA) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (17m)
Simon Rosner (GER) bt [6] Shawn Delierre (CAN) 11-2, 11-8, 6-11, 10-11(2-4), 11-10(2-0) (79m)
[4] Joey Barrington (ENG) bt [Q] Ryan Donegan (USA) 11-3, 11-7, 11-3 (20m)
[7] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 8-11, 11-7, 11-1, 11-5 (46m)
[2] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [Q] Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-6, 11-1, 11-3 (21m)

Rodriguez Revenge Provides
Popular Colombia Win In Bogotá

Colombia's Miguel Angel Rodriguez avenged his defeat by Julian Illingworth in the Pan American Games semi-finals in July when he beat the American in the first round of the Club El Nogal Colombian Open Squash Championship to become the only local player to survive the first round of the $25,000 PSA Tour event at Club El Nogal in the Colombian capital Bogotá.

It took Illingworth, the three-times US National champion from Portland, 95 minutes to earn last month's upset over Rodriguez in Rio de Janeiro which took him into the gold medal play-off. But this time Rodriguez was keen to do well in his home city in the first major event on home soil since Colombia stunned the squash world by taking the Pan Am Games team gold medal for the first time.

Illingworth took the opening game, but 21-year-old Rodriguez - runner-up in the event last year - fought back to impose his authority on the match, eventually winning 8-11, 11-7, 11-1, 11-5 in 46 minutes, much to the delight of the partisan audience.

Fellow Colombian Bernardo Samper, however, was unable to join Rodriguez in the second round. The unseeded Colombian number two faced England's top seed Adrian Grant. After dropping the first game, 25-year-old Samper battled from 6-all in the second to draw level.

But, in what was described by local organiser Juan Carlos Santacruz as a "fantastic match" in which Samper "played his best squash ever in a Colombian PSA tournament", Grant regained the upper hand before coming through an 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7 winner after 48 minutes.

Germany's unseeded Simon Rosner pulled off the only surprise in the opening round, upsetting Canada's No6 seed Shawn Delierre 11-2, 11-8, 6-11, 10-11 (2-4), 11-10 (2-0) in a 79-minute marathon.