Celebrating his fourth appearance in the climax of his country’s biggest international squash championship, Iskandar was the event’s fourth seed.
The 28-year-old from KL faced giant-killer Tarek Momen, the seventh-seeded Egyptian who shocked compatriot Mohamed El Shorbagy, the top seed, in the previous round.
Iskandar’s experience shone through, however, as the world No18 he stormed to an 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 victory over the 22-year-old world No23 from Cairo in 37 minutes.
“He was just too quick and his shots too precise,” Momen told www.squashsite.co.uk afterwards. “I knew I would be tired, and when I stepped on court, my legs were heavy.But I didn’t play badly – just not as quickly as Azlan today!”
The win marks Iskandar’s 12th PSA Tour title and his third Malaysian Open triumph since 2004.It also rounds off a series of title successes in his region after winning the Asian Championship gold medal in May and the Malaysian national crown last week.
Final:
[4] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [7] Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 (37m)
Semi-finals:
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [1] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) 8-11, 13-11, 2-11, 11-4, 12-10 (75m)
[4] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [Q] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (54m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [5] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10 (81m)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [3] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (65m)
[4] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [6] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-7, 11-8, 11-2 (41m)
[Q] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt [8] Simon Rosner (GER) 11-9, 11-6, 3-11, 11-7 (40m)
1st round:
[1] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [Q] Siddharth Suchde (IND) 11-4, 11-7, 11-9 (33m)
[5] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) 12-10, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 (57m)
[3] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (45m)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 6-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-7 (55m)
[6] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 (65m)
[4] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 11-4, 10-12, 11-3, 11-5 (43m)
[8] Simon Rosner (GER) bt Martin Knight (NZL) 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 (40m)
[Q] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt [2] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 13-11, 14-12, 11-8 (54m)
Qualifying finals:
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 7-4 ret. (7m)
Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) bt Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) 11-3, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (60m)
Siddharth Suchde (IND) bt Gilly Lane (USA) 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8 (77m)
Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 14-12, 11-9, 11-4 (40m)
1st qualifying round:
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Choong Kam Hing (MAS) 13-11, 11-7, 11-5 (27m)
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Kamran Khan (MAS) 11-7, 11-3, 7-11, 5-11, 11-5 (52m)
Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) bt Kashif Shuja (NZL) 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-9 (77m)
Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) bt Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-4 (70m)
Siddharth Suchde (IND) bt Steve Finitsis (AUS) 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8 (67m)
Gilly Lane (USA) bt Jo Wen Ng (MAS) 11-4, 11-5, 12-10 (18m)
Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Muhammad Zul A Azhar (MAS) 11-3, 11-5, 12-10 (20m)
Farhan Mehboob (PAK) bt Max Lee (HKG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
