In front of a packed Ipswich Sports Club crowd, local hero Jonathan Kemp lived up to his billing as number one seed in the ISC Seven Telematics Open by beating second-seeded English compatriot Ben Coleman to win the inaugural PSA World Tour Challenger 5 event in Ipswich, England.
Experienced world No45 Kemp, the 32-year-old head pro at the club, reached the final without dropping a game – seeing off fourth seed Declan James in the semi-finals to reach the 17th Tour final of his career.
Rising English star Coleman, the 22-year-old world No94 from Chelmsford, survived a tough 77-minute quarter-final against fellow countryman Joel Hinds before brushing aside third-seeded Frenchman Yann Perrin in straight games to make his fourth Tour final.
“Coleman forced Kemp to play his best squash of the tournament, keeping the ball tight and accurate and countering well when Kemp attacked too early,” explained tournament spokesman Jaclyn Kemp.
“The rallies were all long and hard-fought, but with Coleman doing the majority of the work he noticeably tired at the end of each game – allowing Kemp to pull away.
“In the end it was Kemp’s disguise and variety of shot that put paid to the challenge of the young Englishman.”
The 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 title triumph in 34 minutes gives Kemp the 13th PSA Tour title of his career – but his first for more than two years.
Final:
[1] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt [2] Ben Coleman (ENG) 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (34m)
