Durback, Louw best in squash open

AFTER the busiest week in the history of Namibian squash with the series against Zambia, yesterday saw the climax of the 2009 DStv Namibian Open with the finals held at Wanderers.

In a draw of 96 players coming from over seven countries, South Africans Rodney Durbach and Milnay Louw finished as winners of the male and female sections in the 2009 DStv Namibian Squash Open held this weekend.Louw, the former South African number one, defeated Canadian Open winner and former world number 29, Runa Reta 11-9, 11-3, 11-8 in a tight match. The taller South African used her height to great advantage, forcing the Canadian to chase and rely on her excellent anticipation. In the end the 20-year-old Louw forced the victory thanks to her match sharpness – she plays for two to three hours a day, five days a week, and Reta’s lack of match practice and not quite acclimatising yet to the altitude here in Namibia.Louw, whose presence in Namibia was made possible through the Tustco development fund, described her victory on her first visit to Namibia as ‘ very pleasing’ and stated that she would try to come back next year to defend her title.In the men’s final it was a case of the old and the new, and experience defeated youth. Rodney Durbach, former world number 23, winner of this event in 2007 and runner up last year, came face to face with Gary Wheadon, the current number 9 South African. Both players appeared in this event thanks to Tiene and Archie Botha and Nashua Namibia respectively.After 45 minutes of breathtaking, top quality squash, Durbach was able to claim victory over his younger countryman 11-5, 11-4, 11-9. Durbach matched Wheadon in terms of accuracy and stamina, but managed to force Wheadon into errors at key points in the match.After the match, an exhausted, but happy Durbach spoke of how pleased he was to have come through the tough game and declared himself 100% available to come and defend his title next year when the event returns to the coast.Wheadon, playing for the first time in Namibia, was pleased with the way he played in the tournament over the weekend and added that he would like to play in a longer event next the next time he returns.In the rest of the field:Women:Sonica Fritz beat Zoe Durbach in the 3rd and 4th cup, Teresa Louw beat Trix van der Merwe in the consolation cup.Men:Marco Becker beat Ian Rowett in the 3 and 4th Cup. Tendai Boti beat Frank Wabo in the men’s concolation cup.isbuckland@rocketmail.com