Brisbane's Steve Glasson became the first home-country player to win the Mazda International Jack High title in five years when he coasted to a straight sets 9-4, 9-3 win over defending champion Rowan Brassey in yesterday's final in Sydney.
Glasson had reached the final with a 9-3, 5-9, 9-2 win over fellow Aussie Kelvin Kerkow, while Brassey had staged a remarkable recovery to beat world champion Tony Allcock in three sets. The New Zealander, who lost his unbeaten record to Scotland's David Gourlay on Saturday when Gourlay battled to a 9-8, 6-9, 9-8 win, lost the opening set to Allcock 8-9 but then hit back to take the second 9-4.
After four ends of the decider, Allcock looked poised for a final spot when he led 8-1, but the picture changed suddenly. Brassey closed the gap with a double on the fifth end, then picked up a maximum four and completed his recovery with another double on the seventh end that gave him the set 9-8 and the match.
The 41-year-old world champion, Allcock, said: ''I was cruising and suddenly the wheels came off. I can still hardly believe I lost it - it was definitely the one that got away.''
Brassey, however, was on the receiving end in the final as Glasson scored a revenge win for his semi-final defeat last year. The 28-year-old Brisbane man needed a just 16 ends to wrap up his straight set victory and said: ''It was a case of third time lucky after losing in the semis for the last two years.
''Rowan and I had a real battle last year when he just won 9-8 in the deciding set and I was certainly anticipating a closer match than it turned out.''
Gourlay, despite his win over Brassey, could only finish third in his section, missing out on a semi final place on sets differential. Results:
Semi-finals - R Brassey (New Zealand) beat T Allcock (England) 8-9, 9-4, 9-8; S Glasson (Australia) beat K Kerkow (Australia) 9-3, 5-9, 9-2. Final - Glasson beat Brassey 9-4, 9-3.
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