Two rising stars treated a packed Mote Squash Club to a spectacular final of the Select Gaming Kent Open, writes Alan Thatcher.

No.2 seed Tom Ford from Cheltenham beat Welsh international Joel Makin, one year his junior, 8-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-5, 11-9. The match lasted 83 minutes and combined dazzling, stylish squash with some brutal retrieving in a contest full of long rallies.

Makin had reached the final of another tournament a week earlier and was playing his eighth match in 12 days. Ford was nursing a rib injury suffered in Switzerland and played in pain throughout the event.

Both players had won long semi-finals, Makin beating top seed Charles Sharpes in 104 minutes and Ford taking out Cardiff’s Peter Creed to avoid an all-Welsh contest.

No.8 seed Makin was on his knees in the closing stages of the final but kept battling to lead 9-8 in the fifth game. But world No.64 Ford finished strongly to win the final three points with shots of stunning accuracy.

Ford took home £1,000 in prize money and said: “I want to thank a lot of people for running this superb tournament but the man I need to thank the most is the Mote’s resident osteopath, Nick Griffith, who has treated me every day for an injury to my ribs and helped me to compete.

“Having extras like that available to us means a lot to the players and we appreciate it.”

Makin said: “I was pretty tired in the first game, let alone the fifth. I have had a great week and have ended the season with some good results.”