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Josh Masters grabbed the headlines when he knocked top seed Jens Schoor out of the Select Gaming Kent Open at Mote Park - and his phone proved just as important as his racquet, writes Alan Thatcher.
Masters has just completed his first year at the University of the West of England in Bristol, where he trains with world No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy. And the Egyptian was texting him advice ahead of the tournament, telling him to have faith in his attacking ability.
With Bexley-based England Squash coach-of-the-year Ben Ford also in his corner, 20-year-old wildcard and world No.215 from Walderslade recovered from a shaky start to achieve the best result of his fledgling career.
After a nervous opening game, he hit back to dominate the first-round match, beating world No.63 Schoor 2-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5.
Masters said: “Both Mohamed and Ben were telling me to attack the front corners and it paid off against Jens. It can be a bit risky, so those shots need to be accurate.”
Masters almost repeated the feat in the quarter-finals against No.6 seed Joel Hinds, from Derby. Hinds, aged 27 and ranked 83 in the world, looked in control as he led by two games to one but Masters won the fourth. Unfortunately, he could not maintain the pressure in the fifth as Hinds took it 11-3.
Charles Sharpes and qualifier George Parker contested Sunday's final, and after a marathon lasting 74 minutes, Sharpes squeezed home 12-10 in the fifth game after Parker had saved three match balls.
It was Sharpes’ fifth and biggest PSA World Tour title.