Corren goes for record in hometown Open
16-Jun-2010 - Squash Australia
Corren’s victory at last week’s Golden Open in Kalgoorlie moved him to 26 titles on the Professional Squash Association tour, equal with fellow Australian David Palmer and Egypt’s Amr Shabana as the current players with the most titles.
He can claim that honour all for himself if he wins his second South Australian Open title on Sunday.
“It’s not something I think about all that much, but yeah, it would be a good feeling to get the record in Adelaide,” the 36-year-old said.
After years living and training in various countries around the world, Corren returned home to Adelaide earlier this year when he was granted a scholarship with the South Australian Academy of Squash (SAAS).
He said he was in better shape physically than he had been in years, which meant his age didn’t really play a factor in tournaments.
And he said he went into this week’s tournament with a home court advantage.
“I train there every day – I’m fairly relaxed about everything at the moment, but I always lift for a PSA tournament.”
Corren is second seed for the SA Open behind New South Welshman Matthew Karwalski but the draw has been far kinder to him than Karwalski.
He probably won’t be greatly challenged until a semi-final showdown with either Justin Beard or Rex Hedrick, whereas Karwalski will have to get past top Australian junior Jake Alexander and third seeded Queenslander Nathan Stevenson.
Former tour player Jason Mudge has also entered and is in Karwalski’s half of the draw.
Meanwhile, Queensland’s Lisa Camilleri will be shooting for three Women’s International Squash Players Association (WISPA) titles in a row in the women’s event.
Top seed Camilleri won WISPA tournaments in Darwin and Perth and is a hot favourite to win in Adelaide.
“I’m pretty confident – the girls in the draw are much the same as in Perth and Darwin so I’m hoping for the same result,” she said.
The world number 39 said she was wary of likely quarter-final opponent Jane Kennedy, who is playing her first tournament on the 2010 Australian Squash Tour.
“Jane’s very experienced and quite fit, so I won’t be able to take her lightly,” she said.
The first round begins on Friday morning, with the finals scheduled for Sunday.