Dittmar ready for Jansher

Press, 27 April 1989, Page 36

Dittmar ready for Jansher

NZPA-Reuter Paris Pakistan’s Jansher Khan, the winner of the Paris men’s squash open for the past two years, looked set to make it three in succession after an easy semi-final victory over England’s Del Harris on Tuesday. His Australian opponent in the final, however, is optimistic he can upset the Pakistani. Chris Dittmar, the second seed who lost to Jansher in last year’s final, defeated another Pakistani Mir Zaman Gul, 9-2, 9-2, 9-7, and said afterwards he was looking forward to meeting Jansher. “I’m ready for it,” said Dittmar. “It’s true he’s beaten me many times, but I’ve beaten him twice, both times in the last 12 months.” Jansher, who said his confidence was at an “all-time high,” hardly put a foot wrong on the way to a 9-5, 95, 9-3, victory against Harris. There was little fancy play to entertain the crowd at Paris’s tiny Jeu de Paume club, but he did not really need any. The first game lasted 25 min, the next two less than 10 min each. Dittmar’s match was not much harder. He pushed his opponent all around the court while himself retaining control of the centre to win easily. The finalists’ differing styles — Jansher is arguably the best retriever of the ball in the game, and Dittmar one of the best placers of it — promise to produce a classic final for the last tournament on this year’s international circuit.