Both top seeds will contest the finals of the Irish Open against unexpected opponents. Irish Madeline Perry (pic) earned her 5th appearance in the Irish Open final after beating England’s 4th seed Laura Massaro, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-9 in a 66-minute encounter. Opponent Vanessa Atkinson, the 2004 world champion from the Netherlands denied the crowd the event’s first ever all-Irish final when she beat Aisling Blake, in straight games. Azlan Iskandar, from Malaysia who is the men’s favourite, cruised into the final by beating England’s Chris Ryder 11-8, 11-4, 11-2. Spaniard Borja Golan, who is on a comeback trail after undergoing knee surgery, reached his 3rd PSA final of the year as a qualifier after battling to an 8-11, 11-0, 9-11, 11-1, 11-4 win over fellow qualifier Gregoire Marche, of France.
