Germany’s Raphael Kandra (pic) celebrated title success in the New South Wales Open after beating Aqeel Rehman in a shock all-European final in Sydney. It was after beating England’s 3rd seed Lewis Walters in the quarter-finals that Kandra, the No8 seed, produced a major upset by ousting 2nd-seeded Australian Rex Hedrick in a 5-game semi-final marathon. And in the other semi, Austrian Rehman denied the hosts the predicted all-Australian final when he despatched Sydney-born favourite Scott Arnold. But Kandra, celebrating his 2nd unexpected Tour final appearance in Australia in a row, was now on a roll. After dropping the first game, the 20-year-old battled for 62 minutes to overcome 5th seed Rehman – winning 6-11, 13-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 to claim the first PSA World Tour title of his career.
