HAVERFORDWEST-born Joel Makin has won the Canadian Open squash tournament in Calgary.

He produced a quality performance to beat Frenchman Victor Crouin in four hard games in the final.

There were a series of long rallies between players ranked 10th and 11th in the world and who were the two top seeds for the tournament.

Joel, 28, won 3-1, (11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 12-10), to record his second tournament win on the PSA world tour.

“I’ve had a great week here this week,” he said afterwards.

“The players who have played this event before always come back and talk about how nice everyone is here.

“The atmosphere has been quality and the crowd has been packed out every day getting behind the players.

“There was no hiding place in that match. I had to push hard in that fourth game.

“Victor has been sharp all week and all season, so I’m happy to take that win.

“I’ve not been in the form I’ve wanted to be in. But I was glad to put a week like that together and get a win and get a step in the right direction.”

On his way to the final, Joel - born in Haverfordwest and brought up in Aberdare - had beaten players from America, England and Mexico without losing a game.

Although one place behind Crouin in the world rankings, he had beaten the Frenchman in three of their four previous meetings.

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