A jubilant KC Stadium saw Laura Massaro end a 22-year wait for a home-grown British Open squash winner.
The Preston-based world number two beat favourite Nicol David, 3-1 (11/4, 3/11, 12/10, 11/7) in the most tensely contested match of the Allam British Open.Massaro looked in determined and aggressive form right from the first game as she dominated the centre of the court, forcing her Malaysian opponent to do all the leg work.
And her fast start knocked David out of her stride from the outset, as she was unable to find any form as Massaro stormed in to take the opening game 11-4.
As was to be expected, David responded with roles reversed as she took control with precise play to ease home 11-3 and level the contest.
The third game became a drawn out battle, with neither player able to take a grip on the contest as they matched each other point for point and shot for shot.
When David began slowly to edge ahead, stretching the score to 6-3 and then to 10-7, many feared she may be taking a grip on the title.
However, realising she had a real chance of making history, Massaro fought back valiantly and levelled the game 10-10 to the delight of the near 1,000 strong crowd, before going on to take the game 12-10 and go 2-1 up.
With confidence sky-high and the crowd behind her, Massaro held her nerve in a nail-biting fourth game, leading from the early stages to finally take the game 11-7 and the match 3-1.
Speaking with the trophy in her hand, she said it was a life-long dream come true.
"The British Open is the first tournament I watched growing up and I will always remember my coach when I first turned full time saying 'one day you will be sitting in the final'. I thought 'yeah right'.
"So, it is absolutely amazing that it came true. Being the first Briton to win it in a few years makes it even more special."
Massaro praised the crowd at the KC Stadium for their support throughout the final match, saying she wished she could have that level of support everywhere she played.
She added: "I thought I played amazingly well in the first game and she (David) played amazingly well in the second game.
"It was a really close match. From about the eighth point in the last game I was just thinking 'don't mess it up'"
"We are both playing at a high level and whoever manages to get in front of the other you can kind of steamroller them."
In a week when squash's biggest tournament has been held at a football stadium for the first time, players have had to adapt to changing conditions on court, with the event even switching to Hull and East Riding Squash Club for one day.
"It's been an interesting week, but my match with Dipika Pallikal was one of the toughest of my career mentally as the conditions were really cold," Massaro added.
"I was happy to go to the plaster courts after that. But it was great to return and the weather has been great the last few days.
"I am really proud of myself."
David praised Massaro and admitted she was fully deserving for her final win: "I was just watching what Laura was doing instead of my own game and she played well," she said.
"She was finding the court better than me and getting to everything. She didn't make any mistakes. She deserves to win."
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