---

Patrick Foster has won bigger, more prestigious titles in his career than the Bermuda nationals.

But the club pro, who lifted his third successive title on Saturday night, admits he's had few better feelings in squash than winning the local title on court 2 in front of what he now considers to be a 'home crowd'.

Foster beat Bermudian former pro Nick Kyme 11/6, 11/4, 8/11, 11/6 in the final on Saturday night. And though Kyme is the local boy it was Foster that had the bulk of the crowd behind him.

"Court 2 at the BSRA is like my court now. It was a great atmosphere again on Saturday. Everybody was screaming and Nick gave me a real battle. I felt for Nick, slightly, because he's the Bermudian, but I coach most of the kids and some of the parents. It's me that they see at the club five days a week and it's always a thrill to get that kind of support.

"This is the one tournament a year where I can really get out there and play instead of trying to direct other people how to win.

"I don't think I've played much better than I did in the first two games on Saturday, ever. I was on my game, he was doing a lot more work than I was - it was comfortable.

"But credit to Nick. He could have just given up. He strung some points together and took the third.

" He was picking up everything, doing the splits, diving around the court to get everything back. Fortunately I was able to hold on and win the fourth.

"If it had gone to a fifth it would have been psychologically very difficult having been two up."

One of the other highlights of the tournament was the progress of two of Bermuda's top juniors Micah Franklin and Kristian Muldoon, both of whom made the quarter-finals

Franklin, 15, put out fourth seed Stephen Smith in the second round.

And Foster believes it won't be long before the pair are reaching the last four and the final of this competition.

"This is a title I really want to hold on to, but those two did really well. A couple more years on my legs and a couple more years of training in theirs could be all it takes.

"It doesn't bother me losing to juniors, though. It happens eventually. If you teach them right and they train hard enough that's the way it should be."

Foster, who celebrated his win into Saturday night at the free bar provided by new sponsor Digicel, couldn't have been happier with how the tournament worked out.

"We got more than 100 entries. We had enough for three men's divisions, two women's divisions and two vets divisions.

"The sponsors Digicel really showed how to put on an event. They gave Blackberry phones to the winners, refunded the entry fees of all their customers and paid for a free bar on finals night.

"They've blown every other sponsor away."

Bermuda National Squash Finals Round-Up

Women's Open

National coach Denise Sommers surprised no-one by strolling to victory in the women's top division.

Sommers beat Leah Bishop 11/5. 11/4, 11/5 in a repeat of last year's final.

"She was a level above the rest, as you would expect from a player who used to be in the top 24 in the world," said Foster.

"Leah Bishop played some good stuff at times but Denise's strength and power on the court blows a lot of the ladies away.

"It's great for our girls to see how it should be done. There were a lot of kids watching and they can learn a lot from seeing Denise in action."

Women's Veteran's Division

Liz Martin beat Denise Kyme in straight sets 11/6, 11/9, 11/6 to claim the women's veterans title.

Women's Division 1

Kim Moreby took the Women's Division 1 title defeating Joanie Harper 11/2, 11/5, 11/3 in the final.

Men's Veteran's Division

Norman Furtado surprised top seed Richard Brewer to claim an 11/8, 12/14, 11/8, 11/8 win in a closely contested men's vets final.

Men's Division 1

Spencer Moss defeated Padraic Browne 11/2, 11/6, 6/11, 13/11 to take the men's division 1 title.

Men's Division 2

Rick Dorush came back from losing the first game to claim a 5/11, 11/9, 12/10, 11/7 victory over Donovan Furbert and take the Division 2 honours.[[In-content Ad]]

---