Matthew hits back to complete title defence

The 30-year-old world No 1 saw off his rival – who had defeated second seed James Willstrop, from Leeds, in the semi-finals – by winning 5-11 11-4 11-1 11-3 in just under an hour.

The result marked a fifth straight win for Matthew over his London-born rival.

Matthew said: “Peter started very well and it took me a while to get into the match and start moving properly.

“But I was pleased with the way I played and I hope the crowd enjoyed the match, despite me beating the home favourite.

“This is one of the best tournaments in the world and all of the players love coming to Canary Wharf.

“Next year is a big year for sport in London and I hope it’s not too late for the IOC to change their mind about having squash in the Olympics.”

Leeds-based Alister Walker missed out on an appearance in the final of the National Bank Financial Group Open in Canada after losing out to No 2 seed David Palmer.

The veteran Australian clinched his second Tour final place in a week – and the 55th of his career – by beating the unseeded Walker 5-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 after 92 minutes.

Palmer, who won last week’s Rocky Mountain Open in Calgary, was scheduled to meet Egypt’s Hisham Mohd Ashour in the final in the early hours of this morning.

Ashour – seeded third – defeated Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema 11-7, 10-12, 11-4, 15-13 in 61 minutes.