Doug Kempsell '˜Public Enemy No.1' after title win in France

Edinburgh squash player Doug Kempsell is '˜Public Enemy No.1' in western France after dashing home hopes to land his fourth PSA title at the Niort International Open.

Doug Kempsell won his fourth PSA title

The No.6 seed stunned French top seed Christophe Andre in the quarter-finals and the 23-year-old Scot heaped further misery on the hosts when he beat third seed Baptiste Masotti 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 in the final.

“It was his [Masotti’s] home club and his whole family was there watching, so I spoiled the party a bit!” said Kempsell, who won his three other titles last year. “He was very pumped up for the final, and it was physically and mentally tough – me against hundreds of French supporters. I had no-one on my side, but that spurred me on and gave me an extra push.”

Kempsell’s victory continued his recent return to form after also reaching last month’s Northfield Cup final in Canada. Following his breakthrough season in 2015, this year has been relatively low-key, although he did help Scotland to their first medal in 17 years at the European Team Championship in Warsaw in May.

“I’ve had a lot of distractions this year, moving house and getting married,” he explained. “I’m hopefully up and running again. I can really focus on squash again and get back into the world’s top 100.”