SCOTLAND'S Martin Heath overcame a slow start to beat Australian qualifier John Goodchild 3-1 in the final of the US$8,000 Mazda Championship at Hong Kong Cricket Club yesterday.
The match started on a tense note as it was the first professional final for both players but they still produced some long and exciting rallies in the first two games before Goodchild ran out of steam.
Goodchild, a 27-year-old forklift driver who came all the way from the qualifying rounds, was happy just to go for returns and waited for the more ambitious Heath to make the mistake when he went for the shots.
His defensive tactics paid off as he came storming back from 3-6 down to win seven points on the trot, with only two points coming from winners, and held on to win the 25-minute opener 15-13.
He led 4-1 in the second game but Heath slowly found his touch and after levelling the score at 7-7, took control and never looked back to take the game 15-11.
A confident Heath needed only 15 more minutes to finish off the match, steamrolling past a hapless Goodchild 15-2, 15-5.