Ouseph warms up for Sudirman Cup in style

RAJIV Ouseph has warmed up for the Sudirman Cup in Guangzhou next week in style with victory at the MELS Atwater Canadian International in Montreal.

HITTING FORM: Reigning English champion Rajiv Ouseph picks up victory in Montreal ahead of the Sudirman Cup (Getty Images) 

The two-time National champion repeated his Nationals victory over England's joint third seed Carl Baxter 21-11 21-19 in the final.

Ouseph and Baxter were the only England players competing in Quebec.

Second seed Ouseph had reached the final with straight-sets wins over Canada's Francois Champagne, Khailai Zhang, joint fifth seed Andrew Dabeka in the quarter-finals and another fifth seed David Snider in the semi-finals.

It meant Ouseph lifted the title without dropping a game and bettered England No 1 Andrew Smith's runners-up spot in this tournament last year.

Victory will also boost his world ranking with Ouseph already up to a career-best No 34 to Smith's No. 22 and Baxter's No. 46.

"Things got a bit close in the second game but I never lost confidence in my play, even if Carl would eventually have grabbed it," said Ouseph.

"Overall, I think I had better length than Carl and easily made 8 to 10 points because of that.

"Next I will be going to the Sudirman Cup and I hope I'll get a chance to play for my team. Being in a very strong group, our goal is to maintain our position."

Winnipeg-born Baxter had also reached the final without dropping a game, beating Tommy McKee, Philippe Gaumond, Kevin Cordon of Guatemala and Canadian Stephan Wojcikiewiecz in his toughest encounter, winning 21-13 27-25.