Landmark title triumph for Davis (From Times Series)

James Davis ends Great Britain wait for major title with victory at the St Petersburg Grand Prix.

11:00am Friday 15th March 2013 in Sport By Adam Newson

James Davis ended Great Britain’s four-year wait for a major fencing title after winning the St Petersburg Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old from Barnet, pictured, who reached the quarter-finals at the London 2012 Olympics, celebrated victory over American Alexander Massialas in the final of the competition.

Davis had made a poor start to his campaign in Russia and lost three of his first six round matches.

In the round of 64, he took on French world number 16 Victor Sintes. Davis produced a strong performance to seal a 15-5 win and then moved past South Korean Jun Heo 15-9 in the next round.

World number nine Giorgio Avola faced Davis in the last 16 but he was dispatched by a score of 15-12 and in the quarter-final German Marius Braun was beaten 9-8.

Artur Akhmatkhuzin of Russia was Davis’ semi-final opponent but the British competitor claimed a 15-8 win.

In the final, Massialas proved a strong opponent. The well-contested final ended 15-14 with Davis taking the title.