WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Catella Swedish Open Squash Championship, Linköping, Sweden

Quarter-finals:
[8] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) 15-3, 15-11, 15-5 (42m)
[5] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [4] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) 8-15, 15-4, 9-15, 15-12, 15-6 (89m)
[3] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Adrian Grant (ENG) 15-10, 15-9, 15-7 (40m)
[2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [7] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 15-12, 15-7, 15-12 (58m)

Willstrop Wins World Champions' Battle

Youth triumphed over experience in a dramatic quarter-final in the Catella Swedish Open Squash Championship when England's world junior champion James Willstrop produced an almost flawless performance over the reigning senior world champion Amr Shabana to beat the top-seeded Egyptian in straight games in Linköping.

Willstrop, the 20-year-old from Pontefract who has leapt to 13 in the world rankings after a notable series of upsets over higher-ranked players, was in sparkling form as he despatched world No5 Shabana 15-3 15-11 15-5 in 42 minutes - less than two months after the Egyptian won the world title in Pakistan.

The first game was a one-sided affair with Willstrop taking it in 13 minutes, his opponent clearly troubled by a knee injury.  The exciting Egyptian raced to a 7-1 lead in the second game only to see Willstrop come back and level the score at 9-9.  The tall Englishman again proved stronger as he won seven of the next nine points to take the game and go 2/0 up. 

Shabana defied all odds by going 4-0 up in the next game.  But with Willstrop coming back again to take a commanding 10-5 lead, the packed crowd had more or less given up hope for a comeback by the favourite.  It became increasingly difficult for Shabana to cope with the movement around court that his opponent was forcing him to make as Willstrop cruised to a victory that added another impressive name to a growing list of victims.

Willstrop now faces fellow Yorkshireman Nick Matthew in a totally unexpected semi-final in the top half of the Catella draw.  In the closest quarter-final match of the day, fourth-seeded Matthew twice came from behind to upset Australia's Joseph Kneipp, the fourth seed, 8-15 15-4 9-15 15-12 15-6 in 89 minutes.

The other semi-final is the encounter predicted by the seedings, featuring Canada's Jonathon Power, the No2 seed, and Egypt's third seed Karim Darwish.

Power, the world No7 from Montreal, defeated 2001 champion Ong Beng Hee, the seventh seed from Malaysia, 15-12 15-7 15-12 in 58 minutes while Darwish defeated unseeded Englishman Adrian Grant 15-10 15-9 15-7 in 40 minutes.