RESULTS: internationalSPORTgroup British Open Squash Championships, Manchester, England
Men's 2nd round:
[10] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [1] Karim Darwish (EGY) 5-11, 4-2 ret. (22m)
[12] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [7] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-13, 11-4, 5-11, 14-12, 11-5 (91m)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [11] Alister Walker (ENG) 7-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 (48m)
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [9] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11-6, 1-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5 (74m)
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [8] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 (78m)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [15] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 (30m)
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [16] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 (66m)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Kashif Shuja (NZL) 11-5, 11-7, 11-1 (25m)
Women's 1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Lauren Briggs (ENG) 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (28m)
[5] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [Q] Line Hansen (DEN) 11-9, 11-5, 11-2 (31m)
[3] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (33m)
[Q] Donna Urquhart (AUS) bt [7] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-7 (44m)
[8] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt Tania Bailey (ENG) 8-11, 11-3, 11-2, 11-8 (36m)
[4] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [Q] Sarah Kippax (ENG) 11-5, 11-7, 6-11, 11-2 (41m)
[6] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt Samantha Teran (MEX) 10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-6 (61m)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8 (64m)
In a dramatic day of second round upsets in the internationalSPORTgroup British Open – Manchester 2009, English outsider Daryl Selby became the only unseeded player to reach the men's quarter-finals of the $92,500 PSA World Tour Super Series squash event at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.
Selby's shock victory over fellow countryman Adrian Grant, the No8 seed, means that four Englishmen will line up in Saturday's quarter-finals of the world's oldest and most prestigious squash championship for the first time since 2001.
"I'm ecstatic to get to the quarters of the British for the first time," said 26-year-old Selby, from Essex, after his 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 victory over the world No11 in 78 minutes. "Hopefully, this will be my breakthrough."
Selby, ranked 21 in the world, will now face fellow Englishman Nick Matthew, the former champion from Sheffield who is the fourth seed. "That match will be massive - he's the England number one and a previous winner. It's going to be tough," said Selby.
Matthew, playing in the event for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery, crushed Cameron Pilley, a 6' 3" Australian, 11-3, 11-3, 11-6.
"I tried to attack from the word go," explained Matthew, who boasts a career-high world No5 ranking. "I was trying to get him to move that big frame around the court."
Earlier in the day, Londoner Peter Barker battled through to the quarter-finals for the third year in a row after beating top-ranked Malaysian Ong Beng Hee 11-7, 11-7, 11-8.
"Beng Hee's a good friend and a gentleman - so I knew it would be straight," said sixth seed Barker, the world No8. "But I wanted to win in straight games to conserve myself for Greg (Gaultier) - and, even though it was hard, I'm glad I achieved that.
"I've worked hard this summer. I feel I turned the corner this season by starting to believe in myself a bit more. My goal for the season is to challenge for every tournament I play."
The final match of the day produced a shock upset when top seed Karim Darwish, the world number one from Egypt, cruised to a comfortable first-game win against James Willstrop - then badly twisted his ankle midway through the second game against the tenth-seeded Yorkshireman.
After a three-minute injury break, the 28-year-old from Cairo returned to the court - but almost immediately held his hand up to concede the match - giving an unexpected quarter-final berth to last year's beaten finalist Willstrop.
"It's the biggest nightmare for a professional sportsman," said Willstrop when interviewed after the 22-minute match. "I've been there," added the 26-year-old former world number two from Leeds who underwent ankle surgery in April and is playing his fourth tournament since making his comeback in July.
For a place in the semi-final, Willstrop will meet No13 seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar. The Malaysian caused the second upset of the day when he beat two-time runner-up Thierry Lincou, the No7 seed from France, 11-13, 11-4, 5-11, 14-12, 11-5 in a 91-minute marathon.
It was a shock exit for former world champion Lincou who beat Iskandar in last year's quarter-finals, and was suffering his first second round defeat in the championships since 2000.
"Last year, Thierry caught me out on my forehand a lot - so I have been working on that," said the 27-year-old from Kuala Lumpur after his first win over the Frenchman in six Tour meetings.
"He played really well in the third game, but I felt the turning point came in the fourth.
"I've had a lot of injury problems - I strained my adductor recently - but I've now learned how to manage my body better.
"All I wanted was a good performance tonight - and that's what I got," concluded the world No23.
Australian champion Donna Urquhart became the only qualifier to reach the quarter-finals of the women's event after upsetting France's No7 seed Isabelle Stoehr in five games in the $53,500 WISPA World Tour Gold championship.
The left-hander from New South Wales - the lowest-ranked player to make it into the main draw - resisted a fightback by Stoehr, a semi-finalist last year, to win 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 7-11, 11-7 in 44 minutes. The win marked the biggest win of Urquhart's career, and her first over a world top ten opponent.
"Even to qualify for the British Open was a big achievement," said the 22-year-old world No31 after her first appearance in the event. "I’ve been working so hard for so long and been unlucky, so right now I have the most amazing feeling of relief. I am just overwhelmed to have reached the quarter-finals."
Urquhart now faces Alison Waters, the third seed from England who beat New Zealand's Jaclyn Hawkes 11-6, 11-9, 11-6.
There will be English interest in all but one of the women's quarter-finals. Yorkshire's Jenny Duncalf, runner-up last year, defeated local hero Sarah Kippax, a qualifier from Cheshire, 11-5, 11-7, 6-11, 11-2.
The fourth seed from Harrogate will now meet eighth seed Vanessa Atkinson, the former world champion from the Netherlands who beat England's Tania Bailey 8-11, 11-3, 11-2, 11-8.
Bailey, a former world No4 from Lincolnshire, is making a quicker-than-expected return to competition after undergoing knee surgery in April. "I really enjoyed that," said Bailey after the match. "A couple of months ago I wouldn't have imagined this. The British Open wasn't even on my radar - I was told I could be back by November if I was lucky.
"But everything progressed better than I could have hoped even though getting back with commitment was tough."
"Physically the match was hard but my hip was totally fine. But I knew it would be tough as I only stepped on court again three weeks ago. Now I can't wait for the Worlds as it is another bonus!"
Laura Massaro, from Lancashire, recovered from two games down to come through her first round encounter - beating rising Mexican star Samantha Teran 10-12, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-6. The No6 seed takes on second seed Rachael Grinham for a place in the semi-finals.
But the former champion from Australia was stretched to the limit before overcoming English qualifier Dominique Lloyd-Walter 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 4-11, 11-8 in 64 minutes - the longest women's match of the day.
"I feel absolutely great about my performance but feel so frustrated as I am waiting for the big win to come along and this could have been the opportunity," said a despondent Lloyd-Walter, from Guildford.
RESULTS: internationalSPORTgroup British Open Squash Championships, Manchester
Men's quarter-final line-up:
[10] James Willstrop (ENG) v [12] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [5] David Palmer (AUS)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Daryl Selby (ENG)
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [6] Peter Barker (ENG)
Women's quarter-final line-up:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v [5] Madeline Perry (IRL)
[3] Alison Waters (ENG) v [Q] Donna Urquhart (AUS)
[4] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v [8] Vanessa Atkinson (NED)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) v [6] Laura Massaro (ENG)
Official website: www.isportgroup.com/BritishOpenSquash