RESULTS: Kent Open, Maidstone, England


1st round:
[1] Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Joel Hinds (ENG) 4-11, 11-8, 11-2, 12-10 (53m)
[5] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Karim AGA Samy (EGY) 11-3, 12-10, 11-4 (28m)
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) bt Neil Hitchens (ENG) 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (44m)
[6] Piedro Schweertman (NED) bt [Q] Wael Farag (EGY) 11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 14-12 (46m)
[8] Ben Ford (ENG) bt [Q] Tom Pashley (ENG) 11-5, 7-11, 11-8, 11-3 (49m)
[3] John Rooney (IRL) bt Steven London (ENG) 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 (28m)
[Q] Chris Truswell (ENG) bt [7] Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) 8-11, 11-2, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7 (54m)
[Q] Jonathan Harford (ENG) bt [2] Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8 (65m)


Birmingham housemates Jonathan Harford and Chris Truswell, both qualifiers, will meet each other in the quarter-finals of the Kent Open after knocking out two of the top seeds in this new $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event at the Mote Squash Club in Maidstone in the English county of Kent.

Harford produced a storming performance to remove Malaysia's No2 seed Muhd Asyraf Azan, ranked more than 160 places higher, while Truswell finished strongly to oust No7 seed Harinder Pal Sandhu, from India, in a thrilling five-game encounter.

The pair both emerged from the qualifying competition to delight the packed galleries with their stunning victories at The Mote Club.

Formerly ranked 59 in the world, Harford has seen his PSA ranking slump to 236 following a long injury lay-off. But the 26-year-old was clearly back on top form as he outplayed world No64 Azan 11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8 in 65 minutes.

Truswell, the 25-year-old world No 137, was in a similarly inspired mood to achieve a notable victory against Sandhu, who is ranked 47 places above him in the world list. Truswell hit back from 2/1 down to win 8-11, 11-2, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7 in 54 minutes.

Ironically, a third housemate, British Under-23 champion Joel Hinds, failed to make it a hat-trick as he fell to top seed Alan Clyne. Hinds fell away after a promising start as Scotland's world No62 clinched a fourth game tie-break to win 4-11, 11-8, 11-2, 12-10 in 53 minutes.

Favourite Clyne will face fifth-seeded Malaysian Ivan Yuen in what is sure to be a high-speed encounter. Yuen had too much guile and control as he nullified the hard-hitting Egyptian Karim AGA Samy, winning 11-3, 12-10, 11-4 in 28 minutes.

Another Egyptian to exit was the hugely-talented qualifier Wael Farag, who mounted fierce resistance before falling to sixth seed Piedro Schweertman. The Dutchman combined ferocious power with sublime touch to triumph 11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 14-12 in 46 minutes.

Schweertman now meets 20-year-old rising England star Joe Lee, the No4 seed from Surrey who beat fellow Englishman Neil Hitchens in four games.

Ben Ford, the 34-year-old Kent county captain, enjoyed massive vocal support from his home crowd as he beat Sussex qualifier Tom Pashley in four games. Ford now meets 30-year-old No3 seed John Rooney, who ended the hopes of Kent wild card Steven London with a straight-games victory in 28 minutes.

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Alan Clyne (SCO) v [5] Ivan Yuen (MAS)
[4] Joe Lee (ENG) v [6] Piedro Schweertman (NED)
[3] John Rooney (IRL) v [8] Ben Ford (ENG)
[Q] Jonathan Harford (ENG) v [Q] Chris Truswell (ENG)