Men's
quarter-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [Q] Mohamed El
Shorbagy (EGY) 11-2, 11-3, 11-6 (20m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [8] Nick Matthew (ENG) 2-11, 11-8, 11-9,
11-7 (58m)
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [3] James Willstrop (ENG) 5-11, 11-5,
9-11, 11-4, 11-5 (78m)
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [14] Adrian Grant (ENG) 12-10, 11-7,
11-7 (47m)
Women's
quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [9] Omneya
Abdel Kawy (EGY) 11-8, 11-1, 11-9 (30m)
[14] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 6-11, 5-11, 11-9,
12-10, 11-9 (66m)
[5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [3] Natalie Grinham (NED) 11-8, 10-12,
5-11, 11-6, 11-7 (65m)
[11] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt [7] Alison Waters (ENG) 13-11, 5-11,
13-11, 11-9 (51m)
English World Finalist
Guaranteed After Duncalf Downs Grinham
It was 13th time lucky for
England's Jenny
Duncalf in
the women's quarter-finals of the Hi-Tec World Open
Squash Championships when the world No5 from
Yorkshire upset Dutch star Natalie
Grinham to
ensure the event's first English finalist for five years.
The world's leading players from more than 30 countries have
been competing in the Hi-Tec World Squash
Championships – Manchester 2008, the first ever joint
staging of the Men's World
Open and Women's World
Openin the UK.
Domestic interest in the men's event expired when the English
trio of Nick Matthew,
James Willstrop and Adrian
Grantall fell at the quarter-final hurdle - leaving
Australian David
Palmer and
three Egyptians Amr
Shabana, Ramy
Ashourand Karim
Darwish to
contest the semi-finals.
With 12 successive wins over Duncalf over the past four years,
world number two Natalie Grinham was favourite to win their match
en-route to her third successive appearance in the women's
final.
But a resolute Duncalf, 25, from Harrogate, fought back from two
games to one down to beat her Australian-born opponent 11-8, 10-12, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7
in 65 minutes to reach her first world semi.
"I played my best ever squash in the fifth game to get to 7-1,
then got the tingles when she fought back to win the next four
points. A
certain English finalist? That's brilliant for English
squash," said the former British National champion.
"I'm really happy to have finally beaten Natalie!"
Duncalf now meets England team-mate and local
star Vicky
Botwright, the 31-year-old former England number one from
Manchester who announced her retirement on the eve of the
championships.
The 11th seed, who ousted defending champion Rachael
Grinham in
the previous round, continued her 'giant-killing' run by taking out
seventh-seeded compatriot Alison
Waters 13-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-9.
"It really is unbelievable," said Botwright
later. "The
people you have to beat to get this far makes it so hard.
"But I think the scoring changed just in time for me!"
In an extraordinary match later in the day, Ireland's 14th seed
Madeline Perry showed the guts that took her to six in the world
over two years ago when she fought back from two games and 9-7 down
to beat unseeded New Zealander Jaclyn
Hawkes 6-11, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9
in 66 minutes.
Hawkes, who had arrived in the first major quarter-final of her
career after a shock defeat of fourth seed Natalie
Grainger in the previous round, failed
to convert match balls from 10-5 in the fourth.
"It was pure determination, I guess," said the jubilant
31-year-old from near Belfast in Northern
Ireland. "But
I really felt uncomfortable out there - probably because I knew I
had such a good opportunity."
14th seed Perry is fighting back up the rankings after suffering
a serious head injury in a mugging attack in Milan exactly a year
ago.
"What I went through last year got me through that
match. I
nearly died then. I was told I'd never be able
to concentrate.
"I don't think I've ever made a come back like that," said the
world No16.
Perry will now take on Nicol David,
the world number one from Malaysia who recovered from 5-8 down in
the first game to beat Egyptian rival Omneya Abdel
Kawy 11-8,
11-1, 11-9.
After narrowly losing to David
Palmer in
the final of the British
Open in
May, Englishman James
Willstrop failed in his bid for revenge
when he went down to the Australian 5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5 in
the men's quarter-finals.
Spurred on by the capacity partisan crowd, the third seed from
Yorkshire led after the first and third games - but the experienced
fifth seed Palmer romped to a 5-1 lead in the fourth, then a 4-1
lead in the decider before taking the match in 78 minutes.
"I'm so envious for players like James having the British Open
and now the World Open here - we don't get tournaments like this in
Australia." said the two-time champion from Lithgow in New South
Wales. "That
felt like a final. I can't imagine playing in
front of a home crowd like this!"
"Perhaps he was under pressure. The key for me was the start
of the fourth and fifth games.
"As I said at the British Open, he'll win that title one day -
and he'll come back to win this one too," added the former world
number one.
Willstrop was devastated by the loss: "He was awesome tonight - in
those last two games he was better than me by a good distance.
"It was the most calm performance I've seen from
him. He
handled the pressure well.
"He's a smart guy," added the England number
one. "He's
managed to stay in excellent condition. I felt more in control in the
British Open final."
Palmer will now meet Karim
Darwish, the No7 seed who beat England's Adrian
Grant 12-10, 11-7, 11-7 in 47
minutes.
Defending champion Amr
Shabana was in stunning form to beat
compatriot Mohamed El
Shorbagy, a 17-year-old qualifier, 11-2, 11-3, 11-6 in
just 20 minutes.
In one of the most exciting 'draws' in squash, the world number
one will face his country's newest star Ramy Ashour,
the 21-year-old fourth seed who beat England's Nick Matthew 2-11,
11-8, 11-9, 11-7 in 58 minutes.