Willstrop Workout Earns Favourite First Round Win In Manchester

The 'good workout' that he wanted earned Yorkshire favourite James Willstrop a comfortable first round win in today's British National Championships at the National Squash Centre at Sportcity in Manchester.

The 22-year-old from Pontefract, ranked six in the world, is top seed in the event for the first time - and 'enjoying the pressure'.

"The first game of an event is always a bit weird, and it's always good to get the first win out of the way so that you can then relax into the event," said the former world junior champion who led England to success in December's World Team Championships in Pakistan.

Willstrop beat 31-year-old Scott Handley, a former world No41 from Oxfordshire, 11-6 11-7 11-9 in 30 minutes and now faces Essex's 14th seed Phillip Barker for a place in the last eight.

Defending men's champion Lee Beachill dropped just four points in his 11-minute victory over Devon's Hadrian Stiff. The title-holder's opponent was not only Stiff by name, but also stiff by nature, as he conceded the match after just two games, suffering with a 'stiff back'!

Beachill might have preferred a more testing introduction to the tournament in which he has reached the final for the past five years, winning three times. Willstrop's Pontefract club-mate underwent exploratory knee surgery early in the new year and has only been able to train properly for the past week.

"I'm hitting the ball well, but I just haven't had any matches recently - and there's no substitute for that," said the 28-year-old third seed who is aiming to become the first player in history to each the final six years in a row.

Nick Taylor, a former runner-up from Manchester who is now the head coach at the NSC, came out on top in a popular local derby against Stockport's Andrew Whipp, winning 8-11 11-8 8-11 11-6 11-7 in 62 minutes.

"It's amazing, this event really lifts my game," said 34-year-old Taylor.

A clash between Premier League club team-mates Ben Garner and Tim Vail provided the only upset of the day when Vail, the Team Chichester third string, beat team number one Garner, the event's 13th seed, 8-11 11-9 11-8 11-8 in 50 minutes. Vail, 28, from Chichester will now meet sixth seed Peter Barker, from Essex, for a place in the quarter-finals.

The women's qualifying finals produced two evenly-contested matches in which the eventual winners recovered from match balls down to earn places in the main draw. Ireland's Stockport-based Laura Mylotte fought back from 0/2 down, then saved three match balls in the decider, to beat Manchester's Amina Helal 3-9 8-10 9-3 9-6 10-9. Mylotte's reward is a first round meeting with top seed and defending champion Linda Elriani.

Georgina Stoker recovered from 1/2 down against Yorkshire's Deon Saffery and then saved two match balls in the fourth game before going on to win 9-5 6-9 7-9 10-9 9-5 in 65 minutes. The 20-year-old from Merseyside will now take on local player Rebecca Botwright, the eighth seed from Manchester.

Men's 1st round:
[1] James Willstrop (Yorks) bt Scott Handley (Oxon) 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 (30m)
[14] Phillip Barker (Essex) bt [Q] David Barnett (Northumbria) 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 (31m)
[8] Joey Barrington (Somerset) bt [Q] Shaun le Roux (Yorks) 11-10 (2-0), 11-3, 11-3 (30m)
[16] Daryl Selby (Essex) bt [Q] Chris Simpson (Hants) 11-9, 11-4, 3-11, 11-8 (44m)
[3] Lee Beachill (Yorks) bt Hadrian Stiff (Devon) 11-4, 11-0 ret. (11m)
[11] Nick Taylor (Lancs) bt Andrew Whipp (Cheshire) 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 (62m)
[7] Adrian Grant (Kent) bt Alex Stait (Glos) 11-3, 11-6, 11-2 (36m)
[12] Stephen Meads (Berks) bt Jaymie Haycocks (Shropshire) 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (36m)
Peter Billson (Lancs) bt Phil Rushworth (Yorks) 11-5, 10-11 (1-3), 11-2, 11-7 (36m)
[5] Alex Gough (Wales) bt [Q] Joel Hinds (Derbyshire) 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (45m)
[10] Simon Parke (Yorks) bt [Q] Tom Richards (Surrey) 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6 (52m)
[4] Nick Matthew (Yorks) bt [Q] Martin Gibson (Lincs) 11-1, 11-5, 11-4 (25m)
Tim Vail (Sussex) bt [13] Ben Garner (Surrey) 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (50m)
[6] Peter Barker (Essex) bt Laurence Delasaux (Yorks) 11-1, 11-8, 11-8 (38m)
[15] Peter Genever (Sussex) bt [Q] Kristen Johnson (Scotland) 10-11 (0-2), 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (58m)
[2] Peter Nicol (Yorks) bt [Q] Ben Ford (Kent) 10-11 (0-2), 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (44m)

Women's qualifying finals:
Laura Mylotte (Ireland) bt Amina Helal (Lancs) 3-9, 8-10, 9-3, 9-6, 10-9 (57m)
Kirsty McPhee (Yorks) bt Rachel Willmott (Sussex) 9-5, 9-0, 9-0 (19m)
Georgina Stoker (Merseyside) bt Deon Saffery (Yorks) 9-5, 6-9, 7-9, 10-9, 9-5 (65m)
Lauren Siddall (Yorks) bt Jenny Wright (Wales) 9-7, 9-4, 9-0 (36m)