White Hot Nottingham Star Ousts World No1 In Dunlop British Open

Former world number one John White marked his homecoming to Nottingham in perfect style in today's first round match in the Dunlop British Open when he fought back from 2/1 down to beat Egypt's reigning world number one Amr Shabana, the event favourite, at the University Sports Centre.

The unseeded Scot, who was based at the University for almost five years until moving to the USA last year, won the first game on the all-glass court - and had a game-ball in the second to go 2/0 up.

But Shabana's racket wizardry took the top-seeded Egyptian on to a two-games-to-one lead, then two points away from victory in the fourth game.

White dug deep, however, to win the game after a tie-break - then thrilled the packed partisan crowd in the decider to claim a stunning 11-7, 10-11 (3-5), 9-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 victory in 75 minutes.

"I had a game-plan and stuck to it - which I haven't done for a long time," said the delighted 33-year-old after his dramatic upset. "That's the best I've played for a long time - and it's good to do it here at the University.

"I had to try and keep Amr away from the front of the court - he's just too good, his rackets skills are one of the best out there."

White's final preparation for the match was a workout with the University's Director of Sport Vaughan Williams. "It was just like old times, back in the old training room we used to use - it brought all the memories flooding back.

"And just before the fifth game, Vaughan came up to me and said 'you can do it - give it 100%, do it for me' - and that was really inspiring," added White, who now plays another Egyptian, eight seed Karim Darwish, for a place in the semi-finals.

Showing little sign of the illness which prevented him from playing in the World Open in Egypt earlier in the month, James Willstrop successfully led the English assault on the British Open title with an 11-4, 11-10 (2-0), 8-11, 11-8 victory over Malaysia's Mohd Azlan Iskandar in 51 minutes.

"It was a hard battle with Azlan - as I expected it to be - and I'm very happy to have beaten him 3/1," said the fourth seed who was hospitalised in Cairo after contracting food poisoning. "To be able to play like that after ten days of inactivity is better than I could have hoped for.

"But I'm just trying to put that out of my mind, hoping that the reserves I built up over the hard summer of training will carry me through," added the England number one from Pontefract in Yorkshire.

"One thing you learn about having time off is how much you love playing squash."

Willstrop was full of praise for the 2006 staging of the historic event with roots back to the early 1920s. "It's the best presentation of the British Open I've ever seen, here at the University," said Willstrop. "We're used to seeing squash staged in some pretty spectacular venues around the world, but some places just naturally create a great atmosphere - like here.

"You can't beat the British Open in terms of prestige - I'm desperate to do well," added the 23-year-old

National interest in the semi-finals is guaranteed as Willstrop faces England team-mate Nick Matthew in Saturday's quarter-finals. The sixth seed from Sheffield beat Australian qualifier Stewart Boswell 11-7, 11-4, 11-7.

"It won't have been easy for him, playing the last match of the qualifiers last night on one of the back courts - especially a five-setter - then coming on here first thing in the morning on the glass court. All the factors were against him," said Matthew.

Another notable Australian casualty followed when title-holder Anthony Ricketts fell to Ong Beng Hee. The Malaysian qualifier saved game balls in the first two games before going on to record a notable 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0), 11-8 win over the fifth seed from Sydney who won the event for the first time last year.

There were a host of upsets in the women's event, led by the opening match of the day when USA qualifier Natalie Grainger beat England's sixth seed Jenny Duncalf 9-3, 9-5, 9-0. "I'm just happy to be on court playing again and having some fun out there," said Grainger, in her first tournament for almost six months.

English hopes were restored later when Londoner Alison Waters claimed the biggest upset in the women's event by beating second seed Vanessa Atkinson 8-10, 9-6, 9-1, 4-9, 9-7 in 71 minutes. It was Waters' second British Open upset in a row over the former world number one from the Netherlands, following the 22-year-old's straight games win in the first round of the 2005 event.

Waters will meet fellow non-seed Engy Kheirallah after the 24-year-old Egyptian upset Ireland's eighth seed Madeline Perry 8-10, 9-4, 7-9, 9-5, 9-4 in 75 minutes. It was Perry's fifth successive first round defeat in the British Open.

"I can't believe it - I've never won a match in the British Open," conceded the 29-year-old from Ulster. "It's not because it's the British Open, but the fact that it always takes place at the beginning of the season."

A major upset was averted when Australia's two-times champion Rachael Grinham, the third seed, saved a matchball against Laura-Jane Lengthorn to beat the unseeded 22-year-old from Preston 5-9, 9-2, 4-9, 10-9, 9-4 in 83 minutes.

"I was gutted afterwards," said Lengthorn, ranked 11 in the world. "I've never played a match like that before, with so much intensity."

Men's 1st round:
John White (SCO) bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-7, 10-11 (3-5), 9-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 (75m)
[8] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [Q] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5 (57m)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 11-4, 11-10 (2-0), 8-11, 11-8 (51m)
[6] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [Q] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 (45m)
[7] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 11-6, 11-3, 11-10 (2-0) (36m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Lee Beachill (ENG) 5-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-10 (3-1) (61m)
[Q] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [5] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0), 11-8 (56m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-5, 11-1, 11-4 (25m)

Women's 1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 9-6, 9-1, 9-5 (44m)
[5] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt [Q] Lauren Briggs (ENG) 9-6, 9-2, 9-3 (35m)
[4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 9-1, 9-1, 9-5 (39m)
[7] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt [Q] Annelize Naude (NED) 9-1, 9-0, 9-4 (26m)
[Q] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [6] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-3, 9-5, 9-0 (31m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) 5-9, 9-2, 4-9, 10-9, 9-4 (83m)
Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt [8] Madeline Perry (IRL) 8-10, 9-4, 7-9, 9-5, 9-4 (75m)
Alison Waters (ENG) bt [2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 8-10, 9-6, 9-1, 4-9, 9-7 (71m)