Abbas Joins Egyptian Trio In St Louis Quarters

On the second day of first round action in the MPM St Louis Open, fifth seed Mohammed Abbas battled for 64 minutes to become the fourth Egyptian through to the quarter-finals of the 5-star PSA Tour event in the US state of Missouri.

The 25-year-old world No18 from Cairo beat unseeded Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9 and will now face Ong Beng Hee for a place in the last four.

The third seed from Malaysia was also tested for more than an hour before achieving his predicted quarter-final berth. Beng Hee fought back from a game down to overcome Canadian Shahier Razik 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-9 in 66 minutes.

The eagerly-awaited 'local' match featuring the US-based No2 seed John White proved to be a disappointing affair. The hard-hitting Scot, now based in Philadelphia, survived a tough first game, then eased to two-game advantage against Mark Heather. However, the English qualifier was forced to concede the match when he retired sick.

White's 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 victory takes him on to a quarter-final clash with Egypt's No7 seed Wael El Hindi.

1st round:
[5] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-8, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9 (64m)
[3] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Shahier Razik (CAN) 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-9 (66m)
[2] John White (SCO) bt [Q] Mark Heather (ENG) 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 ret. (19m)