Barrington Shines Through In Baltimore

Friday the 13th proved to be unlucky for the higher-ranked players in the Baltimore Cup as, for the second day running, upsets abounded to leave only one seeded player - England's top seed Joey Barrington - left in the semi-finals of the PSA Tour event in Baltimore, USA.

In the most dramatic match of the day, unseeded Australian Wade Johnstone fought back from two games down to defeat compatriot Raj Nanda. It was a contentious match, with the referee heavily involved, but Johnstone - who coaches at the Meadow Mill club in Baltimore - eventually emerged victorious over the fourth seed after surviving a fourth game tie-break, with the final score 6-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 after 65 minutes.

England's Chris Ryder continued his run of good form with a four-game victory over the club professional Ben Garner. Ryder, a qualifier who recently won the World University Championship, got off to a flying start and established a two-game lead before fellow Englishman Garner, the No2 seed, got into the match.

However, the 26-year-old from Berkhamsted kept his composure to secure an 11-1, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 victory after 56 minutes. In the semi-finals Ryder will face Welshman Rob Sutherland, who won a tight contest against Canadian qualifier David Phillips.

The sole remaining seed in the event is Joey Barrington who won a long three-game match against qualifier Luke Margan. The rallies were generally well-contested, but the difference came from the Australian's higher error count - Barrington earning the only straight games win of the day, 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 in 50 minutes.

Quarter-finals:
[1] Joey Barrington (ENG) bt [Q] Luke Margan (AUS) 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 (50m)
Wade Johnstone (AUS) bt [4] Raj Nanda (AUS) 6-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 (65m)
Rob Sutherland (WAL) bt [Q] David Phillips (CAN) 11-7, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6 (54m)
[Q] Chris Ryder (ENG) bt [2] Ben Garner (ENG) 11-1, 11-7, 5-11, 11-8 (56m)