Perry Powers Past First World Open Hurdle

Local heroine Madeline Perry delighted home fans at the Belfast Boat Club tonight when she overcame her first round hurdle in the Women's World Open Championship to earn a place in the last sixteen of the biggest ever squash event to be staged in Northern Ireland.

The eighth seed from Banbridge, who has been the focus of widespread interest in the event in the region, beat Irish team-mate Aisling Blake 9-3, 9-5, 9-0 in 40 minutes - and will now play her second round match on a state-of-the-art four glass-walled court in the auditorium of the Belfast's world-renowned Ulster Hall.

"The first round's always the toughest, but it's good to get started at last," said the 29-year-old world No7.

When asked how distracting the effect of the media focus on her had been, Perry said: "Actually, I've felt good all week, but my legs felt a bit heavy in the knock-up, and in the first two games I was a bit tense - but by the third, I felt fine.

"I thought Aisling played really well - though I think I dealt with it pretty well."

A significant upset earlier on the court means that Perry will now play unseeded Australian Kasey Brown, a 21-year-old from Queensland who battled to a 9-1, 5-9, 10-9, 9-7 victory in 83 minutes over 16th seed Annelize Naude.

"I've never played Kasey before, but she's had a good year. It'll be nice to play someone new.

"I'm really excited about playing at the Ulster Hall - I can't wait to get out there," concluded the seven-times Irish champion.

Two qualifiers claimed second round places in major upsets on the opening day. Nicolette Fernandes, the only professional squash player ever to have come out of Guyana, defeated England's sixth seed Jenny Duncalf 9-7, 9-4, 10-9 in 63 minutes.

Later, Mexico's Samantha Teran - who beat Fernandes in the Panamerican Championship final in September - overcame 12th seed Engy Kheirallah, who became the first Egyptian woman to reach the British Open semi-finals this year, 9-5, 9-5, 9-1.

"I have been so excited about playing in the World Open since sending in my entry some months ago - and as it's the most important event in the world, I have been training harder than ever before," said Teran, the 25-year-old world No26 from Mexico City.

"And I did something else different too - I arrived in Europe a week before the tournament, to fully acclimatise myself to the region. I went to Belgium to train with Sharon Wee.

"Engy and I have always had close games, but I have great belief in myself and want to pay back the great support I have back in my country from many people, including my coach and my parents," explained the Mexican star.

England team-mates Tania Bailey and Alison Waters will meet in the second round after straightforward straight games victories today.

Seventh seed Bailey, the British National champion from Lincolnshire, brushed aside Malaysian Sharon Wee 9-5, 9-1, 9-3 in 28 minutes. Earlier, on the same conventional plaster court at the Belfast Boat Club, tenth seed Waters, from London, despatched English qualifier Rebecca Botwright 9-1, 10-8, 9-5, in 24 minutes.

"It's nice to get a good game to start with," said a smiling Bailey afterwards. "We can now both look forward to playing our next match on the all-glass court at Ulster Hall - it's the court we all enjoy playing on," explained the 27-year-old England number one from Stamford.

"Sharon's one of the better unseeded players in the draw, though I haven't played her for a long time so I didn't know what to expect. I couldn't afford to lose my concentration against her - and when I did, she took full advantage," added Bailey, ranked six in the world.

Bailey has a 100% record against Waters on the WISPA World Tour, but lost in five in their last meeting two months ago in a non-Tour clash.

"I'm looking forward to it - I know it will be a good clean game," concluded Bailey.

Local interest in the event was reduced by a third in the afternoon session when Ireland's Laura Mylotte lost out in three games to Hong Kong's Rebecca Chiu. The 31-year-old from Galway, who recently sustained a cartilage injury, was playing her first competitive match since the World Team Championships in September.

"I really enjoyed that - but she's a different class of player," said Mylotte after her 9-1, 9-2, 10-9 defeat by the reigning Asian Games champion.

"If I'd sneaked the third, it might have been a different story," said Mylotte, who is the middle of a year off while playing full-time squash.

"I look forward to getting some serious training in now - and getting my year off to a second start!"

When asked how it felt to be playing in the World Open in her home country, Mylotte said: "It's the first time since I started playing when I was four that I've seen an event in our sport get so much attention here. Let's hope it persuades a few more young people to come along and play squash."

1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Lauren Briggs (ENG) 9-4, 9-5, 9-4 (49m)
[Q] Samantha Teran (MEX) bt [12] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 9-5, 9-5, 9-1 (46m)
[5] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 10-8, 9-2, 9-5 (40m)
[9] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [Q] Amelia Pittock (AUS) 9-4, 9-7, 9-5 (29m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 9-1, 9-5, 8-10, 10-8 (53m)
[15] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt Laura Mylotte (IRL) 9-1, 9-2, 10-9 (24m)
[Q] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) bt [6] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-7, 9-4, 10-9 (63m)
[11] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) bt [Q] Tenille Swartz (RSA) 9-0, 9-2, 9-1 (22m)
[10] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [Q] Rebecca Botwright (ENG) 9-1, 10-8, 9-5 (24m)
[7] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Sharon Wee (MAS) 9-5, 9-1, 9-3 (28m)
[13] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt [Q] Tegwen Malik (WAL) 9-4, 9-6, 9-5 (45m)
[4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 9-0, 9-1, 9-4 (28m)
Kasey Brown (AUS) bt [16] Annelize Naude (NED) 9-1, 5-9, 10-9, 9-7 (83m)
[8] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt Aisling Blake (IRL) 9-3, 9-5, 9-0 (40m)
[14] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt Pamela Nimmo (SCO) 9-3, 9-3 ret.
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) 9-2, 9-4, 9-0 (26m)