Darwish Downed In Second Domestic Duel In Saudi

After beating his higher-ranked fellow countryman Ramy Ashour in the first round of the Saudi International, Egyptian Karim Darwish went down to lower-ranked compatriot Mohammed Abbas in the second round of the final major international squash event of the year in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

Abbas, the 15th seed from Cairo - and the fifth highest-ranked Egyptian in the Dunlop PSA World Rankings - brushed aside eighth-seeded Darwish 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 in just 29 minutes to record the only upset on the second day of this PSA Super Series Platinum event in its second year.

"I've been losing all my matches to him for the past five to six years - I've lost so many finals against him, and every time I lose, it grows in my head, what I'm supposed to do to beat him," Abbas told the official website www.atcosquash.com

"Today I was blessed, all my shots just came in. I told my mother to pray for me, I guess she must have done!" added Abbas, who now meets Egyptian favourite Amr Shabana in the quarter-finals.

The 2007 Saudi International is providing the world's top players the final chance to earn points to qualify for next year's Super Series Finals, the annual event which showcases the eight most successful players in the previous year's PSA Super Series events.

Darwish, the world No9 from Cairo, lies in eighth place in the latest standings - but could lose his qualification place to Anthony Ricketts if the Australian title-holder (currently ninth in the list) reaches the semi-finals.

Fifth seed Ricketts overcame Finland's 12th seed Olli Tuominen 11-10 (3-1), 11-9, 11-9 and will now face James Willstrop in the quarter-finals. The fourth-seeded Englishman also had a straightforward second round win, avenging his Pontefract club team-mate Lee Beachill's shock first round loss to Joey Barrington by cruising to an 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 victory over the English qualifier in just 28 minutes.

Willstrop, virtually assured of a place in the 2007 Super Series Finals, lost to Ricketts in the 2006 event - but boasts a 4-3 head-to-head record over the defending champion.

A French rivalry which has grown in intensity throughout the year - and produced two dramatic PSA Tour finals - will be replayed for the sixth time on the Tour in 2006 when world No3 Thierry Lincou takes on the new world No4 Gregory Gaultier in the quarter-finals.

Lincou, the third seed battled for 52 minutes to quash England's 14th seed Adrian Grant 11-4, 3-11, 11-3, 11-5, while Gaultier, the No7 seed, outplayed the other surprise qualifier in the last sixteen when he beat Egypt's Hisham Mohd Ashour 11-5, 11-5, 11-6.

2nd round:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [16] Alex Gough (WAL) 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (31m)
[15] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt [8] Karim Darwish (EGY) 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 (29m)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Joey Barrington (ENG) 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 (28m)
[5] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [12] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-10 (3-1), 11-9, 11-9 (37m)
[7] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [Q] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (35m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [14] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-4, 3-11, 11-3, 11-5 (52m)
[6] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [13] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-5, 11-8, 11-10 (2-0) (54m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt [11] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-9, 11-6, 10-11 (4-6), 11-6 (65m)