Willstrop Battles Into Windy City Quarters

England's James Willstrop battled for 72 minutes to overcome Egypt's Mohammed Abbas in the second round of the Infor Windy City Open - the second PSA Super Series Silver event of the year, in Chicago, USA.

The 23-year-old seventh seed from Yorkshire came back from a game down to beat Abbas, the 13th seed, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3 to earn a clash with another Egyptian, top seed Amr Shabana.

The world number one from Cairo, a surprise second round casualty in last week's PACE Canadian Classic in Toronto, was in fine second round form, beating Finland's Olli Tuominen 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 in 39 minutes.

"Olli and I have been playing against each other since we’re like 11, so I cannot surprise him," Shabana told www.squashsite.co.uk. "I can only play my shots. And today, it happened for me!"

A second Egyptian made it into the last eight when sixth seed Ramy Ashour beat England's No10 seed Adrian Grant 11-8, 11-5, 11-3. Ashour, the teenager who claimed his first PSA Super Series crown in Toronto last week, now faces France's former world No1 Thierry Lincou, an 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4 winner over Egyptian Wael El Hindi.

2nd round:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [12] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (39m)
[7] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [13] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 11-3 (72m)
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [9] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-10 (4-2), 11-9, 11-7 (60m)
[8] John White (SCO) bt [14] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (56m)
[6] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [10] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-8, 11-5, 11-3 (42m)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [11] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4 (61m)
[5] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [16] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (37m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt [15] Graham Ryding (CAN) 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (39m)