Hisham Assured Of Surprise Quarter-Final Slot In Virginia

Inspired, no doubt, by his 'wonder kid' younger brother Ramy, Hisham Mohd Ashour pulled off a notable upset in the first round of the Virginia Pro Championship when he beat England's No8 seed Peter Barker to earn a surprise place in the last eight of the 5-star PSA Tour event in Virginia, USA.

Hisham, a qualifier, took 36 minutes to overcome the left-handed England international from Essex 11-2, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7 to set up a quarter-final clash with John White.

The third seed from Scotland disappointed local fans in Virginia when he defeated local hero Patrick Chifunda, from Zambia - the wild card entry who now lives and coaches in Richmond.

Chifunda found the pace too difficult to control in the first two games. In the third the partisan crowd thought it was going to be a 'White' wash - and at 9-6 up it looked to be the case. It was at this stage, however, that Chifunda seemed to relax and began to get to grips with the pace White plays at. The Zambian pushed the game to ten-all and the crowd were anticipating the unthinkable.

But White's experience ultimately took him through 11-6, 11-5, 11-10 (2-0) in 33 minutes.

White, who was beaten by world No6 Ramy Ashour in last week's final of the EBS Dayton Open in Ohio, will be eager for family revenge in the quarter-finals!

In the lower half of the draw, England's unseeded Joey Barrington battled with fourth seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar for 70 minutes - but eventually the higher-ranked Malaysian prevailed, winning 11-9, 10-11 (0-2), 11-5, 11-10 (2-0).

Iskandar goes on to face No7 seed Mohammed Abbas, the Egyptian who ended England qualifier Bradley Ball's run 11-5, 11-8, 11-5.

Second seed Lee Beachill became the only Englishman to survive the first round, beating Brazilian qualifier Rafael F Alarcon 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 in just 21 minutes.

The Yorkshireman is expected to face Anthony Ricketts in Saturday's final. The top seed from Australia needed 44 minutes to overcome compatriot Dan Jenson, a qualifier from Adelaide, 11-5, 11-9, 11-10 (2-0).
1st round:

[1] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [Q] Dan Jenson (AUS) 11-5, 11-9, 11-10 (2-0) (44m)
[6] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-8, 10-11 (0-2), 11-8, 11-3 (60m)
[3] John White (SCO) bt Patrick Chifunda (ZAM) 11-6, 11-5, 11-10 (2-0) (33m)
[Q] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) bt [8] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-2, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7 (36m)
[7] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) bt [Q] Bradley Ball (ENG) 11-5, 11-8, 11-5 (45m)
[4] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Joey Barrington (ENG) 11-9, 10-11 (0-2), 11-5, 11-10 (2-0) (70m)
[5] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Renan Lavigne (FRA) 5-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (56m)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [Q] Rafael F Alarcon (BRA) 11-1, 11-4, 11-3 (21m)