Matthew Keen To Fashion A Result At Canary Wharf

British Open champion Nick Matthew was made to fight hard by wild card and fellow Englishman Bradley Ball before claiming his place in the quarter-finals of the ISS Canary Wharf Classic in London.

Yorkshireman Matthew, with his right ankle heavily strapped, surrendered the first game before recovering to beat his Ipswich-based opponent 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 in 59 minutes.

The world No7 from Sheffield now faces fiery Egyptian Wael El Hindi, who beat Guernsey's Chris Simpson in straight games at East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf.

The 19-year-old 'lucky loser', who came into the main draw after Australian Anthony Ricketts withdrew because of an elbow injury, performed solidly in the opening two games before El Hindi mopped up the match 11-8, 11-8, 11-5.

Matthew last week returned after injury to reach the semi-finals of the Kuala Lumpur Open and is confident of getting his season back on track after missing the past two months.

"The ankle is fine," said the England No2. "It's no problem now but I've been advised to keep the strapping on it for a while. It was good to get some matches under my belt in Malaysia and I am sure it will be OK against El Hindi."

The Egyptian is honing his fitness in the UK under the watchful eye of squash legend Jonah Barrington and is sure to make an impression with his fashion sense as much as his stylish squash.

The 26-year-old from Cairo took to the court in a green and yellow singlet, showing off his heavily tattooed biceps, and sporting calf length white track bottoms.

"This is my first time at Canary Wharf and I am so pleased to be here - despite the freezing cold weather," said El Hindi

The winner will face the victor of the battle between Matthew's Yorkshire and England team-mates James Willstrop and Lee Beachill, who are both based at Pontefract Squash Club, where they are coached by James's father Malcolm.

Willstrop, who is seeded above his club-mate at Canary Wharf, is searching for his first victory over his more experienced opponent.

Left-hander Adrian Grant, the No8 seed, makes the short journey from his family home in Catford to challenge the top seed Thierry Lincou, the reigning champion from France.

Scotland's No5 seed John White, the hardest hitter in the history of squash, faces Welsh veteran Alex Gough, 36. White, who is now based in Philadelphia and was recorded blasting the ball at 172mph at Canary Wharf two years ago, had to battle for 70 minutes to remove Italian Davide Bianchetti. White was timed at a more modest top speed of 144mph as he hit back from 2/1 down to beat Bianchetti, from Brescia, 11-3, 6-11, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8.

Gough, White's former Nottingham team-mate, was forced to stay on court for 42 minutes before overcoming Surrey qualifier Stacey Ross 11-3, 2-11, 11-2, 11-7.

1st round:
[5] John White (SCO) bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-3, 6-11, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8 (70m)
Alex Gough (WAL) bt [Q] Stacey Ross (ENG) 11-3, 2-11, 11-2, 11-7 (42m)
[7] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 (36m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Bradley Ball (ENG) 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (59m)