Qualifiers Break Through At Hithercroft

A qualifier is certain to reach the final of the Hithercroft Open after both Irishman John Rooney and Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet scored notable upsets in the quarter-finals of the PSA Tour event in its second year at the Hithercroft Squash Club in the English county of Oxfordshire.

Galway-born Rooney crushed unseeded Frenchman Yann Perrin 11-4, 11-0, 11-1, while fellow qualifier Castagnet despatched Sweden's No6 seed Badr Abdel Aziz 11-7, 11-4, 11-3. The pair will meet for the first time in the semi-finals.

The other semi-final will be the all-English clash predicted by the seedings, with favourite Joey Barrington taking on local hero Scott Handley, the 32-year-old from Wallingford who has fulfilled his seeding for the first time in the event in his home county.

Favourite Barrington needed 65 minutes to overcome former Eastbourne-based Frenchman Laurent Elriani, the No7 seed, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5. Third seed Handley took almost half the time to despatch eighth-seeded compatriot Alex Stait 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-1.

Quarter-finals:
[1] Joey Barrington (ENG) bt [7] Laurent Elriani (FRA) 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5 (65m)
[3] Scott Handley (ENG) bt [8] Alex Stait (ENG) 8-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-1 (35m)
[Q] John Rooney (IRL) bt Yann Perrin (FRA) 11-4, 11-0, 11-1 (20m)
[Q] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [6] Badr Abdel Aziz (SWE) 11-7, 11-4, 11-3