Manetta Upsets Teran In LA Open

A 70-minute quarter-final battle in the Women's Epstein Becker & Green Los Angeles Open resulted in Italy's Manuela Manetta scoring a significant upset in the WISPA World Tour event at the LA Athletic Club in Los Angeles when she beat second-seeded Mexican Samantha Teran.

It was the pair's second meeting on US soil since January - but this time the 24-year-old from Parma avenged her defeat in the Dayton Open in Ohio by overcoming world No22 Teran 9-4, 6-9, 9-3, 9-7.

"I knew that if I wanted to win I would have to play my best, and I did," said Manetta to www.squashsite.co.uk . "I felt in control most of the time. I was holding the 'T' and making her do the work. Sometimes I lose concentration and make mistakes - but that didn't happen today.

"I lost 3/1 to her in Dayton in January, so it was good to get revenge for that."

Manetta will now face Raneem El Weleily after the third seed from Egypt ended the giant-killing run of Joshna Chinappa, beating the unseeded Indian 9-0, 9-6, 4-9, 10-8.

In the other semi-final, top seed Natalie Grainger will face England's No4 seed Lauren Briggs. US champion Grainger defeated Canada's Runa Reta 9-1, 9-0, 9-3 while Briggs beat former US champion Latasha Khan 9-5, 9-3, 9-2.

Quarter-finals:
[1] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [8] Runa Reta (CAN) 9-1, 9-0, 9-3 (20m)
[4] Lauren Briggs (ENG) bt [5] Latasha Khan (USA) 9-5, 9-3, 9-2 (42m)
[3] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt Joshna Chinappa (IND) 9-0, 9-6, 4-9, 10-8 (27m)
[6] Manuela Manetta (ITA) bt [2] Samantha Teran (MEX) 9-4, 6-9, 9-3, 9-7 (70m)