Richards Scampers To Samper Win In Maryland

It was not until the last match of the day that Tom Richards of England provided the only upset of the opening round of the National Capital Open when he beat sixth seed Bernardo Samper to reach the quarter-finals of the inaugural 2 Star PSA Tour squash event in Bethesda in the US state of Maryland.

After the Colombian took the first game relatively easily, the momentum quickly began to change. Samper soon had little impact on Richards at all as the Englishman displayed his well-rounded game to win 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 in 42 minutes.

Richards, a 21-year-old former England junior international from Surrey, now faces Laurens Jan Anjema after the top-seeded Dutchman defeated Pakistan's Khawaja Adil Maqbool 11-4, 11-6, 11-10 (2-0).

Second seed Cameron Pilley also had a comfortable win. The 25-year-old Australian from New South Wales beat German qualifier Jens Schoor 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 and will now face Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet, the No8 seed, for a place in the semi-finals.

1st round:
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) 11-4, 11-6, 11-10 (2-0) (34m)
Tom Richards (ENG) bt [6] Bernardo Samper (COL) 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 (42m)
[4] Liam Kenny (IRL) bt [Q] Patrick Chifunda (ZAM) 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-4 (56m)
[7] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Wade Johnstone (AUS) 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8 (99m)
[5] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Martin Knight (NZL) 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 (48m)
[3] Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) bt [Q] David Vidal (ESP) 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 (34m)
[8] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [Q] Regardt Schonborn (RSA) 3-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-6 (47m)
[2] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt [Q] Jens Schoor (GER) 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 (27m)