English Dominate Swedish Exchanges In Linköping

English players dominated the action on the opening day of the Swedish Open, with top two seeds James Willstrop and Lee Beachill earning comfortable straight-game wins in the Case-sponsored men's $55,000 PSA Tour event, and English presence already guaranteed in the final of the women's Zack-sponsored Tour 4 WISPA World Tour event in Linköping.

James Willstrop, the 24-year-old event favourite from Pontefract in Yorkshire, took just 28 minutes to overcome Egypt's former world No14 Omar Elborolossy 11-4, 11-9, 11-2 to set up a quarter-final clash with compatriot Joey Barrington, the No8 seed who beat English qualifier Chris Ryder 11-9, 10-11 (1-3), 11-10 (2-0), 11-7.

Second seed Lee Beachill, making his PSA Tour comeback after hernia surgery early in the New Year, removed German qualifier Simon Rosner 11-8, 11-4, 11-10 (2-0). Also from Pontefract, Beachill will now face Finland's fifth seed Olli Tuominen for a place in the last four.

Welshman Alex Gough, the No7 seed hoping to reach the final for the second successive year, battled for 66 minutes to overcome English qualifier Jonathan Harford 10-11 (0-2), 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7.

Unseeded English players Fiona Moverley and Carrie Hastings pulled off notable upsets over fourth seed Dagmar Vermeulen and fifth seed Milou van der Heijden, respectively, in the women's event. Wins by top seed Sarah Kippax and seventh seed Lauren Selby higher in the top half of the draw ensures English presence in the final.

Men's 1st round:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Omar Elborolossy (EGY) 11-4, 11-9, 11-2 (28m)
[8] Joey Barrington (ENG) bt [Q] Chris Ryder (ENG) 11-9, 10-11 (1-3), 11-10 (2-0), 11-7 (77m)
[4] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-6, 11-10 (2-0), 11-4 (49m)
[6] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Badr Abdel Aziz (SWE) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (31m)
[7] Alex Gough (WAL) bt [Q] Jonathan Harford (ENG) 10-11 (0-2), 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 (66m)
[3] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 10-11 (0-2), 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (73m)
[5] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt [Q] Amr Swelim (EGY) 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 (34m)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [Q] Simon Rosner (GER) 11-8, 11-4, 11-10 (2-0) (35m)

Women's 1st round:
[1] Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt Lucie Fialova (CZE) 9-1, 9-4, 9-6
[7] Lauren Selby (ENG) bt [Q] Olga Ertlova (CZE) 9-1, 9-4, 7-9, 9-7
Fiona Moverley (ENG) bt [4] Dagmar Vermeulen (NED) 9-5, 9-5, 9-4
Carrie Hastings (ENG) bt [5] Milou van der Heijden (NED) 8-10, 9-6, 9-4, 9-3
Claire Kidd (SCO) bt [6] Kerri Shields (IRL) 9-5, 9-0, 6-9, 9-2
[3] Anna-Carin Forstadius (SWE) bt Anna Detter (SWE) 9-5, 9-1, 9-4
[8] Birgit Coufal (AUT) bt [Q] Elina Kononen (FIN) 9-6, 9-3, 9-2
[2] Carla Khan (PAK) bt Lotte Eriksen (NOR) 9-0, 9-1, 9-0