Contrasting Fortunes For English Girls In KL

Today's first round action in the CIMB KL Open produced a remarkable series of shock English results in the women's WISPA Gold event at the National Squash Centre in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Fourth seed Tania Bailey, the England number one, became the highest seed to fall when she went down 9-4, 9-6, 9-5 to unseeded Vanessa Atkinson. It was Bailey's first loss to the former world champion from the Netherlands in seven meetings over the past two years.

Fifth seed Vicky Botwright also failed to make her anticipated place in the quarter-finals after losing 9-1, 9-1, 8-10, 9-6 to lower-ranked England team-mate Alison Waters.

Then seventh seed Jenny Duncalf became the only seed to succumb to a qualifier when she crashed 9-2, 9-5, 9-3 to Hong Kong's Rebecca Chiu.

But unseeded Alison Waters was also joined in the last eight by fellow countrywoman Laura Lengthorn-Massaro, who pulled off the final shock of the day by upsetting New Zealand's sixth seed Shelley Kitchen 9-7, 3-9, 9-1, 7-9, 9-4.

Second seed Natalie Grinham made comfortable work of her first outing as a Netherlands player when she defeated Irish qualifier Madeline Perry 9-1, 9-2, 9-3. The former Australian now takes on Chiu for a place in the last four.

Fortunes in the men's 5-star PSA Tour event favoured the seeds as the top eight players made it through to the quarter-finals. Local stars Ong Beng Hee and Mohd Azlan Iskandar celebrated victories in opposing halves of the draw - fourth seed Beng Hee beating Pakistan qualifier Shamsul Islam Khan 11-8, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7, and Iskandar, the third seed, despatching Egypt's Tarek Momen 11-7, 11-1, 11-6.

Pakistan are also represented on both sides of the draw - following seventh seed Aamir Atlas Khan's 11-9, 11-9, 10-11 (0-2), 11-9 win over fellow Pakistani Farhan Mehboob, and eighth seed Mansoor Zaman's 10-11 (0-2), 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7 victory against New Zealander Kashif Shuja.

Men's 1st round:
[1] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) 11-2, 11-0, 11-2 (15m)
[7] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt [Q] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 11-9, 11-9, 10-11 (0-2), 11-9 (44m)
[4] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Shamsul Islam Khan (PAK) 11-8, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7 (44m)
[6] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [Q] Matthew Karwalski (AUS) 11-4, 11-8, 11-6 (27m)
[5] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt Dylan Bennett (NED) 11-4, 11-2, 11-8 (14m)
[3] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-7, 11-1, 11-6 (23m)
[8] Mansoor Zaman (PAK) bt Kashif Shuja (NZL) 10-11 (0-2), 11-4, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7 (41m)
[2] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [Q] Nafzahizam Adnan (MAS) 11-2, 11-5, 11-10 (2-0) (24m)

Women's 1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Sharon Wee (MAS) 9-2, 9-0, 9-5 (21m)
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) bt [6] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 9-7, 3-9, 9-1, 7-9, 9-4 (69m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Kasey Brown (AUS) 9-1, 9-5, 9-1 (24m)
Alison Waters (ENG) bt [5] Vicky Botwright (ENG) 9-1, 9-1, 8-10, 9-6 (39m)
[8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [Q] Donna Urquhart (AUS) 9-4, 9-4, 3-9, 9-0 (25m)
Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [4] Tania Bailey (ENG) 9-4, 9-6, 9-5 (35m)
[Q] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) bt [7] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-2, 9-5, 9-3 (25m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [Q] Madeline Perry (IRL) 9-1, 9-2, 9-3 (26m)