Tom Richards Takes Quarter-Final Place In Dublin

England's Tom Richards claimed a notable upset in the first round of the Cannon Kirk Homes Irish Open when he beat fifth-seeded American Julian Illingworth in straight games to reach the quarter-finals of the $25,000 PSA Tour squash event at the Fitzwilliam Club in Dublin.

Remarkably, the only upset in the women's WISPA World Tour event also saw the exit of the fifth seed as Malaysian qualifier Delia Arnold beat higher-ranked Dutch opponent Annelize Naude 9-7, 9-5, 2-9, 9-7.

Richards, 21, from Surrey, battled for 51 minutes to earn his 11-9, 11-10 (4-2), 11-7 victory over four times US National champion Illingworth. Richards will now take on top seed John White, the former world number one from Scotland who beat Frenchman Julien Balbo 11-8, 10-11 (1-3), 11-10 (2-0), 11-9.

In the women's event, top seed and world number eight Vicky Botwright outclassed Ireland's Aisling Blake. The Galway girl put up a good fight in the opening game, losing out 9-6, but her English opponent eased through the next two to take the match 9-6, 9-0, 9-3.

Defending champion Madeline Perry endured a shaky start to her title defence as she edged past England's Sarah Kippax in a tight five game match. At two one down in games, the Irish number one looked as if she might make a surprise early exit - but the fourth seed from Banbridge showed her experience to take the fourth and fifth games to win 9-4, 7-9, 4-9, 9-4, 9-3 and book her place in the quarter finals.

Men's 1st round:
[1] John White (SCO) bt Julien Balbo (FRA) 11-8, 10-11 (1-3), 11-10 (2-0), 11-9 (51m)
[Q] Tom Richards (ENG) bt [5] Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-9, 11-10 (4-2), 11-7 (52m)
[4] Alex Gough (WAL) bt [Q] Rob Sutherland (WAL) 11-6, 11-5, 1-11, 11-5 (46m)
[7] Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) bt Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 (52m)
[8] Liam Kenny (IRL) bt Jonathan Harford (ENG) 11-9, 11-5, 3-11, 11-6 (57m)
[3] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [Q] Romain Tenant (FRA) 11-8, 11-9, 11-1 (28m)
[6] Kashif Shuja (NZL) bt Stacey Ross (ENG) 3-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9 (58m)
[2] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [Q] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (37m)

Women's 1st round:
[1] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt Aisling Blake (IRL) 9-6, 9-0, 9-3 (38m)
[8] Samantha Teran (MEX) bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) 9-3, 9-6, 9-5 (43m)
[3] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) bt [Q] Elise Ng (HKG) 9-2, 9-2, 9-2 (22m)
[7] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [Q] Fiona Moverley (ENG) 9-2, 9-0, 9-4 (25m)
[Q] Delia Arnold (MAS) bt [5] Annelize Naude (NED) 9-7, 9-5, 2-9, 9-7 (65m)
[4] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt Sarah Kippax (ENG) 9-4, 7-9, 4-9, 9-4, 9-3 (64m)
[6] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) bt Lauren Briggs (ENG) 10-8, 10-9, 9-0 (56m)
[2] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [Q] Vicky Hynes (ENG) 9-0, 9-0, 9-5