Manning Makes It Through In ACT International

Local favourite Timothy Manning made it through to the quarter-finals of the Lange Consulting & Software ACT International in Canberra, Australia - but he was stretched to five games by Indian qualifier Saurav Ghosal, the reigning British Junior Open champion, in the longest and most exciting match of the night.

Fourth seed Manning's match play was well matched against Ghosal's speed. Both players showed patience where needed and great shots to finish as they respected each others talents. The Canberra-based 27-year-old was cheered to his 6-11 11-5 11-10 10-11 11-8 victory by the home crowd - and now faces New Zealand-based Pakistani Kashif Shuja for a place in the semi-finals.

Fifth seed Dylan Bennett also had a tough battle against the unranked but experienced Paul Bushel from Australia. Qualifier Bushel, a former PSA player and currently the 35-40 age Australian Masters Champion, showed his younger opponent what experience can do. Bushel's shots and deception certainly worried his opponent but Bennett's fitness and tenacity got him through 7-11 11-7 11-2 4-11 11-9 in the end. Bennett now faces another talented Aussie Raj Nanda, the number 2 seed, in the quarter finals.

The only upset of the day came when unseeded Australian Simon Carruthers overcame England's seventh seed Duncan Walsh 11-5 11-6 11-7.

1st round:
[1] Cameron White (AUS) bt Jason Mudge (AUS) 11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7
[8] Peter Hughes (AUS) bt [Q] Carl Hampson (AUS) 11-10 (2-0), 11-3, 11-9
[4] Timothy Manning (AUS) bt [Q] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 6-11, 11-5, 11-10 (3-1), 10-11 (0-2), 11-8
[6] Kashif Shuja (NZL) bt Hadyn Bernau (AUS) 11-10 (4-2), 11-6, 11-7
Simon Carruthers (AUS) bt [7] Duncan Walsh (ENG) 11-5, 11-6, 11-7
[3] Phillip Barker (ENG) bt [Q] Kirby Sinclair (AUS) 11-7, 11-7, 11-4
[5] Dylan Bennett (NED) bt [Q] Paul Bushel (AUS) 7-11, 11-7, 11-2, 4-11, 11-9
[2] Raj Nanda (AUS) bt Mark Price (AUS) 10-11 (0-2), 11-3, 11-3, 11-4