Walker & Kemp Set Up All-English Semi In Montreal

An English finalist in the Midtown Sanctuaire Open is guaranteed after compatriots Alister Walker and Jonathan Kemp battled to straight games wins in the quarter-finals of the inaugural $21,000 PSA Tour squash event at Midtown Le Sporting Club Sanctuaire in Montreal, Canada.

In the swiftest victory of the day, third seed Kemp defeated Frenchman Julien Balbo 11-4, 11-7, 11-4.

The 27-year-old left-hander from Halifax will now face fellow Yorkshire-based player Alister Walker - the top seed from Leeds who need 54 minutes to overcome Czech Republic number one Jan Koukal, the fifth seed, 11-7, 13-11, 11-5.

The other semi will be an all-North American affair between four-time US champion Julian Illingworth and second-seeded Canadian Shahier Razik. But third seed Illingworth toiled for 77 minutes to put paid to an all-Canadian semi when he beat local hero Shawn Delierre, the eighth seed from Montreal, 11-5, 12-14, 11-9, 11-6.

Razik maintained the winning form which saw him win last week's National Capital Open in the USA - where he beat Illingworth in the final. The 31-year-old from Toronto beat Hungary's Mark Krajcsak 11-9, 11-4, 11-5.

Quarter-finals:
[1] Alister Walker (ENG) bt [5] Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-7, 13-11, 11-5 (56m)
[3] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt [7] Julien Balbo (FRA) 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (34m)
[4] Julian Illingworth (USA) bt [8] Shawn Delierre (CAN) 11-5, 12-14, 11-9, 11-6 (77m)
[2] Shahier Razik (CAN) bt [6] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 11-9, 11-4, 11-5 (50m)