Razik & Illingworth Set Up Key North American Clash In California

The top two squash players in Canada and the USA go head-to-head in the semi-finals of the Pacific Athletic Club Open after Shahier Razik and Julian Illingworth came through the quarter-finals of the $15,000 PSA Tour event, sponsored by NetSuite, at the Pacific Athletic Club in Redwood City in the US state of California.

Top seed Razik, the Canadian number one ranked 30 in the world, ended qualifier Fabien Verseille's run, beating the Frenchman 11-5, 11-7, 11-7.

Fourth seed Illingworth, the four-time US champion from Portland, needed 51 minutes to overcome New Zealander Campbell Grayson, the No7 seed, 18-16, 11-5, 11-7.

The other semi-final will be an Anglo/Mexican affair after second-seeded Englishman Jonathan Kemp despatched Welsh qualifier Jethro Binns 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 in just 27 minutes.

Kemp will take on Eric Galvez, the third seed from Mexico who defeated Egyptian Yasser El Halaby 14-12, 11-5, 11-4.

Quarter-finals:
[1] Shahier Razik (CAN) bt [Q] Fabien Verseille (FRA) 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (36m)
[4] Julian Illingworth (USA) bt [7] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 18-16, 11-5, 11-7 (51m)
[3] Eric Galvez (MEX) bt [6] Yasser El Halaby (EGY) 14-12, 11-5, 11-4 (36m)
[2] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt [Q] Jethro Binns (WAL) 11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (27m)