Kemp Tested In London Open Opener

Jonathan Kemp made it through to the quarter-finals of the Coronation London Open as expected - but the top seed was tested by fellow Englishman Laurence Delasaux, a qualifier, in the first round of the $20,000 PSA Tour squash event at Cumberland LT&SC in the England capital.

Kemp, the Halifax-based world No23 from Wolverhampton, battled for 56 minutes before prevailing 11-7, 11-4, 3-11, 11-6 over 24-year-old world No 149 Delasaux, the lowest-ranked player in the tournament.

The 28-year-old will now take on another compatriot Robbie Temple, the eighth-seeded left-hander from Gloucester who ousted fellow countryman Lewis Walters 11-8, 11-5, 11-6.

An Egyptian opponent awaits Kemp in the predicted final. Omar Mosaad, the second seed from Cairo, beat English qualifier Eddie Charlton 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 and now faces Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet for a place in the semi-finals.

Laura Hill pulled off the only upset in the women's $8,000 WISPA World Tour event. The unseeded 33-year-old from Duffield in Derbyshire beat eighth seed Olga Ertlova, from the Czech Republic, 7-11, 23-21, 11-4, 11-3 - and will now line up against Malaysian Low Wee Wern, the third seed.

Top seeds Dominique Lloyd-Walter and Sarah Kippax made healthy starts to their campaigns to set up an all-English final. Lloyd-Walter, the favourite from Guildford, despatched Norwegian Lotte Eriksen 11-2, 11-9, 11-4, while Cheshire's Halifax-based second seed Sarah Kippax saw off South African Adel Weir 11-4, 11-5, 11-6.

Men's 1st round:
[1] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt [Q] Laurence Delasaux (ENG) 11-7, 11-4, 3-11, 11-6 (56m)
[8] Robbie Temple (ENG) bt [Q] Lewis Walters (ENG) 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 (37m)
[4] Shahier Razik (CAN) bt Jens Schoor (GER) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (30m)
[5] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Rob Sutherland (WAL) 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (45m)
[6] Julien Balbo (FRA) bt Ben Ford (ENG) 11-8, 11-7, 12-10 (50m)
[3] Joey Barrington (ENG) bt [Q] Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) 11-6, 11-7, 11-2 (37m)
[7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Yann Perrin (FRA) 11-8, 11-7, 11-3 (48m)
[2] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [Q] Eddie Charlton (ENG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (25m)

Women's 1st round:
[1] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) bt Lotte Eriksen (NOR) 11-2, 11-9, 11-4
[6] Lauren Selby (ENG) bt [Q] Maud Duplomb (FRA) 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 11-9
[4] Manuela Manetta (ITA) bt [Q] Nada Elkalaawy (EGY) 11-7, 11-4, 11-6
[7] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt [Q] Victoria Bell (ENG) 11-5, 12-10, 11-6
Laura Hill (ENG) bt [8] Olga Ertlova (CZE) 7-11, 23-21, 11-4, 11-3
[3] Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt Celia Allamargot (FRA) 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 11-2
[5] Alana Miller (CAN) bt [Q] Stephanie Edmison (CAN) 11-7, 13-11, 11-4
[2] Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt Adel Weir (RSA) 11-4, 11-5, 11-6