Renan Rallies On In Santiago

A rejuvenated Renan Lavigne scored his second upset in two days in the Santiago Open "Trofeo Concello de Santiago" when he beat fourth-seeded Finn Olli Tuominen in the quarter-finals of the $41,000 4-star PSA Tour squash event at Shopping Center Area Central in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

The unseeded 35-year-old from Marseille, who ousted 23-year-old seventh seed Tom Richards in the first round, recovered from a game down to overcome Tuominen, the world No24, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 in 49 minutes.

Lavigne, ranked 35 in the world, now faces second seed Adrian Grant for a place in the final. But Englishman Grant himself had to come from behind to conquer Indian number one Saurav Ghosal 11-6, 2-11, 5-11, 14-12, 11-5 in a 59-minute battle.

The other men's semi-final will also have English interest, when Londoner Peter Barker takes on Australian Stewart Boswell. Top seed Barker defeated Italian Davide Bianchetti, the No8 seed, 11-9, 11-8, 11-6, while Boswell dismissed fifth seed Hisham Mohd Ashour - the Egyptian who claimed an unexpected place in the last 16 of the World Open last week in Kuwait - 11-3, 11-5, 11-9 in just 26 minutes.

Guyana's Nicolette Fernandes maintained her winning run in the women's $6,800 WISPA World Tour championship when she beat France's Laura Pomportes 14-12, 11-2, 11-6.

The unseeded UK-based 26-year-old will now face Lauren Siddall for a place in the final. The top seed from England took just 15 minutes to earn her place in the last four, despatching Austrian Birgit Coufal 11-3, 11-5, 11-7.

An even swifter victory ensured English interest in the other women's semi-final when Fiona Moverley beat Sweden's Josefa Bertilsson 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 in ten minutes.

Moverley, the third seed from Hull, will line up against second-seeded New Zealander Kylie Lindsay, an 11-8, 11-7, 14-12 winner over France's Coline Aumard.

Men's quarter-finals:
[1] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [8] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (42m)
[3] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [5] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-3, 11-5, 11-9 (26m)
Renan Lavigne (FRA) bt [4] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 10-12, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 (49m)
[2] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-6, 2-11, 5-11, 14-12, 11-5 (59m)

Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Lauren Siddall (ENG) bt [5] Birgit Coufal (AUT) 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 (15m)
Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) bt Laura Pomportes (FRA) 14-12, 11-2, 11-6 (23m)
[3] Fiona Moverley (ENG) bt [6] Josefa Bertilsson (SWE) 11-2, 11-3, 11-2 (10m)
[2] Kylie Lindsay (NZL) bt [8] Coline Aumard (FRA) 11-8, 11-7, 14-12 (27m)