Massaro Back On Track In KL

England's world No9 Laura Massaro made up for two successive shock losses earlier this year to Raneem El Weleily when she beat the rising Egyptian star in today's first round of the CIMB KL Open, the $53,500 WISPA World Tour Gold squash event in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

Sixth seed Massaro looked to be in control as she took a two-game lead over El Weleily, the 21-year-old world No15 from Alexandria. But the tables turned as the Egyptian, this time a qualifier, took the next game in a surprise whitewash, then clinched the fourth to level the match.

The pair battled all the way to a tie-break in the decider before Massaro's greater experience eventually paid off as the 26-year-old from Preston secured her 11-9, 11-1, 0-11, 12-14, 12-10 win after 44 minutes.

Massaro will now meet her England team-mate Jenny Duncalf after the second seed from Harrogate despatched Engy Kheirallah - also an Egyptian - 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 in just 27 minutes.

Another English seed was also stretched to the limit before claiming her anticipated place in the last eight. Alison Waters, the third seed from London, dropped the first two games to Delia Arnold as the unseeded Malaysian thrilled the partisan crowd with hopes of a shock upset.

But Waters, the world No5, steadied the ship and clawed back the advantage before ultimately salvaging the match 7-11, 14-16, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 after 75 minutes.

There was a surprise in the women's event, however, when unseeded Mexican Samantha Teran claimed a 13-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-2 upset over seventh seed Vanessa Atkinson, the world No12 from the Netherlands. Teran, ranked just a single place below Atkinson, will now face Waters for a place in the semi-finals.

The KL crowd will be treated to unexpected additional local interest in the men's quarter-finals after unseeded Mohd Azlan Iskandar pulled off the only upset in the $50,000 5-star PSA World Tour event when he ousted England's No3 seed Adrian Grant, last year's runner-up, in straight games.

Iskandar, the 27-year-old world No18 from KL who is looking for his third KL Open title since 2003, crushed Grant 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 in 40 minutes - and will now line up against Australia's Stewart Boswell for a place in the last four.

Fifth seed Boswell, runner-up in 2007, was responsible for one of three first round Malaysian defeats when he beat unseeded Muhd Asyraf Azan 11-4, 11-8, 11-5.

Egypt's two world top five players Ramy Ashour and Karim Darwish took the first step towards their predicted meeting in the final following straight games victories: Top seed Ashour, making his first appearance in KL since becoming world number one in January, beat Malaysian qualifier Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 11-7, 11-9, 11-7, while second seed Darwish defeated compatriot Mohd Ali Anwar Reda 11-6, 11-9, 11-0.

Women's 1st round:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 11-7, 11-8, 11-2 (37m)
[8] Kasey Brown (AUS) bt [Q] Sarah Kippax (ENG) 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (33m)
[3] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Delia Arnold (MAS) 7-11, 14-16, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 (75m)
Samantha Teran (MEX) bt [7] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 13-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-2 (50m)
[5] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [Q] Donna Urquhart (AUS) 11-7, 6-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7 (60m)
[4] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [Q] Rebecca Chiu (HKG) 9-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-3 (30m)
[6] Laura Massaro (ENG) bt [Q] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 11-9, 11-1, 0-11, 12-14, 12-10 (44m)
[2] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 (27m)

Men's 1st round:
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [Q] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (35m)
[7] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt [Q] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9 (52m)
[4] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [Q] Ivan Yuen (MAS) 11-5, 8-11, 13-11, 13-11 (55m)
[8] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 11-8, 11-9, 3-11, 11-8 (56m)
[5] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (29m)
Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [3] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 (40m)
[6] Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (31m)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 11-6, 11-9, 11-0 (36m)