Qualifiers Excel In Ontario

Qualifiers Ben Coleman and Clinton Leeuw claimed unexpected places in the quarter-finals of the Northern Ontario Championship in Canada after upsetting higher-ranked opponents in the opening round of the PSA World Tour Challenger 15 squash event in its third year at the Sudbury YMCA in Sudbury, Ontario.

It was only shortly after the day's play got underway that the club had to be evacuated due to a gas leak in the kitchen. "Play was halted and everyone was herded outside while the fire department did an inspection," explained tournament spokesman Michael McCue. "The delay was only temporary though, and after 15 minutes players were back on court."

Englishman Coleman, the lowest-ranked player in the draw, despatched Dutchman Dylan Bennett, the world No93, 11-5, 11-5, 12-10 in 37 minutes.

The 21-year-old world No 136 from Chelmsford will now be the second English opponent for Canadian hope Shawn Delierre. Fourth seed Delierre, from Montreal, recovered from 5-9 down in the first game to defeat Lewis Walters 13-11, 11-5, 11-9.

South African Leeuw dashed local hopes of three players through to the last eight by beating Toronto-based Dane Sharp 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-2 - and moves forward to face top seed Julian Illingworth, the record eight-time US national champion.

"Made it a tough game today in Sudbury for myself," said the Cape Town-born 30-year-old later on Twitter. "Glad to get through US num1 2mro - gota be stronger, faster."

In the shortest match of the day, England's third seed Chris Simpson progressed to the next round after fellow countryman Jaymie Haycocks retired with an ankle injury after just 13 minutes and seven points.

An Englishman also survived the longest: Unseeded Charles Sharpes battled for 72 minutes to overcome experienced Australian qualifier Scott Arnold 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 11-9.

"Won a tight 3-2 against Scott Arnold tonight," tweeted the 20-year-old from Surrey later. "Really happy to get through and looking forward to the quarter finals tomorrow."

Sharpes will take on second seed Shahier Razik after the defending champion from Toronto beat wild card Michael McCue 11-5, 11-3, 11-6.

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Julian Illingworth (USA) v [Q] Clinton Leeuw (RSA)
[3] Chris Simpson (ENG) v Peter Creed (WAL)
[4] Shawn Delierre (CAN) v [Q] Ben Coleman (ENG)
[2] Shahier Razik (CAN) v Charles Sharpes (ENG)

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