Alarcon Leads The Way In Ponta Grossa

Rafael Alarcon led a trio of home players through to the quarter-finals of the Ponta Grossa Open after a straight games win over Joe Chapman of the British Virgin Islands in the opening round of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event at Clube Ponta Lagoa in Ponta Grossa, Brazil.

Fourth seed Alarcon, the 36-year-old Brazilian number one, despatched Chapman 11-7, 11-9, 13-11 in 43 minutes and will now play England's Alex Ingham for a place in the last four.

Ingham, a 22-year-old from Surrey, survived the longest match of the day when he beat Pakistan's Karamatullah Khan 11-4, 6-11, 11-4, 12-10 in 56 minutes.

England's Joe Lee is seeded to win the title. But the London-born world No55 was handed a bye in the opening round - and now meets Hernan D'Arcangelo, an Argentinean who also rested on the opening day when his Brazilian opponent Ronivaldo Duarte was forced to withdraw after sustaining a wrist injury just minutes before the match.

Local qualifier Vinicius Costa claimed an unexpected place in the quarter-finals when he upset fellow Brazilian Josimar Silva 11-8, 11-8, 11-2.

The 28-year-old from Caxias Do Sul will now face third seed Christopher Gordon, the US number two who defeated Brazil's Manoel Pereira 11-7, 11-1, 11-6.

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Joe Lee (ENG) v Hernan D'Arcangelo (ARG)
[4] Rafael Alarcon (BRA) v Alex Ingham (ENG)
[3] Christopher Gordon (USA) v [Q] Vinicius Costa (BRA)
[2] Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) v Vinicius Rodrigues (BRA)

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