Dane Delivers Home Hopes In Ottawa

Dane Sharp led home hopes through to the quarter-finals of the GoodLife Open after dismissing compatriot Matthew Serediak in the first round of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its ninth year at GoodLife Fitness in the Canadian capital Ottawa.

The 27-year-old from Toronto beat 29-year-old Serediak 11-6, 11-4, 12-10 and will now face France's Geoffrey Demont for a place in the semi-finals.

Top seed Martin Knight - who stopped Sharp in the opening round last year - also secured a straight games success, beating Canadian wild card Adrian Dudzicki 11-6, 11-5, 11-8.

The New Zealander, runner-up 12 months ago, now meets Thomas Ford, the 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 winner of an all-English clash with James Earles.

Fourth-seeded Mexican Eric Galvez successfully began his bid to reach a third GoodLife final since 2006 with an 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 victory over Australian Justin Beard.

The No 4 seed from Puebla now faces Englishman Michael Harris. In a clash described by tournament promoter Heather Wallace as "undoubtedly, the match of the day", Harris beat higher-ranked Canadian Michael McCue 4-11, 11-4, 13-11, 13-11 in 70 minutes.

"McCue came out of the blocks fast, taking advantage over Harris's loose and error-prone play in the first game, winning it 11-4," reported Wallace. "The tables turned in the second when Harris found better length & became more aggressive in his play taking the ball earlier and into the front court much better.

"In the third game, Harris blew a 9-3 lead, allowing McCue back into the game, but with a lot more work, eventually winning the third, 13-11. The fourth game was a much more conservative affair with both players trading points and playing patient length, again Harris squeaking it out, 13-11, to take the match 3/1 in 70 minutes."

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Martin Knight (NZL) v Thomas Ford (ENG)
[3] Dane Sharp (CAN) v Geoffrey Demont (FRA)
[4] Eric Galvez (MEX) v Michael Harris (ENG)
[2] Danish Atlas Khan (PAK) v Scott Arnold (AUS)