Seeds Safely Through In Winnipeg

The top four seeds safely made it through to the semi-finals of the Winnipeg Winter Club Women's Open, the WSA Challenger 15 squash event in its sixth year at the Winnipeg Winter Club in Winnipeg, Canada.

Australian Donna Urquhart, the former world No.13 making her Tour comeback after a six-month layoff following foot surgery, was taken to four games by Amanda Landers-Murphy before beating the No.8 seed from New Zealand 13-11, 11-8, 12-14, 11-8.

The Brisbane-based 28-year-old had match-ball at 10-8 in the third, but her fellow Antipodean took advantage of unforced errors from the fourth seed to reduce the deficit. World No.36 Urquhart regrouped in the fourth to secure her anticipated place in the semi-finals.

Her opponent will be Dipika Pallikal, the top seed who is bidding to keep the title in Indian hands for the third year in a row after her success in 2013 and her compatriot Joshana Chinappa's triumph in the 2014 championship.

After dropping a game in her first round match, the 23-year-old world No.14 from Chennai was in commanding form in the quarters, beating rising Egyptian 17-year-old Nadine Shahin 11-4, 11-9, 11-3.

Mexican veteran Samantha Teran got the better of fellow 33-year-old Aisling Blake, beating the fifth seed from Ireland 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 11-5.

Third seed Teran now takes on Egypt's Heba El Torky for a place in the final. The second seed and 2014 runner-up ended North American interest in the event when she defeated USA's No.6 seed Olivia Blatchford 11-6, 11-8, 11-3.

Semi-final line-up:
[1] Dipika Pallikal (IND) v [4] Donna Urquhart (AUS)
[2] Heba El Torky (EGY) v [3] Samantha Teran (MEX)