Qatar Classic Champion Willstrop Denies Local Success In World Open

Just hours before learning that he has soared to second place in the new world rankings, England's James Willstrop denied local involvement in the men's second round of the Cathay Pacific Credit Suisse Privilege World Open by beating wildcard Wai Hang Wong 11-10 11-6 11-8 in 31 minutes in his opening match in the $170,000 event in Hong Kong.

The 22-year-old from Pontefract, the eighth seed, now faces fellow Yorkshireman and England team-mate Nick Matthew in a repeat of their second round clash in last week's Qatar Classic, which Willstrop went on to win. Matthew, the 12th seed, squandered match balls in his third game against Egypt's Mohammed Abbas and lost the game 7-5 in the tie-break, but powered back to clinch the game 11-8 11-2 10-11 11-5 in 55 minutes.

Canadian Jonathon Power, who bowed out of the Qatar Classic with back spasms, was in confident form in Hong Kong as he breezed past Malaysia's in-form Ong Beng Hee 11-3 11-1 11-6 in just 25 minutes.

"For the first time in a long time, I was happy with my game," the second seed told www.squashsite.co.uk afterwards.

Power now goes on to face perennial 'qualifier' Stewart Boswell, the former world No4 from Australia who has spent most of this year battling back to top form after a long back injury layoff. Boswell, who today returns to the top twenty exactly two years after last featuring in it, came from a game down to 'upset' Canada's 14th seed Graham Ryding 8-11 11-10 11-7 11-3 in 51 minutes.

In the women's event, Vanessa Atkinson was making her first appearance since winning the Qatar Classic last week and achieving pole position in the women's world rankings today for the first time. The Dutch star despatched 16-year-old Egyptian qualifier Raneem El Weleily, the youngest competitor in the event, 9-4 9-3 9-4.

Atkinson now faces France's 13th seed Isabelle Stoehr, who was stretched for four games by English qualifier Lauren Briggs before winning 9-3 9-5 5-9 9-2 in 57 minutes.

Meanwhile five English players fought their way through to the second round from the bottom half of the draw, with the new England No1 Vicky Botwright overcoming Australian qualifier Kasey Brown 9-4 9-0 9-3. The 28-year-old from Manchester, who rose to a career-high world No5 today, will now face compatriot Alison Waters, the 14th seed who defeated New Zealand's Tamsyn Leevey 5-9 9-5 9-3 9-3 in 43 minutes.

Men's 1st round:
[9] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3 (38m)
[7] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt Peter Barker (ENG) 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (57m)
[13] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [Q] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 8-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-10 (3-1) (38m)
[3] David Palmer (AUS) bt [Q] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 (42m)
[12] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 11-8, 11-2, 10-11 (5-7), 11-5 (55m)
[8] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Wai Hang Wong (HKG) 11-10 (2-0), 11-6, 11-8 (31m)
[Q] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [14] Graham Ryding (CAN) 8-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-7, 11-3 (51m)
[2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-3, 11-1, 11-6 (25m)

Women's 1st round:
[4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Rebecca Botwright (ENG) 9-1, 9-0, 9-3 (23m)
[16] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) bt [Q] Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) 9-4, 9-4, 6-9, 9-4 (52m)
[5] Linda Elriani (ENG) bt Amelia Pittock (AUS) 9-3, 9-1, 9-4 (34m)
[9] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt [Q] Karen Kronemeyer (NED) 9-0, 9-0, 9-4 (19m)
[3] Nicol David (MAS) bt Engy Kheirallah (EGY) 9-0, 9-4, 9-0 (21m)
[14] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Tamsyn Leevey (NZL) 5-9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-3 (43m)
[6] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt [Q] Kasey Brown (AUS) 9-4, 9-0, 9-3 (31m)
[13] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [Q] Lauren Briggs (ENG) 9-3, 9-5, 5-9, 9-2 (57m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [Q] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) 9-4, 9-3, 9-4 (24m)