Mixed Fortunes For Locals In Hithercroft Open

There were mixed fortunes for two local players competing in the first round of the Hithercroft Open in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire.

Unseeded Hithercroft 'import' Ryan Thomson, a 21-year-old from Namibia, stretched eighth seed Jago Nardelli to five games before bowing out 7-11 11-7 7-11 11-9 11-5 after an 83-minute marathon.

But Wallingford's own Scott Handley had more to celebrate as he despatched fellow Englishman Darren Lewis, a qualifier, 11-2 11-4 11-3 in just 24 minutes.

The second seed is due to meet Stacey Ross in the final - but, in an exceptionally long straight games encounter, the favourite was kept on court for 80 minutes before he was able to overcome Egyptian qualifier Mohamed Ali Anwar Reda 11-9 11-9 11-9.

1st round:
[1] Stacey Ross (ENG) bt [Q] Mohamed Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (80m)
[8] Jago Nardelli (ENG) bt Ryan Thompson (NAM) 7-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 11-5 (83m)
[4] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) bt Andreas Fuchs (AUT) 11-10 (2-0), 11-4, 11-6 (20m)
[6] Tom Richards (ENG) bt Marton Szaboky (HUN) 11-2, 11-7, 11-4 (25m)
[5] Sam Miller (ENG) bt Amr Ramzy Swelim (EGY) 8-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 (41m)
[3] Alex Stait (ENG) bt [Q] Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (29m)
[7] Laurence Delasaux (ENG) bt [Q] David Barnett (ENG) 9-11, 11-0, 11-5, 11-6 (45m)
[2] Scott Handley (ENG) bt [Q] Darren Lewis (ENG) 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 (24m)