Chuffed Willstrop Stuns Saurav To Make Last 16 In Seattle

Former world number one James Willstrop produced his most impressive victory since returning to PSA World Tour action following hip surgery when he despatched 16th seed Saurav Ghosal in straight games to reach the third round of the Men's PSA World Squash Championship at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington, USA.

The win extended the Englishman's career-long unbeaten run against former Pontefract club-mate Ghosal - but the 29-year-old Indian is currently ranked 17 in the world while Willstrop has slumped to 24, his lowest world ranking since December 2003.

"Saurav's been in great form and has just beaten Ryan [Cuskelly] who has been absolutely flying," said Willstrop after his 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 upset in 41 minutes.

"I haven't really got a lot of those tough matches under my belt so I'm absolutely chuffed to bits to be able to put that together like that really. You forget how to do it a little bit and you've got to relearn it which I've been doing for a few months now and tonight it came together."

Willstrop will now face tournament favourite Mohamed Elshorbagy, the world No.1 from Egypt who brushed aside England's Tom Richards.

French pair Gregory Gaultier and Mathieu Castagnet stormed through to the last 16 after coming through comfortable second round victories.

Four-time World Championship runner-up Gaultier, the world No.3, was in scintillating form as he easily swept aside the challenge of Egyptian Omar Abdel Meguid in a ruthlessly efficient 35-minute performance that will significantly boost his hopes of finally ending his hoodoo at the sport's most prestigious tournament.

"I was happy with the way I was playing today." said Gaultier. "I was more fluid than the last round and I think I'm starting to raise my game day-by-day. After so many tournaments back-to-back I was a bit tired last week in Qatar.

"I'm trying to analyse everything, get into my routines and do what I have to do on court. This is a title that has been eluding me, but I'm not really thinking about the title at the moment, I have to remain focused on my tactics and I thought I did that quite well today."

Gaultier will now face Egyptian youngster Karim Ali Fathi for a place in the quarter-finals after the world No.42 stunned No.18 Fares Dessouki, coming through a brutal 83-minute all-Egyptian encounter. Castagnet will take on Colombian world No.5 Miguel Angel Rodriguez after defeating American qualifier Todd Harrity to end all hopes of home success in the process.

"I'm 29 and it's my first time ever reaching the last 16 at the World Championship," said Castagnet.

"But I'm a squash professional so of course I want more. I want to reach the quarters at least so I will make the most of my rest day tomorrow to prepare for my next match."

Rodriguez came through a thrilling 75-minute match with unfancied Kiwi Campbell Grayson, with the first game alone last an epic 32 minutes.

Elsewhere Germany's Simon Rösner claimed his third successive appearance in the third round, while event debutant Ali Farag, a 23-year-old Egyptian in his first full year as a professional after graduating from Harvard University, pulled off the day's biggest upset by ousting Hong Kong's 13th seed Max Lee