White Waltzes
Into Second Round

Nottingham's top-ranked player John White barely raised sweat at Nottingham Squash Club today  as he cruised into the second round in just 15 minutes when opponent Mansoor Zaman conceded the match after two games.

"I'm delighted to be through, of course, but I could have done with a bit more of a workout," said the sixth seed, who had double reason to celebrate when he discovered that he had jumped from seven to five in the November Dunlop PSA World Rankings.

Zaman, the Pakistan No1 who also faced White in last year's first round, later admitted that he had not been feeling well for the past two days, with sinus problems leading to nausea and stomach pains. "He hardly went for the ball in the second game, and after two points in the third said he couldn't go on," said White, the Australian-born Scottish No1 who made Nottingham his home four years ago.

White now meets Australia's No11 seed Anthony Ricketts on the all-glass court at the Albert Hall in Nottingham, where the action moves to from Tuesday evening. "It's more than 48 hours before I play Anthony - so I now need to do something to get the body into a competitive mode," added White.
 

White waltzes past Mansoor

Ricketts, who upset White at the same stage of the tournament last year, beat English qualifier Stacey Ross 11-9 11-3 11-9 in 45 minutes to reserve his second round slot.

[11] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt
[Q] Stacey Ross (ENG)
  11-9, 11-3, 11-9 (45m)

[6] John White (SCO) bt
Mansoor Zaman (PAK)
   11-7, 11-3, 2-0 ret. (15m)
 

Adrian Grant

Lincou with his coach
Paul Sciberras in Nottingham

   "You warned me about Shahid!"
   Thierry talks to Framboise about the match
 

Good Day For Malaysia

It was a good day in Nottingham for Malaysia: Unseeded Mohd Azlan Iskandar upset Lincolnshire's 15th seed Mark Chaloner 11-7 11-4 6-11 11-8 in 58 minutes to claim one of the best wins of his career. The 22-year-old from Kuala Lumpur, born in Sarawak, has been training for three years with Peter Nicol's coach Neil Harvey and making steady progress up the world rankings.

Iskandar now meets Sheffield's fourth seed Nick Matthew in the next round after the Yorkshireman - one of three in the men's last sixteen - beat Italian No1 Davide Bianchetti 11-9 11-10 11-4 in 62 minutes.

"I felt good about today's win," said Iskandar. "I'm now looking forward to playing Nick, who I took to five games in the Tournament of Champions in New York the last time I played him."

Earlier Chaloner had been re-elected as President of the PSA at the Association's AGM.

   Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt
   [15] Mark Chaloner (ENG)
       11-7, 11-4, 6-11, 11-8 (58m)

   [4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt
   Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
        11-9, 11-10 (5-3), 11-4 (62m)
 

Wee's Revenge

Malaysian Sharon Wee became the only qualifier to survive the first round when she pulled off a significant upset in the women's event to beat England's sixth seed Fiona Geaves in straight games. Geaves, remarkably celebrating her 21st successive appearance in the event, injured her knee in a match against Wee in the Monte Carlo Classic last month and, while undergoing physiotherapy treatment for her injury, has not been on court once since.

"My knee was fine today, but I just wasn't match fit," said the 26-year-old from Gloucester after her 10-8 9-0 9-6 defeat in 29 minutes.

A jubilant Wee, who has just moved to Antwerp in Belgium, added: "Fiona is the highest-ranked player I've ever beaten, so I am extremely pleased with my result today."

Wee becomes the only qualifier to reach the last 16 in either event, and faces World Junior Champion Omneya Abdel Kawy, who came from 2-1 down to beat Pakistan's Carla Khan in the longest women's match of the day.

   [9] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt
   Carla Khan (PAK)
       9-4, 6-9, 8-10, 9-5, 9-6 (71m)

   [Q] Sharon Wee (MAS) bt
   [6] Fiona Geaves (ENG)
      10-8, 9-0, 9-6 (29m)

Lengthorn Leaves It Late

There was a remarkable upset elsewhere in the women's event when unseeded English player Laura-Jane Lengthorn fought from two games down to beat Ireland's in-form 15th seed Madeline Perry 6-9 5-9 9-6 9-0 9-0 in 52 minutes.

"I decided not to play my normal conservative game today, and be a bit adventurous and take risks," said the 20-year-old from Preston in Lancashire. "But after two games, I realised that wasn't working, so I resorted to my usual style - and it clearly took Madeline by surprise, and suddenly I was back in the match.

"I can't really describe what happened in the last two games - but I'm thrilled to be through, especially as it's my 21st birthday tomorrow," added the surprise second round player, who now meets England's 5th seed Linda Elriani, from Eastbourne in Sussex, for a place in the quarter-finals.

Laura Lengthorn (ENG) bt [15] Madeline Perry (IRL)
     6-9, 5-9, 9-6, 9-0, 9-0 (52m)

[5] Linda Elriani (ENG) bt Alison Waters (ENG)
     9-5, 10-8, 9-6 (49m)

Laura Lengthorn

Jenny Duncalf & Linda Elriani
in Nottingham

Comfortable for Cassie & Shelley

England's second seed Cassie Jackman breezed past the USA's Latasha Khan, and now faces a fresh Shelley Kitchen in the last 16. Kitchen's prospective opponent, Tegwen Malik from Wales, arrived in Nottingham suffering from a virus, and after an on-court session with coach Chris Robertson decided that she would not be able to compete, giving the New Zealander a walkover. The pair last met in the World Team Championships in Amsterdam when Jackman won in straight games.

[13] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt Tegwen Malik (WAL) w/o
[2] Cassie Jackman (ENG) bt Latasha Khan (USA) 9-2, 9-2, 9-6 (28m)

Natalie back on home ground

The USA's fourth seed Natalie Grainger, back after an eight-month layoff, looked in impressive form as she breezed past England's Becky Botwright in just 19 minutes.

Winner of both the tournaments she has entered since returning to the tour, Grainger clearly enjoyed being back at her old home club. She will also have been delighted to hear that her victories in Atlanta and New York have lifted her back up to number four in the world in the November WISPA rankings.

     [4] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt
     [Q] Rebecca Botwright (ENG)
         9-2, 9-4, 9-4 (19m)
 

The seedings predicted a close match as France's world number 15 Isabelle Stoehr faced the Netherlands' Annelize Naude, ranked 21, and so it turned out.

After a see-saw battle the 25-year-old Stoehr, now based in Manchester, won in 70 minutes to move into the second round where she faces Natalie Grainger - the player she tips to win the tournament!

Isabelle: Mini-portrait

    [14] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA)
    bt Annelize Naude (NED)
         3-9, 9-6, 9-5, 2-9, 9-7 (70m)