Grant & Anjema To Contest Wolverhampton Final

England's Adrian Grant and Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema will contest the final of the 2008 Wolverhampton Open after prevailing in contrasting semi-finals of the $30,000 PSA Tour event - the UK’s biggest club-based squash championship - in its third year at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis & Squash Club in Wolverhampton, England.

In an epic 73-minute encounter against fellow countryman Alister Walker, top seed Grant showed no signs of fatigue - despite progressing to the penultimate round via an arduous 92-minute quarter-final against compatriot Jonathan Kemp less than twenty-four hours earlier.

Although Walker, the eighth seed from Leeds, sought to seize the initiative with more adventurous attacking squash, Grant eventually overcame his opponent's challenge with greater consistency, aligned with smooth and efficient movement and often breathtaking retrieval.

"Today was very hard and I had to dig really deep to win," said London-born left-hander Grant after his 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-3 victory.

"Alister has improved a lot this year and I’m pleased to have progressed to the final and looking forward to giving it a good go tomorrow," added the Yorkshire-based world No13, now in his 20th PSA Tour final.

The 27-year-old Englishman will face second seed Laurens Jan Anjema, who was in devastating form in a clinical 37-minute 11-1, 11-3, 11-3 victory over surprise opponent Aamir Atlas Khan, the Pakistan teenager who shocked Australia's third seed Cameron Pilley - last year's runner-up - in the opening round.

"I played out of my skin tonight," said Anjema, the three-time Dutch champion who is now celebrating his 19th Tour final appearance, and his third this year. "Playing on traditional courts is very different to playing at the bigger events on the all-glass court, but often playing in front of a smaller but knowledgeable crowd like today creates more atmosphere.

"I hope I can come back tomorrow and give the supporters something to shout about."

Walker Strides Into Wolverhampton Semis

Rising UK squash star Alister Walker scored an impressive upset over fourth-seeded Frenchman Renan Lavigne in the quarter-finals of the 2008 Wolverhampton Open to progress to the last four of the $30,000 PSA Tour event in its third year at Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis & Squash Club in Wolverhampton, England.

The 26-year-old from Leeds outplayed his French opponent with a combination of high tempo length, subtle changes of pace and attacking angles and drop shots to record a memorable 16-14, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4 victory which will see the England No6 continue his climb up the world rankings.

"I felt really strong today," said the Botswana-born world No27 after his 75-minute win. "Apart from the second game, when I lost a little focus, I was really pleased to win against an opponent who has so much experience. Hopefully, I can keep the momentum going against Adrian (Grant) tomorrow in the semis."

Fellow Englishman Adrian Grant, the No1 seed in the UK’s biggest club-based squash championship, overcame compatriot and local favourite Jonathan Kemp in the longest match of the evening, winning 11-8, 10-12, 9-11, 11-9, 14-12 in a 92-minute match punctuated with lets and repeated challenges to the referee.

Second seed Laurens Jan Anjema, of the Netherlands, fought back from a first game deficit to record a hard fought 78-minute 11-13, 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-2 win over a determined and often inspired Stephen Coppinger of South Africa.

The final match of the evening saw Pakistan’s unseeded Aamir Atlas Khan clinch the remaining semi-final place. The 18-year-old from Peshawar, who upset third-seeded Australian Cameron Pilley in the opening round, defeated Pakistan-born New Zealander Kashif Shuja 8-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6 in a high quality and entertain 53-minute encounter.

Kahn Punishes Pilley In Major Wolverhampton Upset

Unseeded Pakistani teenager Aamir Atlas Khan caused the biggest upset in the opening round of the Wolverhampton Open when he despatched Cameron Pilley, the third seed from Australia, to reach the quarter-finals of the $30,000 PSA Tour squash event in its third year at Wolverhampton LT&SC in Wolverhampton, England.

The 18-year-old from Peshawar, ranked 15 places below Pilley, produced the shock of the night with his 11-5, 11-6, 4-11, 11-7 defeat of the world No19 from New South Wales

Khan, a nephew of the record eight-time World Open champion Jansher Khan, will now face New Zealander Kashif Khan after England's No5 seed Joey Barrington was forced to retire injured at 11-6, 3-11, 11-9.

English favourite Adrian Grant, the world No13 who reached the semi-finals of the event in 2007, had to work hard to overcome qualifier and World Junior champion Mohamed El Shorbagy of Egypt 14-12, 11-7, 3-11, 11-7 in 63 minutes.

Shorbagy, who had reached the first round via a relatively straightforward qualifying competition, played well to take the first game to a tie-break before conceding the second 11-7. In the third, the talented 17-year-old attacked his experienced opponent with forceful drives and volleys to capture the game before Grant countered with almost faultless squash to close-out the match for the loss of a further seven points.

Ben Ford, who also claimed his place in the main draw via the qualification competition, with two unexpected wins over Pakistan’s Shahid Zaman and fellow Englishman Stacey Ross, failed to progress to the quarter-finals after losing 7-11, 8-11, 3-11 to No4 seed Renan Lavigne of France. Alister Walker eased through to the second round with a resounding 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 win over Malaysian Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan.

Italy’s Davide Bianchetti had a controversial match with Stephen Coppinger. Trailing 2/1 and 0-3 Bianchetti received a third conduct point, followed by a conduct game for continuing dissent - resulting in the South African winning the match 13-11, 5-11, 11-1, 0-3 (conduct game awarded).