WILLSTROP DOWNS DARWISH AS
TOP SEEDS PROGRESS IN NEW YORK
Beth Rasin reports
Although there were several five game matches in opening round play today as the Harrisdirect Tournament of Champions main draw got underway at Grand Central Terminal, all the seeds made it safely through the first round of play.

James WillstropQualifier Olli Tuominen of Finland was the only player to extend a seeded opponent to the full five games, as he jumped out to an early lead and nabbed the first two games against #3 seed David Palmer. Palmer eked out a third game victory at 15-13 to turn the tide before going onto win the match. 

World #1 Peter Nicol turned in an efficient performance in dispatching Omar Elborolossy in three games, and now meets world junior champion James Willstrop, who beat Karim Darwish, the player to hold that title before him, in five.

The stands were filled for crowd favorite Jonathon Power, looking to win his fifth Tournament of Champions Title.  Power fell significantly behind fellow Canadian Graham Ryding in the first game, but stayed in the game with some deft shotmaking and a few key errors from his opponent.  Ryding, unhappy with several referee calls, lost the second game after being assessed a penalty point at 13 all.  He surged back to win the third, 11-15, but the defending champion was not to be denied and Power closed out the match with a decisive 15-8 win in the fourth.   

The other top seeds, John White, Thierry Lincou, Stewart Boswell, Anthony Ricketts and Lee Beachill, all cruised to straight-games wins.

Simon Parke needed to come from two games and match-ball down to beat fellow Englishman Chris Walker, and three qualifiers (plus Willstrop) moved into the last 16 as Rodney Durbach scored a surprisingly easy win over Alex Gough, Mohammed Abbas bypassed fellow Egyptian Amr Shabana in a fifth-game tie-breaker, and Gregory Gaultier followed in Willstrop's footsteps in last week's British Nationals as he shocked Scottish number two Martin Heath in three games.
 

 

 

Men's First Round:
[1] Peter Nicol (Eng) bt Omar Elborolossy (Egy) 15/9, 15/4, 15/7
[Q] James Willstrop (Eng) bt Karim Darwish (Egy) 6/15, 15/13, 15/9, 10/15, 15/7
[7] Anthony Ricketts (Aus) bt [Q] Adrian Grant (Eng) 15/2, 15/6, 15/5
[Q] Rodney Durbach (Rsa) bt Alex Gough (Wal)  15/10, 15/10, 15/12
[3] David Palmer bt  (Aus) [Q] Olli Tuominen (Fin) 10/15, 12/15, 15/13, 15/7, 15/9
Joseph Kneipp (Aus) bt Nick Matthew (Eng) 15/12, 15/8, 15/6
[8] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Renan Lavigne (Fra)  15/13, 15/7, 15/1
Ong Beng Hee bt (Mas) bt [Q] Wael El Hindi (Egy) 15/12, 6/15, 15/9, 14/15, 15/6
Simon Parke (Eng)  bt Chris Walker (Eng) 14/15, 6/15, 15/14, 15/9, 15/8
[5] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt David Evans (Wal)  15/11, 15/6, 15/6
[Q] Mohammad Abbas (Egy) bt Amr Shabana (Egy) 15/11, 15/7, 6/15, 15/17,17/15
[4] John White (Sco) bt Nick Taylor (Eng)  15/6, 15/6, 15/8
Paul Price (Aus) bt Mark Chaloner (Eng)  17/16, 15/8, 15/8
[6] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt [Q] Del Harris (Eng) 15/6, 3/2 rtd
[Q] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)  bt Martin Heath (Sco) 15/11, 15/13, 15/8
[2] Jonathon Power (Can) bt Graham Ryding (Can) 15/12, 15/13, 11/15, 15/8

Women's qualifying Finals(Yale Club):
Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) bt Ellen Petersen (Den)  9/1, 1/9, 9/5, 9/4
Vicky Botwright  (Eng) v Madeline Perry (Irl)  9/3, 9/6, 9/3
Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt Shelley Kitchen (Nzl)  10/8, 9/5, 9/6
Isabelle Stoehr (Fra) bt Pamela Nimmo  (Sco)  9/3, 9/4, 3/9, 9/7

updated women's draw