[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [13] John White (SCO)
             11/9, 7/11, 11/5, 12/10 (52m)
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [12] Adrian Grant (ENG)
             11/6, 11/8, 9/11, 11/6 (70m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [14] Olli Tuominen (FIN)
             11/4, 11/4, 11/5 (34m)
[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [15] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED)
             11/7, 11/5, 12/10 (47m)
[8] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [9] Lee Beachill (ENG)
             11/9, 4/11, 12/10, 9/11, 11/8 (83m)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [10] Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
             11/9, 11/9, 11/7 (47m)
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt  [16] Alex Gough (WAL)
             11/6, 11/3, 11/5 (37m)
[11] Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [2] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
             11/1, 5/11, 11/8, 11/8 (41m)
 
Full Men's Draw & Results 

[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Madeline Perry (IRL)
             9/0, 9/4, 9/4 (37m)
[6] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt Vanessa Atkinson (NED)
             8/10, 9/3, 9/4, 9/2 (57m)
[4] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [Q] Kasey Brown (AUS)
            9/5, 9/3, 9/7 (36m)
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) bt [7] Vicky Botwright (ENG)
            9/6, 2/9, 4/9, 9/6, 9/6 (80m)
[5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt Alison Waters (ENG)
            4/9, 9/2, 10/8, 9/1 (59m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Engy Kheirallah (EGY)
           9/6, 9/1, 9/2 (38m)
[Q] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY)
           9/2, 2/9, 9/6, 9/6 (66m)
[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt Rebecca Chiu (HKG)
           9/4, 9/0, 6/9, 9/2 (42m)

  (Full Women's Draw & Results    

[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [15] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED)
             11/7, 11/5, 12/10 (47m)

MASTERS IN COUNTER-ATTACKING

Well, I’m not sure exactly what happened to LJ in the middle of the second, he seemed to go off focus for about a game, and reappeared full blast at 5/8 down, to force a tie-break in a superb fashion.

But boy, do those two love counter-attacking and finding great length. It was a pure joy to see their front of court battle, I drop, you counterdrop, let’s do it on the other side then, and again, and again.

I thought that LJ would actually push Karim to a long five setter, and I was surprised to see him lose 3/0. The Egyptian seemed extremely motivated, determined, but so did LJ. Maybe the difference today was the accuracy from the Egyptian, plus a whole week of playing number one for his country during the Europeans in Amsterdam, in front of his home crowd, as in, a tiny witty bit of a pressure there…

"LJ took an excellent start each of the games, he played at a very fast pace, and was in control of the rallies. So I tried and keep him moving as much as I could, keeping the ball away from him, and taking the control of the second half of each game…

"In the 3rd, I set up a match ball at 10/8, but he played two superb shot. And I knew that if I let him win the third, it would become a longer and longer match, so I gave it a last push.

"It’s actually something I’ve been working on a lot recently, trying and finish my earlier matches as quickly as possible, because it’s was a problem I used to have in the past, I used to get through to the later round, but be exhausted by the time I get there…"

"I’m feeling so much better than yesterday, I had a good night's rest, and I’ve been feeling good, and fresh since I woke up. I think the match yesterday did me a hell of a lot of good, a good sweat, and today, I felt very confident on court, and extremely happy to be at that stage of the competition.

"I played Olli in Kuwait, but it was on the glass court, and I knew that today, it would be much more difficult to beat him on a traditional court, as he likes to make the rallies longer… So I was on my toes all match….

"And now that I’ve found my marks on this court, I just got to go and play another one! But that’s the same for everybody, nothing new there…"

[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [14] Olli Tuominen (FIN)
             11/4, 11/4, 11/5 (34m)

GREG IN FORM

It must be so frustrating to play the Frenchman, as he looks so many times like he is not trying that hard, and still finds some astonishing shots, or at the back, that glue to the side wall, or at the front, so close to the tin, and yet, with the low percentage shot…

On a hard court, Olli knew he had much more chance to create a problem for the world number two, as his solid and past pace is pretty hard to handle. But today was not a great day for the Finn, who made so many errors in the first two games, and started to find his rhythm and shots only in the middle of the third game.

But by that time, Greg was so confident he didn’t feel the pressure that much, and Olli couldn’t do much to stop the French on his quest to defend his title…

[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [12] Adrian Grant (ENG)
             11/6, 11/8, 9/11, 11/6 (70m)

HOT, HOT, HOT

It is very difficult to play on those courts, it has to be said, as the ball bounces so high, and creates so many lets situation, plus the shots don’t go in that well, so, so many situations that should be stroke are in fact lets, and that’s extremely frustrating for the players.

So, yes, at 9/9 in the 3rd, where he was 2 games up, David was a bit frustrated after numerous let calls that in his eyes should have been strokes, and when Adrian was awarded a stroke, the Australian said two words that are not allowed in squash. In a flash, he was awarded a conduct stroke, game over, 11/9.

That was a good wake up call for the 3 times British Open Champion, who from that moment, didn’t pipe another word, concentrated on two things, squash, and the ball. And it did wonders to his game.

Today David played very well, moved superbly to be honest, and although he had a little drop of energy at the start of the second, always looked the winner. But all credit to Adrian, he never got negative, kept on attacking and finding stunning shorts shots that really got the Australian running. And one thing that nobody could have said to Adrian today “More effort M. Grant”, as he runs about 3 marathons today.

Gave it his 200%, he did….

"I’ve got a lot of respect for him, we’ve played a lot of English Leagues together, and I really appreciate him. He is an opponent particularly hard to beat on a warm court.

"For the first two games, I played fantastically, the best I’ve played and moved the whole year, and it’s nice to play some good squash again, and that’s a very positive note.

"Adrian is a slow starter, and if you don’t take the first two games, you are in a lot of trouble, I saw him come back and win so many five setters, he is such a fighter.

"Of course, there is that slip at the end of the third game, a split second moment where you say something you regret immediately, but it’s too late to take it back, it’s gone, I’ll actually go and apologise later. But actually, it was more on the manner than on the decision. I saw the refs consulting each other before taking their decisions, which they are not supposed to do, and that’s what got me. Still, not acceptable on my part.

"Still, happy I kept my cool in the fourth, and got a good lead. Then he started to get a bit tired, and made a few errors."

"I had a game plan to play him, and that was going pretty well, but it’s all about applying that tactic when he puts you under a lot of pressure. But when I got it right, I succeeded to frustrate him, but it’s such a fine line…

"I know I was more positive than I used to be, but I still could have used the opportunities I set up more and better.

"Still, I’m happy with the way I played…"!

"Tough to play against John White, it’s too much fun, and sometimes, you forget it’s a match in a serious tournament, and that point is to win, not to enjoy it…

"It was very important for me to take the third, because I could see he was tired, but if he had taken that game, it would have given him wings, and he would have been very difficult to beat.

I’m going to prepare for my quarter final against David tomorrow, British Open Champion, no room for enjoyment there… And I’ll look forward playing on the glass court, and in a top class arena like the Echo Arena, because, no offence to this club, this doesn’t feel or look like the British Open, and I think it’s not fair to make the player not play on the glass court. For a top class event like this one, you would expect a top class arena.

"And I’ll look forward playing on the glass court, and in a top class arena like the Echo Arena, a perfect setting for an event such as the British Open….

"I’ve got all day today, so I’ll try and get 20mn on the glass court, I never have any problems adapting to the glass court….

"And if I was to win this, it was be nice to have won one of each.

"But I’m taking one match at a time, you know, one match at a time…

[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [13] John White (SCO)
             11/9, 7/11, 11/5, 12/10 (52m)

CROWD PLEASER

If John played his normal game, you know, hit, hit, hit, and when you can’t hit anymore, hell, put it in the tin, hit your leg, then plunge at the four corners of the court, make jokes with your opponent or scare him to death hitting the side wall to ask for a let, pretend to go off court where the game is playing, run, retrieve, attack, laugh, shout, make faces, we knew that it really wouldn’t last that long….

Well, playing against “normal players” is one thing, but Shabana??? Hey, he wrote the book. And the fitness just went right in the middle of the third….

The most difficult for Shabana today was to stay concentrated and not forget that he was actually playing the second round of the British Open, as honestly, the match we saw was more on the border of an exhibition than a to the death match…

But such a huge honour and treat to see that Tall Man again in action. Just for that, this event is a pleasure to cover…

"Am I alive??? Just.

"I’m not used to that pace anymore, and it’s a different game. I played and won the Irish because I could stay in with players of that calibre, but against players like Shabana, who knows my game so well, I don’t have the training or the fitness…"

[8] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [9] Lee Beachill (ENG)
             11/9, 4/11, 12/10, 9/11, 11/8 (83m)

Barker bests Beachill
Malcolm Willstrop reports

With Peter Barker coming off the back of his fine victory for England over Thierry Lincou in the final of the European Team Champioships in Amsterdam and Lee Beachill performing close to his best in Kuwait, beating David Palmer and losing 3/2 to Ramy Ashour, the match promised a great deal and happily delivered.

Beachill lost a little accuracy in the first for Barker to lead 5/2 and although he recovered, Barker it was who took it 11/9. he second game was shorter as the ngland captain won it in style, but Barker did very well to recover from a 10/5 deficit to win the third .

There was never much in it throughout, and Beachill held together well at the end of the fourth to level te match. Barker looked the fresher of the two in the decider, but Beachill managed to lead 8-7 before Barker finished the stronge to win 11/8.

It had been a fine match, 83 minutes long in demanding circumstances played in excellent spirit. Barker can look forward to the next episode in his lifelong rivalry with James Willstrop, the last one in Kuwait being a close run thing.

"Frankly, to play in a match like that against Lee is pretty much a dream come true. This year has been pretty special to me, the win of the World Team then getting to the top 10, which were my two goals.

"Recently, Lee have become a great influence in my game, we are good friends and I value his squash and opinion, and he was pretty essential in my victory against Pilley in the Worlds.

"In some way, I didn’t feel… worthy to win today, because he’s been injured, and now he is moving probably as well as he’s ever move, and he is still one of the best ball striker of the whole circuit, and I don’ t know, it makes me feel…. Nostalgic… It’s an honour to just beat Lee today.

"He got a lot of balls back, and if you play at a certain pace, he is pretty accurate and precise player. When I was 1/1, and 10/5, I manage to come back and win that one, I guess he got a bit tired. It was all of ups and downs, I was about to go down 2/1, then I got up 2/1, then he got back 2/2…. Tough ride…!

"But when I got to 2/2, I just thought that I needed to play something different, and it all came off, even some pretty uncharacteristic shots – that I’ve been practicing a lot on.

"I never really thought I could win today, more a “let’s see what happens”, and every time I won recently, I went on with that kind of attitude. I play my best squash when I’m relaxed, and enjoying it. When I lost against Pilley in Canary Wharf, I watched the tape, and thought that I really looked like that I hated every minute of it, and other people noticed too. And that was a sort of turning point for me.

"And I’m now enjoying my squash more that I ever did in my career. And yes, we’ve been having a pretty hectic schedule, but I’m not going to moan about it, because I feel lucky and honoured to be doing what we are doing. It’s pretty special…

"It’s great to still be in there, I’ve got family and friends coming up tomorrow, I’d better win then… And it’s fair to say I’m pretty happy at the moment…."

"Peter said something nice about me??? Of course he would, he just won!!!!!!!!!!!

"Seriously, I played pretty well, I had some good spell, and there were some moments where I actually outplayed him from a squash point of view. And he’s been working himself in being extremely strong physically, and he gets back shots that you don’t expect him to get back, and he played some great shots too.

"The back end of the match didn’t run my way, and I’m pretty disappointed about the third game, I was up 10/5, but it happened to a few people this week that they were 10/4, 10/5 up, and lost, on those courts, in those warm conditions, it’s to be expected.

"I’m happy with the way I recovered in the 4th, Peter is playing top 8 standard at the moment, and to get that close to him, only coming down to a couple of rallies, makes me feel good about my game, as when I’m playing like that, I’m around the same standard as well…"

"Very pleased. Maybe his five-setters caught up with him a little, although I've had my fair share of them too!

"Getting through the first two rounds is always a tough task, any you can't do more than to come through fresh enough to give yourself a good opportunity, which I've done so now it's down to preparation for tomorrow.

"I've played Peter so many times, we probably started in the Cromer Under 8 Open or something, so we have lots of respect for each other and that always guarantees that it will be a tough, fair battle which is good, it makes it easy to just play squash. I know how well he's playing, and what he did for the team in Amsterdam was just fantastic.

"Just looking forward to playing on the big stage now ..."

[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [10] Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
             11/9, 11/9, 11/7 (47m)

Willstrop happy in three
Malcolm Willstrop reports

James Willstrop may be feeling the effects of what has been a hectic season for him, but he will be pleased enough with his 3/0 win over Ong Beng Hee, a scoreline which does not reflect the Malaysian's performance. £/0 may not, but 11/9, 11/9, 11/7 reflects matters more fairly.

The match began at high pace, considering the warm conditions and although the British Champion led 8/5, Ong recovered to 9-all before Willstrop won the crucial points. Both players were covering the court spectacularly, Ong playing some exceptional angles and Willstrop working the ball to all parts of the court.

He again won the initial parts of the game to clinch the second 11/9 and take what looked a decisive 2/0 lead.

Ong continued to resist until the middle of the third when Willstrop broke clear to win the match 11/7.

He will be happy to have won 3/0 in under 50 minutes, as Ong could well have taken one game at least, and the petrol left in the tank will certainly be needed for his quarter-final with England team-mate Peter Barker.

"The first two games went to 9, I was playing well, attacking as much as I could, I was even ahead in the second, but didn’t manage to win it.

"Today, he played a lot better the crucial points at 9/9. But I’m getting back slowly…"

[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt  [16] Alex Gough (WAL)
             11/6, 11/3, 11/5 (37m)

ALEX NOT THERE…

No offence to my countryman who worked pretty hard, and played a superb solid game today, but Alex Gough never seemed really in the match, and a few lack of reaction to a few not that difficult Thierry shots, plus a heavy smell off liniment at the start of the encounter, would lead me believe he is injured, or more likely, on the verge of exhaustion after a pretty hectic schedule, both as a player and as the new PSA President.

The Welsh Devil never threw in the towel though, and played and retrieved some great rallies, forcing Thierry to attack and attack, or to run and run after the ball. But he never was able to get the Frenchman out of his comfort zone and gave him all the time in the world to adjust his shots. And that’s when Thierry gets really hard to beat ...
 

"I played numerous times with Alex, and I learned one thing, never, never ever relax against him, because his touch and racquet skills are such that he can turn the outcome of a match in a flash if you are not 100% focused.

"Delighted to be in the quarters of the British…"

[11] Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt [2] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
             11/1, 5/11, 11/8, 11/8 (41m)

SORRY SIGHT

It’s always heartbreaking to see a player lose on injury, especially when he’s been carrying it around for a few weeks, and has been, against all logic in my eyes, keeping on going.

Already during the Kuwait final, he was off the record complaining about those two hamstrings, to which was added a lower back pain since then. But “I didn’t want to be weak” he said, “I didn’t want people to think I was a trouble maker”…. Ramy, a trouble maker… Yeah right…

But hold on, it doesn’t take anything away from the formidable mental and physical performance from his opponent, who stuck in there and attacked, varied, added flair to perseverance, and never allowed Ramy to find any kind of rhythm or comfort.

Still, Ramy is hurting, not only physically, but mentally. And he is right, having a little stop and think can’t be bad. Stop the world, I want to get off…

"He was injured, there is nothing to be glad about… It’s so difficult to play somebody who is injured, from a psychological point of view… You win the first game 11/1, how are you feeling after that, do you recover? I don’t think so…

"Then, I didn’t know what to expect, one minute it was obvious he was injured, and the next, he would send the ball back and get the nick. So difficult…

"But carpe diem, seize the day, and a win is a win…"

"He won, he played well, and took his chances.

"On my part, I feel abused. I feel that I abused my body, abused myself.

"And I’m going to have to stop and think seriously about my squash, and what I’m going to do, because if I go on like that, I won’t last two years ..."

[2] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt Rebecca Chiu (HKG)
           9/4, 9/0, 6/9, 9/2 (42m)

Natalie scrambles through

Two small, swift, nimble players on a warm court (a bit cooler than the last two days, thankfully) is a recipe for lots of running, lots of retrieving and with a Grinham on court more than a few tricky shots.

Natalie was always likely to be better at that type of game and so it proved, although Rebecca made a good start - 3/0 in the first - and a fine comeback from 2/6 down to take the third game, and making Natalie use all of her considerable retrieving skills to stay ahead in the fourth.

The low ceiling caused Natalie a couple of problems as she served into the roof twice, but it's probably going to affect serial lobber Rachael more ...

"She started well in the first, then in the third I made a lot of errors and she played a lot better.

"I haven't played on a court like this since, well a British Open I guess, and before that when I was ten, I haven't served into the roof for a long time.

"I haven't had a lot of match practice recently, I had a cortisone injection in my wrist and I've only been on court for a week or so, so it's good to have had a good runaround.

"She's always been a good little player, she looked up for it today and she definitely didn't make it easy for me ..."

"She's so difficult to play, it was the same last time when we played in Malaysia.

I know she can pick up up everything, it's so difficult to play a winning shot which forces you to try to play lower and lower, and I made a few too many mistakes at the crucial points.

She maybe lost a bit of concentration in the third, and I took the chance.

[Q] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [8] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY)
           9/2, 2/9, 9/6, 9/6 (66m)

Isabelle courts success

Having lost to Omneya Abdel Kawy five times in a row, Isabelle Stoehr still knew that she was in with a good chance against the Egyptian number one, partly because she herself was in good form, and partly that the hot, bouncy court on which she had already performed three times would be to her advantage.

She certainly made a good start, taking the first fairly quickly, but Omneya bounced back, winning the second equally as convincingly, and the Egyptian was up in the next two games as ell - 6-3 in the third and 6-4 in the fourth. Fightbacks in both in an encounter which featured a fair bit of physical contact and a lot of decisions required of the referee, put Isabelle within touching distance of the quarters at 8/6 in the fourth.

Five lets made it a tense finish, with Omneya seemingly just hitting the ball as hard as she could and Isabelle retrieving, waiting for her chance. Three simple lets, two that might have been strokes to the Frenchwoman - all disputed by the Egyptian - then a final loose ball from Omneya and a stroke propelled Isabelle to the Echo Arena at the expense of the world number six ...

"It was a good match, physical but good. I knew it was her first match while I'd already had three so I made sure I was prepared for a quick start, I knew that taking the first would give me a good chance.

"I had to try hard to keep the ball tight, her racket skills are so good you can't leave anything loose, and I tried to relax as much a I could, saving energy. I lost the second in my mind, but physically I felt fine so I knew I could push again.

"At match ball I made a special effort to relax and not change my game. I really enjoyed the match, and I'm delighted to reach the quarters on the glass court ...

[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Engy Kheirallah (EGY)
           9/6, 9/1, 9/2 (38m)

One too far for Engy

Just like Isabelle, Engy had already played three times on court 3, which up against an opponent who moves you relentlessly from one corner to the next isn't necessarily a good idea.

The low roof didn't prove to be any sort of problem for reigning champion Rachael, but the Australian's shots caused plenty of trouble for her opponent. I'll push the ball to that corner, float it over there, boast it to that one, flick it back there again ... all the while with Engy chasing after it, and in the end she was bound not to reach one or to put it loose enough for Rachael to despatch.

Engy didn't play badly, at all, but after three tough qualifying matches this was just one too far ..

"It's so hard on those courts, the ball's bouncing all over the place and it's so hard to control. She'd had a few hard matches over the last three days so that was in my favour, but you have to focus all the time, you just can't let up when it's like that - although it's probably cooler on court than for the spectators on the gallery!

"It's good to have a tough match to get into the tournament, but I'm glad it didn't last any longer, and I'm glad to be playing on the glass court tomorrow ..."

"It's always competitive between the English girls, and you definitely don't want to lose to anyone twice in a row!

"We were both picking lots up, and when it's that bouncy you can't afford to force it too much but you have to be aggressive when you can.

"In the third I hit some good shots to go ahead, but then we had some really hard rallies as she came back. I knew that game was pivotal, and I really didn't want to lose it after being so far up.

"Even the fourth was tough, although 9/1 doesn't sound like that. At 4/1 I was thinking that it was a long way to nine ..."

"I'm looking forward to playing Rachael on the glass court, especially with my Granda, who lives in Liverpool, here to watch. She's not done so well in her last couple of events but the last time I played her on glass in Madrid it was over in about 15 minutes, so you can't assume anything."

[5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt Alison Waters (ENG)
            4/9, 9/2, 10/8, 9/1 (59m)

Jenny's turn

The first of two consecutive all-English matches saw the 2007 National Campion Jenny Funcalf extract a measure of revenge over her successor Alison Waters with a hard-won four game victory.



After Aison had taken the first it was Jenny who was marginally in control for the remainder of the match. She levelled, earned a 6/0 lead in the third which she nearly squandered, but got back on top just in time and maintained that control throughout the fourth.

Not that it was ever easy, far from it, but Jenny will take heart from this performance, and well she might ..
 

Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) bt [7] Vicky Botwright (ENG)
            9/6, 2/9, 4/9, 9/6, 9/6 (80m)

Laura keeps her run going ...

Another all-English affair, and what a battle it was. Well, judging from the noise coming from the packed crowd anyway, who were reduced to pinching chairs from the bar, peering through spectators' legs, even using the keyhole in the court door to catch the action!

As you can gather, didn't see much of the match, but it sounded great ...

"We've played each other lots recently and I've won most of them, so even though she was the seed, I knew I had a good chance to progress today.

"But she played so well, it was really hard all the way through. I can't remember how many times I told myself to keep on pushing, and she was doing it too because she was saying it out aloud.

"It took me five match balls to finish it, she was retrieving some unbelievable stuff and picking up everything I tried. I was pleased that I didn't panic, just kept going, telling myself to keep steady and the opportunity would come, which it did.

"I really wanted it, but it felt like if she'd beaten me it would be alright because she'd played so well. I think I've exceeded my seeding in every tournament I've played so far this year, so it's going really well and I'm looking forward to tomorrow now ..."

"Omigod, it's so hot on there - it's like being in India and having hot air pumped onto the court too!

"But I'm trying to adapt to be able to cope with all styles and all conditions, and once I settled into hitting a good length rather than having it bounce back off the back wall, I was pretty happy with how I played.

"I lost my concentration in the third, put a few balls where they shouldn't go so I needed to batten down the hatches again.

"She's improved a lot - like so many of these youngsters - she's very determined and a hard worker so I'm glad to get off in three.

"One at a time, but I'm happy to be through and it's nice to be at the Arena now."

[4] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [Q] Kasey Brown (AUS)
            9/5, 9/3, 9/7 (36m)

Grainger powers through

A former finalist, and so close to beating Nicol David in last year's semi-final, this one a Natalie Grainger made comfortable enough progress to the quarter-finals against ever-improving Australian Kasey Brown.

Kasey got off to the better start, leading 5/1 in the first game, but Natalie started to find her range, and dominated middle period of the match as she took a two-game lead.

Kasey hung in there in the third, but from 7-all she couldn't hold the line any further as powerful drives from Natalie forced loose returns which ended with strokes awarded to the American.

[6] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt Vanessa Atkinson (NED)
             8/10, 9/3, 9/4, 9/2 (57m)

"It felt very hot to start with, but once I started sweating it wasn't too bad. When it's so bouncy every point is crucial, so I just tried to keep a good length and not make mistakes, but she was moving very well at the start.

"I played her in Greenwich and was lucky to win,  so I knew how tough it was going to be. After the first I straightened up a bit and managed to stay ahead.

"This is the best I've done in the British Open, it will be interesting to see the main arena, I'm really looking forward to it ..."

"It was a good performance, she was solid from the start. Madeline played well, taking the opportunities she had them, but to be honest she wasn't given many. So it's a solid start, her length was good, she stepped up well and it was good squash from both of them.

"As for Shelley tomorrow, she's very well prepared mentally, she's added a few things to her game since that loss in Madrid, but Shelley's improving all the time too o it's probably a question of who gets a better length on that court."

[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Madeline Perry (IRL)
             9/0, 9/4, 9/4 (37m)