WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Irish Open Squash Championships, Fitzwilliam LTC, Dublin, Ireland

Men's 1st round:
[1] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 11-5, 11-7, 11-2
Liam Kenny (IRL) bt [6] Ben Garner (ENG) 11-7, 11-9, 11-9
[4] Rodney Durbach (RSA) bt [Q] Sherif Moustafa Kamel (EGY) 11-9, 10-11, 11-4, 11-5
[7] Phillip Barker (ENG) bt [Q] Sam Miller (ENG) 11-6, 11-3, 10-11, 11-3
Stacey Ross (ENG) bt [5] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 11-9, 11-5, 4-11, 11-4
[3] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [Q] Scott Handley (ENG) 11-9, 11-5, 11-2
[8] Stephane Galifi (FRA) bt Niall Rooney (IRL) 11-3, 11-7, 11-8
[2] Alex Gough (WAL) bt [Q] Laurent Elriani (FRA) 11-8, 11-8, 11-4


    Women's 1st round:
[1] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [Q] Jenna Gates (ENG) 9-2, 9-1, 9-2
[8] Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt Manuela Manetta (ITA) 9-1, 8-10, 4-9, 9-4, 9-2
[3] Stephanie Brind (ENG) bt [Q] Kirsty McPhee (ENG) 9-2, 10-9, 9-2
[6] Lauren Briggs (ENG) bt [Q] Jana Smeralova (CZE) 9-1, 9-0, 9-3
[5] Rebecca Botwright (ENG) bt Karen Kronemeyer (NED) 9-5, 10-8, 9-6
[4] Tegwen Malik (WAL) bt Aisling Blake (IRL) 9-4, 9-1, 9-3
[7] Olga Puigdemont Sola (ESP) bt [Q] Margriet Huisman (NED) 9-10, 9-3, 9-3, 9-0
[2] Annelize Naude (NED) bt Suzie Pierrepont (ENG) 9-4, 9-3, 9-0

Kenny Has Irish Eyes Smiling In Dublin

Unseeded Liam Kenny delighted local crowds on the opening day of the Irish Open Squash Championships when he upset England's sixth seed Ben Garner in straight games to earn an unexpected place in the last eight of the combined PSA and WISPA World Tour event at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin.

The 27-year-old Irish champion defeated Garner 11-7 11-9 11-9 to set up a quarter-final meeting with top seed Ong Beng Hee.  The Malaysian will be facing his second successive Irishman after beating Arthur Gaskin, a lucky loser, 11-5 11-7 11-2.

There was another upset earlier in the day when Englishman Stacey Ross removed fifth-seeded Egyptian Hisham Mohd Ashour 11-9 11-5 4-11 11-4.  The 31-year-old from Surrey now faces third seed Laurens Jan Anjema, the Dutch Open champion from The Hague who knocked out English qualifier Scott Handley 11-9 11-5 11-2.

Irish hopes for success in the women's event are being confidently led by favourite Madeline Perry.  The 28-year-old world No12 despatched England qualifier Jenna Gates 9-2 9-1 9-2 and now meets another English opponent Sarah Kippax for a place in the semi-finals.  The eighth seed from Cheshire had to come from 1/2 down to overcome Italian Manuela Manetta 9-1 8-10 4-9 9-4 9-2.

Madeline Perry is now the sole Irish survivor in the women's event after Dublin-born Aisling Blake went down 9-4 9-1 9-3 to fourth-seeded Welsh player Tegwen Malik.