WORLD SQUASH NEWS
RESULTS: EBS Dayton Squash Open, Dayton, Ohio, USA
Quarter-finals:
[1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Adrian Grant (ENG) 15-7, 15-13, 15-13
[3] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt Rodney Durbach (RSA) 15-7, 15-7, 15-7
[5] Alex Gough (WAL) bt [4] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) 15-12, 15-17, 15-7, 6-1 ret.
[2] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [7] Graham Ryding (CAN) 15-7, 15-9, 15-9
Gough Outlasts Kneipp To Make Dayton Semis
Welshman Alex Gough, the fifth seed, pulled off a modest upset when he
overcame fourth-seeded Australian Joseph Kneipp to reach the semi-finals of
the $30,000 EBS Dayton Squash Open in Ohio, USA.
It was a confidence-boosting victory for the Welsh champion from Nottingham
who, seeded to win, made a shock first round exit in the Apawamis Open in
Rye, USA, earlier in the month.
With just two world ranking positions separating the pair, the quarter-final
match was sure to be close - and the first two games were shared, with game
one going 15-12 to Gough and the second 17-15 to the world No15 from
Queensland. The Welshman appeared to have the upper hand in the third, then
Kneipp was forced to retire in the fourth with an injury. Despite the abrupt
finish, with Gough winning 15-12 15-17 15-7 6-1 after 90 minutes, the
capacity crowd applauded enthusiastically for the squash talent displayed on
the Dayton court.
Gough will now face Australia's Anthony Ricketts, the second seed from
Brisbane, who was too strong for Canada's 7th seed Graham Ryding and won 15-7
15-9 15-9 after a high paced match.
Top-seeded Frenchman Thierry Lincou was severely tested by Adrian Grant. The
unseeded Englishman led towards the end of both the second and third games,
but Lincou was able to push through and win 15-7 15-13 15-13 without going to
extra games.
The favourite now meets third seed Lee Beachill, the world No9 from England.
Although troubled early by errors on his forehand, Beachill's tight play on
the backhand and his punishing length was too much for unseeded South African
Rodney Durbach. Beachill soon claimed his 15-7 15-7 15-7 victory, showing no
signs of the ankle injury which caused his early exit from last month's World
Open in Belgium