Selby & Barrington Double English Interest In Hungarian Open
Daryl Selby and Joey Barrington doubled the English interest in the Dunlop Hungarian Open Squash Championship after fighting through the qualifying finals in the country's capital Budapest.
Barrington, the 25-year-old son of British legend Jonah Barrington, dampened domestic interest in the five-star event by dismissing Hungary's Mark Krajcsak 11-5 11-3 11-5 in just 35 minutes.
Selby, fresh from his appearance in last week's final of the Ciutat de Barcelona Open, survived a five-game battle with fellow Englishman Scott Handley, winning 2-11 11-5 11-10 5-11 11-4 in 54 minutes.
Barrington will meet compatriot and top seed Peter Nicol in the first round of the $50,000 PSA Tour event. Nicol, with two title wins to his credit since July, is expected to go through to Sunday's final where a meeting with second seed Amr Shabana is predicted.
The former world champion from Egypt is also enjoying a good run of form, with two PSA Tour titles to his name this month. Like Nicol, he also faces a qualifier, Frenchman Renan Lavigne, in the opening round.
RESULTS: Dunlop Hungarian Open Squash Championship, Budapest, Hungary
Qualifying finals:
Renan Lavigne (FRA) bt Luca Mastrostefano (ITA) 7-11, 11-5, 10-11 (0-2), 11-4, 11-4 (58m)
Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt Andreas Fuchs (AUT) 11-7, 11-1, 11-9 (25m)
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Scott Handley (ENG) 2-11, 11-5, 11-10 (4-2), 5-11, 11-4 (54m)
Joey Barrington (ENG) bt Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 (35m)
Updated 1st round draw:
[1] Peter Nicol (ENG) v [Q] Joey Barrington (ENG)
[8] Shahid Zaman (PAK) v [Q] Daryl Selby (ENG)
[4] John White (SCO) v Mohammed Abbas (EGY)
[5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [Q] Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
[7] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v Mansoor Zaman (PAK)
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) v Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
[6] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Andras Torok (HUN)
[2] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [Q] Renan Lavigne (FRA)