Arcucci & El Hindi Advance In Detroit
There were two notable upsets on the first day of play in the Suburban Collection Motor City Squash Open in Detroit, USA, when Malaysia's fourth seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar and Pakistan's sixth seed Shahid Zaman failed to overcome their first round opponents.
Iskandar, the new world No13, went down in straight games to unseeded Egyptian Wael El Hindi. The 25-year-old from Cairo won 11-3 11-8 11-5 in 38 minutes to set up a surprise quarter-final clash with fifth seed Olli Tuominen. The Finn enjoyed a similarly straightforward ride in the first round, beating English qualifier Mark Chaloner, now based in the Cayman Islands, 11-1 11-6 11-4 in just 21 minutes.
French qualifier Jean-Michel Arcucci was responsible for Zaman's demise – beating the world No16 11-4 11-9 8-11 11-8 in 54 minutes. Arcucci, 29, from Aix-en-Provence, now faces England's third seed Nick Matthew.
Scotland's John White recovered from two-games-to-one down to beat Australian qualifier Cameron Pilley 11-9 5-11 9-11 11-4 11-6. The second seed now meets England's eighth seed Adrian Grant after the left-handed Londoner scored a 10-11 11-8 11-7 11-4 victory over Australian Dan Jenson.
Top seed Jonathon Power enjoyed a comfortable win over Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema. The world No2 from Canada won 11-8 11-6 11-3 in 38 minutes to set up a last eight meeting with Malaysia's seventh seed Ong Beng Hee.
RESULTS: Suburban Collection Motor City Squash Open, Birmingham Athletic Club, Detroit, USA
1st round:
[1] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 (38m)
[7] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [Q] Mark Heather (ENG) 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-7 (42m)
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Michael Joint (GER) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (42m)
[Q] Jean-Michel Arcucci (FRA) bt [6] Shahid Zaman (PAK) 11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8 (54m)
[5] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt [Q] Mark Chaloner (ENG) 11-1, 11-6, 11-4 (21m)
Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [4] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 11-3, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
[8] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Dan Jenson (AUS) 10-11 (0-2), 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 (54m)
[2] John White (SCO) bt [Q] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-9, 5-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6