British National Squash Championships News
RESULTS: British National Squash Championships, National Squash Centre, Manchester
Men's quarter-finals:
[4] Nick Matthew (Yorks) bt [5] Alex Gough (Wales) 11-10 (4-2), 11-4, 11-3 (45m)
[2] Peter Nicol (Yorks) bt [6] Peter Barker (Essex) 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (42m)
Women's quarter-finals:
[3] Jenny Duncalf (Yorks) bt Laura Hill (Derbyshire) 9-7, 1-9, 9-2, 9-7 (57m)
[1] Linda Elriani (Sussex) bt [5] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (Lancs) 9-3, 9-5, 4-9, 9-4 (50m)
World Champions To Contest Nationals Semi-Finals
Just two months after winning the World Team Championships title together in Pakistan, the four England team-mates will battle it out for individual honours in Saturday's semi-finals of the British National Squash Championships at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.
Yorkshiremen James Willstrop and Lee Beachill, who qualified on Thursday, will be joined by fourth seed Nick Matthew, also from Yorkshire, and second seed Peter Nicol – both of whom earned straight games victories in tonight's (Friday) men's quarter-finals on the all-glass court at Sportcity.
After surviving a tough opening game against experienced Welshman Alex Gough, England international Nick Matthew romped into the last four.
Gough, a 35-year-old veteran of 11 Nationals' appearances since 1992, saved two game balls in the 24-minute first game before Matthew clinched the game – then raced to an 8-0 lead in the second.
It was one-way traffic thereafter as the 25-year-old from Sheffield dominated the encounters to claim his 11-10 11-4 11-3 victory in 45 minutes.
Matthew admitted that the first game could have gone either way. "If I'd lost that game, it would have been really tough.
"I realised that I needed to get a good start in the second – and it was good to see the whole momentum of the match change as I did," said the world No9 from Sheffield.
Nicol, four-times a finalist and champion in 1996 and 2003, beat fellow left-hander Peter Barker, the sixth seed from Essex, 11-9 11-5 11-7 in 42 minutes. The England captain expressed satisfaction with his game, despite this being his first competitive event of the year.
"I feel fresh - and I'm moving well and hitting the ball well. And as I haven't played much squash since December, it's good to be feeling that way," added the 32-year-old, whose sights are firmly fixed on next month's Commonwealth Games in Australia, where he hopes to win gold for the third time in a row.
In the earlier women's quarter-final match on the all-glass court, Yorkshire's England international Jenny Duncalf was stretched for almost an hour by unseeded Laura Hill. After losing a tight first game, the Derbyshire fire-fighter dropped only one point in the second to draw level.
Duncalf, the third seed, recovered to take the third game and, after another close battle in the fourth, claimed a 9-7 1-9 9-2 9-7 win in 57 minutes to reach the semi-finals for the second time.
"I felt a bit tense tonight for some reason, and wasn't quite on top of my game," said Duncalf, the 23-year-old world No8 who makes her Commonwealth Games debut for England in Melbourne next month.
Hill, who upset sixth seed Stephanie Brind to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, revels in her position as a part-time squash player: "I don't have the pressure that these professional have – that's why I play well.
"I thought I was going to be nervous – but it's nice to be able to live with these top girls," explained the 29-year-old from Duffield.
Later, defending champion Linda Elriani eased into the semi-finals after beating Lancashire's Laura-Jane Lengthorn, the fifth seed, 9-3 9-5 4-9 9-4 in 50 minutes. The 34-year-old from Eastbourne in Sussex won the title for the first time last year in her 17th attempt since 1987.
After the last-minute withdrawal of England team-mate Vicky Botwright, the world No5 from Manchester, Elriani was elevated to the position as favourite to retain the title.
Official website: www.nationalsquashchamps.co.uk