RESULTS Mamut English Open, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England
1st round:
[8] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 (35m)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 (36m)
[6] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [Q] Mark Chaloner (ENG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (30m)
[2] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt John White (SCO) 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-3 (53m)
Yorkshire squash trio Lee Beachill, James Willstrop and Nick Matthew trounced their opposition in tonight's (Wednesday) first round matches of the Mamut English Open at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield to ensure local interest through to Thursday's semi-finals of the 5-star PSA Tour event hosted by Sheffield City Council.
Eighth seed Beachill, the 2004 champion, survived a close first game against Mohd Azlan Iskandar before imposing his authority on the rising Malaysian star to win 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 in 35 minutes.
Meanwhile his Pontefract club-mate and England team-mate James Willstrop, the world No4 and highest-ranked Englishman in the event, despatched French qualifier Renan Lavigne 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 in 36 minutes.
The fourth seed, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Tuesday, will face Beachill for the third time this year in tomorrow's quarter-finals – hoping to achieve his career-first victory over his close friend and training partner.
Winner of last week's Cleethorpes Invitation – a non-ranking event in England – Willstrop acknowledged the importance the event had played in his build-up for the Mamut championship: "That allowed me to get three solid matches before arriving here," explained the former world junior champion. "People do not realise the huge difference there is between training and real matches. And no matter how hard, nothing compares with playing in an event in front of an appreciative crowd."
Sheffield hero Nick Matthew completed the line-up of three Yorkshire-based quarter-finalists when he dismissed compatriot Mark Chaloner, a qualifier and former world No7 from Lincolnshire, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 in just 30 minutes.
Born, raised and still living in Sheffield, Matthew has never failed to reach the quarter-finals in four years of the English Open at the Crucible – and last year bravely fought through to the final before bowing out to England team-mate Peter Nicol.
"I wasn't settled on the court today – I wanted to be sharp as Mark is a very experienced player, so I'm happy with the win," said 26-year-old Matthew. "I can't really say that I want to win this tournament more than any other as I want to win ALL the tournaments I play!"
Two former world number ones battled out the only non-Yorkshire encounter on the all-glass Crucible court when France's Thierry Lincou, the No2 seed, faced Scotland's US-based John White, the inaugural English Open champion in 2003.
Lincou overcame a first game scare to beat the hard-hitting Scotsman 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-3 in 53 minutes and will now face home hero Matthew for a place in the semi-finals.