BRITISH OPEN SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: British Open Squash Championships, Nottingham, England

Men's quarter-finals:
[1] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [7] Lee Beachill (ENG) 15-8, 17-15, 15-8 (59m)
[4] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [Q] James Willstrop (ENG) 10-15, 15-8, 15-9, 15-9 (77m)
[5] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [3] John White (SCO) 15-5, 8-15, 15-5, 10-15, 15-7 (83m)
[2] David Palmer (AUS) bt [Q] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 15-9, 15-8, 15-13 (56m)

Women's quarter-finals (2nd day):
[1] Carol Owens (NZL) bt [7] Natalie Grinham (AUS) 9-2, 10-8, 9-3 (34m)
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Vicky Botwright (ENG) 10-8, 9-0, 5-9, 9-4 (57m)

Ricketts Routs White To Reach British Open Semis

Australia's Anthony Ricketts produced the upset of the day - and extinguished local Nottingham interest in the event - when he overcame Scotland's third seed John White in a marathon British Open Squash Championships quarter-final at the Albert Hall in Nottingham.

"I'm very disappointed - I just gave him too much of a start," said the despondent White after his 15-5 8-15 15-5 10-15 15-7 defeat in 83 minutes.  "Then I just fell apart in the fifth game, and made a lot of mistakes - something I haven't done for a long time," added the 30-year-old who celebrated a career-high world No2 ranking this week.

It was Ricketts' second successive upset over his Nottingham-based opponent in less than three weeks.  "I think he was a bit nervous in the first game," said the Australian who also achieved a career-best world ranking, of six, this week.  "When you play John, you've got to be on your toes.

"I've not done too well in previous British Opens, so it's great to be in my first semi-finals of an event I hold on a par with the World Open," added the Berkshire-based 24-year-old from Brisbane.  "I'm more confident now than I've ever been - I'm not that angry young man anymore," Ricketts conceded.

Ricketts meets 2001 champion David Palmer in an all-Australian semi-final after the No2 seed secured his second successive straight games win in the event via a 15-9 15-8 15-13 dismissal of Finnish qualifier Olli Tuominen.

English qualifier James Willstrop's brave British Open run came to an end on the state-of-the-art all-glass court at the Albert Hall when he was beaten by fourth-seeded Canadian Jonathon Power, the 1999 champion.  The 20-year-old world junior champion from Pontefract in Yorkshire thrilled his vociferous fans in the near-packed crowd when he took the opening game against world No5 Power, ranked 32 places higher.

Power's incredible speed around the court eventually told on the youngster, however, as the Canadian powered to a 10-15 15-8 15-9 15-9 victory in 77 minutes.

"He played really well - he's a great player," acknowledged the 29-year-old from Montreal after his first ever match against the Englishman.  "James moves the ball around the court well - the court suits his style of play, but I just couldn't get any speed on it."

When asked at what stage of the match he felt he had the measure of his young opponent, Power replied:  "At 13-10 down in the first game, I knew he was going to fade.  But I knew it wasn't going to be easy, I just had to keep going.  It's amazing to play a match as tough as that so early in the tournament," the Canadian added.

Power meets his old rival Peter Nicol in Saturday's semi-finals after England's top seed and defending champion beat compatriot Lee Beachill 15-8 17-15 15-8 in 59 minutes in the final match of the evening.

The women's semi-finals line-up was also completed at the Albert Hall after New Zealand's world No1 Carol Owens and Australian Rachael Grinham claimed their anticipated quarter-finals victories. 

Owens, the favourite from Auckland, brushed aside seventh-seeded Australian Natalie Grinham 9-2 10-8 9-3 in 34 minutes to claim her third semi-final appearance in four years.

The other quarter-final ended in disappointment for England's Vicky Botwright, the only unseeded woman to reach the last eight.  The newly-promoted world No13 from Manchester, who upset Dutch No1 Vanessa Atkinson in the previous round, kept her higher-ranked opponent on court for 57 minutes, but eventually went down 10-8 9-0 5-9 9-4 to third-seeded Rachael Grinham.

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