English Players Break Through In Rome
1st round:
[1] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt [Q] Johan Bouquet (FRA) 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 (29m)
[Q] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt [7] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 11-7, 11-13, 11-5, 8-11, 11-7 (82m)
[3] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) bt Joe Lee (ENG) 7-11, 11-6 ret. (32m)
[5] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) bt [Q] Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) 11-9, 5-11, 7-11, 11-4, 12-10 (75m)
[8] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt [Q] Neil Cordell (ENG) 11-7, 11-6, 12-10 (35m)
[4] Stephane Galifi (FRA) bt Yann Perrin (FRA) 13-11, 11-4, 11-3 (32m)
Ben Ford (ENG) bt [6] Jesse Engelbrecht (RSA) 5-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-0 (41m)
[2] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Jose Facchini (ITA) 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-4 (65m)
Upsets in the first round of the Roma Est Open saw two Englishmen securing surprise places in the quarter-finals of the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event in its second year at the Shopping Centre Roma Est in the historic Italian city of Rome.
Qualifier Adrian Waller survived an 82-minute marathon to beat France's No7 seed Mathieu Castagnet 11-7, 11-13, 11-5, 8-11, 11-7.
The 19-year-old from Enfield will now face event favourite Davide Bianchetti, the top-ranked Italian who despatched French qualifier Johan Bouquet 11-3, 11-5, 11-6.
Unseeded Ben Ford downed the biggest scalp, recovering from a game down to beat sixth-seeded South African Jesse Engelbrecht 5-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-0.
The 33-year-old from Kent progresses to face fellow countryman Chris Simpson, the No2 seed who battled for 65 minutes to overcome 37-year-old Italian wild card Jose Facchini 11-7, 10-12, 12-10, 11-4.
Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) v [Q] Adrian Waller (ENG)
[3] Mark Krajcsak (HUN) v [5] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND)
[4] Stephane Galifi (FRA) v [8] Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
[2] Chris Simpson (ENG) v Ben Ford (ENG)