WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Women's Weymuller US Open Squash Championship, New York, USA

1st round:
[1] Cassie Jackman (ENG) bt Stephanie Brind (ENG) 9-4, 9-7, 9-2
[6] Nicol David (MAS) bt [Q] Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) 9-1, 9-6, 9-3
[3] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [Q] Amelia Pittock (AUS) 9-3, 9-6, 9-4
[8] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt [Q] Alison Waters (ENG) 10-9, 5-9, 9-6, 6-9, 9-1
[7] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 3-9, 9-4, 10-8, 9-3
[4] Linda Elriani (ENG) bt Latasha Khan (USA) 9-1, 9-6, 9-0
Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [5] Fiona Geaves (ENG) 9-3, 9-3, 9-4
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [Q] Tania Bailey (ENG) 9-6, 10-9, 3-9, 9-0

World Campaign Takes Toll On Geaves

Unseeded Isabelle Stoehr staged the only upset in the first round of the Women's Weymuller US Open Squash Championship when she despatched fifth seed Fiona Geaves in straight games at the Heights Casino in New York.

Both players played significant parts in the Women's World Team Championships in Amsterdam earlier in the month.  Geaves provided vital third string strength for England and Stoehr led France's attack - until a freak accident as she was walking to catch a bus resulted in her spraining her ankle and playing no further part in the event.

Now recovered, Stoehr powered to a 9-3 9-3 9-4 win over Geaves - whose reaction to the toils of the week in the Netherlands were clearly delayed.

The Manchester-based 25-year-old French woman now meets No2 seed Vanessa Atkinson, the Dutch No1 who ended English qualifier Tania Bailey's run in the event in a 9-6 10-9 3-9 9-0 defeat.  The brave Bailey came back from 6-8 down to take the second game into a tie-break - and could have changed the outcome of the match had she been able to clinch the game.

The longest match of the day featured the all-English clash between eighth seed Vicky Botwright and qualifier Alison Waters.  Waters fully stretched her compatriot who last week won the Canary Islands Open - but Botwright resisted the pressure to win 10-9 5-9 9-6 6-9 9-1.