WORLD SQUASH NEWS

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

Quarter-finals:
[1] Cassie Jackman (ENG) bt [6] Nicol David (MAS) 9-5, 9-4, 9-6 (35m)
[3] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [8] Vicky Botwright (ENG) 7-9, 9-4, 9-0, 4-9, 9-3 (65m)
[4] Linda Elriani (ENG) bt [7] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-1, 9-7, 9-1 (32m)
[2] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 10-8, 9-1, 9-1 (28m)

Seeds Sweep Into US Open Semis

The top seeds swept through to the semi-finals of the Women's Weymuller US Open Squash Championship at the Heights Casino in New York - but local star Natalie Grainger survived the toughest test when she was taken to five games by England's Vicky Botwright, the No8 seed.

When Grainger, the Washington-based world No5, took the third game 9-0 it looked as if it was all over - but Botwright, winner of the Canary Islands Open last week, slowed the game, cut out the errors and forced the match into a fifth-game decider.

Grainger's backhand drop caught a tired Botwright in the back of the court and the US No1 came through to win 7-9 9-4 9-0 4-9 9-3 in 65 minutes.

Third seed Grainger now meets the English top seed Cassie Jackman who, looking like the four-times US Open champion that she is, despatched Malaysia's sixth seed Nicol David 9-5 9-4 9-6 in 35 minutes.

The other semi-final will feature the second seed Vanessa Atkinson and England's fourth seed Linda Elriani.  France's unseeded Isabelle Stoehr was leading 8-2 in the first game against Atkinson, the world No3 from the Netherlands, and had six game balls.  A string of errors, however, cost the French No1 the game, and in the second and third games she only managed to serve seven times before Atkinson secured her 10-8 9-1 9-1 victory in just 28 minutes.

Elriani, meanwhile, proved too strong against an inconsistent compatriot Jenny Duncalf, the seventh seed.  The second game was closely contested to seven-all but the experienced Elriani, a former world No3, came out on top to win 9-1 9-7 9-1 in 32 minutes.