RESULTS: PSA World Series North American Open, Richmond, Virginia, USA

Qualifying finals:
Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) bt Joel Hinds (ENG) 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (56m)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (58m)
Martin Knight (NZL) bt Dylan Bennett (NED) 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 (72m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 8-11, 14-12, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 (122m)
Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 11-9, 8-11, 14-12, 2-11, 11-6 (101m)
Stephane Galifi (ITA) bt Siddharth Suchde (IND) 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-8 (65m)
Yann Perrin (FRA) bt Zac Alexander (AUS) 13-11, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 (92m)
Julian Illingworth (USA) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 17-15, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9 (71m)

 

US squash star Julian Illingworth's reward for cementing his domestic supremacy in the qualifying finals of the North American Open, the second PSA World Series event of the year in Richmond, Virginia, was to draw England's world champion Nick Matthew in the first round.

Illingworth, the record six-time US national champion from New York, overcame US team-mate Christopher Gordon in a 71-minute clash, triumphing 17-15, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9 after a marathon tie-break in a 28-minute opening game at the Country Club of Virginia.

It was far from the longest match on a day of brutal battles as the game's rising stars fought for eight vacant places in the first round of this $115,000 PSA World Series event.

Mathieu Castagnet of France overcame Australia's Ryan Cuskelly 8-11, 14-12, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 in 122 minutes to become the lowest-ranked player to qualify.

And Malaysian Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan was not far behind with his 11-9, 8-11, 14-12, 8-11, 11-6 victory over Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad taking 101 minutes.

Another Frenchman, Yann Perrin, recovered from two-one down in games to beat Australia's Zac Alexander 13-11, 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7 in 92 minutes. Perrin, the world No58 from Aix-en-Provence, meets No3 seed James Willstrop of England in the first round.

Mexican Cesar Salazar will join his twin brother Arturo Salazar in the main draw after beating Hungarian number one Mark Krajcsak 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 in 58 minutes - one of only two of the day's matches wrapped up in under an hour!

Cesar lines up against England left-hander Jonathan Kemp, while Arturo will face Egypt's fourth seed Amr Shabana, the four-time world champion who was a semi-finalist last year.

Updated 1st round draw:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [Q] Julian Illingworth (USA)
Shahier Razik (CAN) v Gilly Lane (USA)
Stewart Boswell (AUS) v Alister Walker (ENG)
[8] Wael El Hindi (EGY) v David Palmer (AUS)
[7] Daryl Selby (ENG) v Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
Simon Rosner (GER) v Joey Barrington (ENG)
Jonathan Kemp (ENG) v [Q] Cesar Salazar (MEX)
[4] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Arturo Salazar (MEX)
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) v [Q] Yann Perrin (FRA)
[Q] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [Q] Martin Knight (NZL)
[Q] Stephane Galifi (ITA) v [Q] Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS)
[6] Peter Barker (ENG) v Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY)
[5] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [Q] Aaron Frankcomb (AUS)
Olli Tuominen (FIN) v Mohammed Abbas (EGY)
Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) v Tom Richards (ENG)
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)

Official site: www.naosquash.com