Power is the only seed to survive into the British Open Quarters.

10.12.00 Birmingham, SquashTalk News

[also: complete round two men's , women's ]

From: Canadian Sport News for Squash Canada (613) 824-9475

POWER SURVIVES UPSET DELUGE AT BRITISH OPEN BIRMINGHAM, England (CSN)-
In a day of numerous upsets, no. 2 seed and defending champion Jonathon Power of Toronto moved into the quarterfinals Thursday at the British Open Squash Championships thrashing Thierry Lincou of France, 15-6, 15-6, 15-3. Only one other top-eight player advanced to the quarters.

It was a particularly tough day for the British contingent. Simon Parke (no. 4), Paul Johnson (no. 6) and Del Harris (no. 7) all of England and Martin Heath (no.5) of Scotland are all gone.

So is third-seed Egyptian Ahmed Barada. World champion and top-seed Peter Nicol of Scotland withdrew Wednesday with a stress fracture of the lower shin. With his current sparkling form and a decimated draw, Power is heavily favoured to repeat his 1999 triumph.

"The loss of so many seeds shows how deep our sport is in talent," said Power after his 30-minute match. "We have qualifiers who can win this event. I never take anybody for granted anymore."

Pan Am Games champion Graham Ryding of Toronto, fell just short of joining Power in the final eight. He stretched Australia's top-ranked David Palmer (no. 8) to five games before going down 6-15, 15-13, 11-15, 15-8, 15-7. "I thought I executed well but I lost focus at times, particularly in the fourth game," said Ryding, ranked 17th in the world. "My concentration let me down but otherwise I'm satisfied with my form."

Palmer praised Ryding. "I had never played Graham before and he gave me a lot of anxiety," he said. "He never allowed me to feel fully comfortable with his intelligent mix of shots. Also, Graham showed a lot of character and courage in the end when he won four consecutive points on match ball." Competition continues Friday.

Thursday's results at the British Open squash tournament in Birmingham, England (seedings in brackets):
Men Second round:
Jonathon Power (2), Toronto def. Thierry Lincou, France, 15-6, 15-6, 15-3.
David Evans (10), Wales def. Ahmed Barada (3), Egypt, 15-11, 12-15, 15-3, 15-7.
Paul Price (14), Australia def,. Simon Parke (4), England, 15-11, 15-11, 15-11.
Joseph Kneipp, Australia def. Martin Heath (5) , Scotland, 4-15, 3-15, 15-9, 15-13, 15-8.
Mark Chaloner (16), England def. Paul Johnson (6), England, 12-15, 11-15, 15-7, 15-13.
Stewart Boswell, England def. Del Harris (7), England, 13-15, 16-17, 15-13, 15-1, 15-6.
David Palmer (8), Australia def. Graham Ryding, Toronto, 6-15, 15-13, 11-15, 15-8, 15-7.
Alex Gough Wales def. Omar Elborolossy, Egypt, 17-15, 17-15, 12-15, 17-14.

• Golestan Radwan: Egypt
• Tomas Barva, Czech Republic
• David Blick, Alaska USA
• Kim Tunney: Midwest USA
• Andre Maur: Atlanta USA
• Paul Ansdell: Massachusetts USA
  

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