(updated 6-feb-10 9:20 )  

PILLEY UPSETS GAULTIER IN GRIPPING CONTEST

Pilley puts pressure on Gaultier photo © 2010 Courtesy PSA.

Gregory Gaultier went down in a tough five games to Australian top twenty player, Cameron Pilley, who has been knocking on the door of the top ten for two years.

Gaultier pulled out a clutch comeback in the fourth game to even the scoreboard after a 14-12 tiebreaker, but lost the momentum in the fifth and fell 11-9 to the steady Pilley.

And so, unseeded Australian Cameron Pilley continued his unexpected march through the field of the .

Pilley, the world No17 from New South Wales who beat Egypt's No7 seed Mohamed El Shorbagy in the first round, recovered from a game down to defeat Gaultier 4-11, 11-6, 11-4, 12-14, 11-9.  It was the 27-year-old Australian's first win against the Frenchman, who topped the world rankings last year, in six Tour meetings since 2007.

"It was big nerves in the match, starting on my part, but I noticed that Gaultier was increasingly under pressure from my game," explained Pilley afterwards.  "Although I lost the fourth game, which I should have brought home, I continued playing my game and it paid off."

CAN WE CONCENTRATE?
The rest of the day's play was an exercise in concentration, as both Amr Shabana and James Willstrop appeared to lose their focus at times in their matchups, respectively, with Adrian Grant and Alister Walker.

Shabana looked sharp and focused in his contest with Grant, and to all appearances looked mobile and healthy, looking forward to a rematch with James Willstrop (Willstrop outpaced Shabana last week on the New York Stage). But it was about half way through the second game that Shabana appeared to completely lose concentration, when he surrendered a number of tins in a row. But he regained his focus and shot selection and quickly closed out his match.

Shabana advanced comfortably photo © 2010 Courtesy PSA.

James Willstrop suffered through some of the same lapses in concentration.

Willstrop was moving ahead like a machine, until he suddenly appeared to be in too much of a rush in game three and briefly pursued some questionable tactics, only to regain his focus and the match. Not to take away from Walker, who played soundly and took advantage of the opportunities presented to him.

"I was far from happy with losing the third game, but eventually I managed to win," said 26-year-old Willstrop.  "Alister is always a difficult opponent because he plays a fast game, and the glass court also encourages a fast game which benefits him.

Earlier, Nick Matthew suffered from none of those lapses in concentration, as he was too focused, too accurate and too sound for Stewart Boswell today.

"It was a difficult match, Stewart put up a really good fight," said the world number two, Matthew, from Sheffield.  "But it felt much better than in the previous match, because it is always difficult to adapt to a new court.  But after this morning's workout it felt so good.

"I'm in really good shape right now after playing steady squash for some months.  It is always fun to play in front of the audience in Linköping," added the 29-year-old title-holder, in his fourth appearance in the event.

CASE Swedish Open Quarters

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) def [8] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-6 11-7 11-8
Cameron Pilley (AUS) def [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 4-11 11-6 11-4 12-14 11-9
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) def [6] Alister Walker (ENG) 11-8 11-3 7-11 11-6
[2] Amr Shabana (EGY) def [5] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-4 9-11 11-6 11-5

WISPA ZACK SWEDISH OPEN
Quarters:
[1] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt Laura Pomportes (FRA) 11-2 11-5 11-9
[7] Nicolette Fernandes (GUY) bt [4] Lucie Fialova (CZE) 9-11 15-13 11-7 12-10
[3] Dipika Pallikal (IND) bt [8] Maud Duplomb (FRA) 11-4 11-4 11-9
[2] Annelize Naude (NED) bt Sina Wall (GER) 11-7 11-9 11-7