November 27, 2007	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 16, 1428

BERMUDA, Nov 26: Top ranked Amr Shabana and world champion David Palmer took contrasting first steps towards a potential semi-final showdown on the opening day of squash’s World Open late on Sunday.

Egypt’s Shabana was forced into a long tussle by France’s Renan Lavigne while Australia’s Palmer overwhelmed Canadian qualifier Shawn Delierre.

Shabana, who is attempting to become the first player since Pakistan’s Jansher Khan 11 years ago to win the title three times, had to come back from 8-9 down in the fourth game before winning 11-9 11-8 7-11 11-9.

“All the top players are good these days and Renan played well,” said Shebana, who recently won the Saudi International, Qatar Classic, and Hong Kong Open tournaments in succession.

Palmer, who is chasing his own piece of history by becoming the first player since Jansher in 1996 to defend the title, was on top from start to finish.

Earlier, eighth-seeded Briton Lee Beachill and 15th-seeded Malaysian Ong Beng Hee were knocked out in the first round by unseeded opponents.

Beachill lost to fellow Briton Alex Gough 4-11 11-8 5-11 11-4 11-5, while the Malaysian was beaten by British qualifier Jonathan Kemp in four games.

Ninth-seed Egyptian Wael El Hindi battled through an early thigh injury after a fall to save two match points and beat Mexican qualifier Eric Galvez 9-11 11-6 5-11 12-10

13-11.—Reuters