BERMUDA, Nov 27: World title contender James Willstrop was forced to change his tactics but battled back from two games and a four-point deficit in the fourth game to advance to the second round of the World Open on Monday.

The fourth-seeded Briton, who was forced to chase every shot by the unseeded Laurens Jan Anjema, eventually prevailed 10-12 8-11 11-8 11-9 11-3 when he played the ball tight down the wall instead of opening the court up against the left-handed Dutchman.“I was in a mess,” Willstrop said after the 93-minute match. “I was all over the place and he was totally in control in the first two games, and it was a complete dig. And I dug, dug, dug.

“Physically it was very hard, but mentally it was absolutely brutal. I knew exactly what to expect against him and ...I am really, really pleased with myself.”

Willstrop will next meet 12th-seeded Egyptian Mohammed Abbas.

The tournament was livened up in an earlier match when unseeded Hisham Ashour, who had just beaten Britain’s Adrian Grant, reduced the applauding crowd to silence by launching a tirade of abusive language against Grant and the match referee.

Ashour, who won the match 11-7 11-7 4-11 11-8, claimed the 16th-seeded Grant had been swearing at him throughout their ill-tempered encounter.

The Egyptian, who initially blocked Grant’s exit from the court in a tense face off, disappeared from the arena then returned to launch his tirade at referee Wes Barlow and Grant.

“Is this boxing or what? Didn’t you hear anything?,” Ashour yelled at Barlow after he had sworn three times before he then stormed off again.

Ashour now plays Gregory Gaultier, the second-seeded British Open champion from France.—Reuters