ANTWERP, Belgium, Dec 10: England’s Simon Parke became the only unseeded player to book a place in the quarterfinals of the 155,000 dollar Men’s World Open Squash Championship here Monday when he upset fourth-seeded Australian Stewart Boswell.
The 30-year-old Parke described the 7-15, 15-13, 5-15, 17-15, 15-12 win as “one of my best wins ever!”
Parke staged two incredible comebacks - firstly at 1-0 and 10-3 down in the second, then at 7-0 down in the fourth - before claiming a sensational win in 100 minutes.
The victory - which takes the current world No 26 into his fourth World Open quarter-final - was all the remarkable as it was against a 24-year-old opponent who reached at least the semi-finals in the previous five ranking events on the PSA Tour.
Parke underwent ankle surgery more than a year ago and is still fighting back to the form which saw him reach No3 in the world rankings in October 2000.
After his second five-game win over an Australian in two days, Parke gets a day off before meeting Scotland’s John White in the last eight.
The fifth seed beat Parke’s England team-mate Mark Chaloner 15-9, 15-13, 10-15, 15-9.
England’s favourite and defending champion Peter Nicol cruised to a 15-8, 15-8, 15-11 win over Pakistan’s unseeded Mansoor Zaman in 31 minutes.
“I’m pleased to get a quick win. It’s a long tournament and you need to conserve your energy,” said Nicol, after halting Mansoor’s opportunity of emulating his famous father Qamar Zaman’s four appearances in a World Open final.
The 29-year-old London-based former Scot will now meet Australia’s 9th seed Anthony Ricketts for a place in the semifinals.
Ricketts, who this month celebrated a career-high world No7 ranking, upset Nicol’s training partner Ong Beng Hee, the 7th seed from Malaysia, 15-8, 15-8, 15-5 in 43 minutes.
This will be Nicol and Ricketts’ fifth meeting this year, including three quarter-finals on the PSA Tour and a third round clash in the Commonwealth Games - all of which were claimed by the Englishman.
Third Round results:
Peter Nicol (Eng x1) bt Mansoor Zaman (Pak) 15-8, 15-8, 15-11; Anthony Ricketts (Aus x9) bt Ong Beng Hee (Mas x7) 15-8, 15-8, 15-5; Simon Parke (Eng) bt Stewart Boswell (Aus x4) 7-15, 15-13, 5-15, 17-15, 15-12; John White (Sco x15) bt Mark Chaloner (Eng) 15-9, 15-13, 10-15, 15-9.—AFP
