Urquhart out in quarters

Laura Massaro moves toward the front wall after a shot up the middle by Donna Urquhart.

Contributed

REIGNING Cleveland Classic squash champion, Laura Massaro, ended the run of Australian qualifier Donna Urquhart in the quarter finals of the event yesterday.

Urquhart, from Yamba, started slowly, but fought her way into the match to give the 2011 winner a scare.

Massaro got the better of things early on, jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first game.

But a few errors crept into her play, and Urquhart was able to fight back to 8-10 before surrendering a stroke to hand the English No 2 the first game.

Urquhart carried the momentum into the second and blasted past Massaro with some impressive front-court deception.

It looked like the makings of a see-saw battle, but Massaro came out in the third playing more aggressively and got Urquhart on her heels, taking the game 11-6.

The fourth game was all Massaro, as her precise shot-making forced a series of errors out of the Australian.

Meanwhile, Amanda Sobhy, 18, booked her semi-final place at the WSA Cleveland Classic 2012 after Jenny Duncalf was forced to retire injured.

Duncalf started strongly, initially appearing untroubled by the blow to her knee, sustained in a round one clash with the racket of Sarah Kippax.

The world No 2 played accurate squash to take the first game, but seemed to slow down significantly in the second.

The Harvard student Sobhy, took full advantage of the deterioration of her opponent and levelled terms before extending a lead comfortably in the third.

During the fourth the Englishwoman was clearly someway short of full fitness, and the blow to her knee yesterday was evidently still an issue.

At 1-5 down, Duncalf called time after pulling up short on a drop.

Sobhy will progress to face Massaro.

At the other end of the draw, world No 1 Nicole David dispatched Annie Au of Hong Kong in straight games.

Sitting out round one due to her opponent's injury, the extra rest did Au no favours against the top seed. David will be even more determined to finish as champion of this event, following her final-day loss to Massaro in last year's competition.