Lee Leaps Into Hithercroft Quarters

English qualifier Joe Lee produced a notable upset in the first round of the Hithercroft Open when he ousted sixth-seeded Welshman Rob Sutherland to claim an unexpected place in the quarter-finals of the $10,000 PSA Tour squash event in its third year in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire.

Lee, the 18-year-old British Junior champion from Surrey, battled for 54 minutes to overcome Sutherland - ranked almost 40 places higher in the world - 11-10 (4-2), 11-9, 6-11, 11-8.

The Walton-on-Thames teenager now faces Mohamed El Shorbagy - but the second seed from Egypt was taken the full distance by Lewis Walters before beating the English qualifier from Nottingham 9-11, 11-1, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8 in 60 minutes.

Top seed Tom Richards successfully began his bid to reach his expected place in the final when he despatched fellow Englishman Olivier Pett in just 21 minutes. The 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 victory takes Richards, 21, also from Walton-on-Thames, to a quarter-final clash with Denmark's seventh seed Morten W Sorensen.

1st round:
[1] Tom Richards (ENG) bt [Q] Olivier Pett (ENG) 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 (21m)
[7] Morten W Sorensen (DEN) bt James Snell (ENG) 11-6, 11-10 (2-0), 5-11, 11-2 (52m)
Arthur Gaskin (IRL) bt Chris Truswell (ENG) 11-7, 11-9, 11-1 (32m)
[5] Ben Ford (ENG) bt Siddharth Suchde (IND) 11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 11-8 (43m)
[8] David Vidal (ESP) bt Ryan Thompson (RSA) 11-7, 11-6, 10-11 (0-2), 11-5 (68m)
[3] Scott Handley (ENG) bt [Q] Tom Pashley (ENG) 9-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-6 (45m)
[Q] Joe Lee (ENG) bt [6] Rob Sutherland (WAL) 11-10 (4-2), 11-9, 6-11, 11-8 (54m)
[2] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [Q] Lewis Walters (ENG) 9-11, 11-1, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8 (60m)