Gordon Gets Past Illingworth in Minnesota
by Howard Harding

5 October 2013 - England's unseeded Adrian Grant produced an impressive upset in the first round of the Indian Summer Benefiting Beyond Walls when he beat fourth seed Nicolas Mueller to reach the quarter-finals of the inaugural PSA World Tour International 25 squash event at the Commodore Squash Club in St Paul, Minnesota, USA.

Grant, the 32-year-old former world No9, rolled back the years to see off Mueller 11-4, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7 in his first victory over the 24-year-old Swiss number one for three years.

US champion Christopher Gordon also recorded a major victory - his first over fellow countryman Julian Illingworth in all competitions over the past eight years. Gordon, the New York-born world No48 recovered from two games down to take out Illingworth 9-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-3, 14-12 in 95 minutes.

"I'm extremely happy to have managed to win," said 27-year-old Gordon. "Julian played so well and was so accurate. He put me under tremendous pressure. I was glad to hold my nerve at the end of the fifth and to not make errors on big points.

"I'm very happy to win, because it is the first time I've been able to win against Julian since we were juniors."

US-based former English international Chris Walker added: "This match had it all. Jules played commanding squash in the first two, but let Chris take control in the third and fourth.

"The fifth game was up to expectations, both gave everything they had up through the last point. This signifies the changing of the guard. Chris had a lot to prove because he never beat Jules in Nationals, even though he won Nationals.

"This is a credit to US Squash. It was a great game of squash between the US number one and number two."

RESULTS: PSA International 25 Benefiting Beyond Walls Indian Summer Tournament, St Paul, Minnesota, USA

1st round:
[1] Alister Walker (BOT) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 13-11, 11-8, 11-9 (50m)
Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt [Q] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7
Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) bt [Q] Charles Sharpes (ENG) 11-8, 12-14, 8-11, 11-8, 17-15
Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [4] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 11-4, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7
[3] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [Q] Farhan Zaman (PAK) 9-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 (64m)
Christopher Gordon (USA) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 9-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-3, 14-12 (95m)
Eddie Charlton (ENG) bt [Q] Lewis Walters (ENG) 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-6
[2] Tom Richards (ENG) bt [WC] Adrian Leanza (USA) 11-4, 11-0, 11-4 (26m)

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Alister Walker (BOT) v Shaun le Roux (RSA)
Adrian Grant (ENG) v Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS)
[3] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v Christopher Gordon (USA)
[2] Tom Richards (ENG) v Eddie Charlton (ENG)