Matthew leads home charge into Men's World Championships second round

PSA World Tour and Mike Jones report

Three-time world champion Nick Matthew leads a strong English contingent into the second round of the 2017 Men's World Championships following round one victories in Manchester today.

Joining the Yorkshireman into the last 32 of the AJ Bell PSA World Championships is Daryl Selby, ranked 15th in the world, Declan James (28), Chris Simpson (44) and Ben Coleman (53).

Meanwhile, former World No.1 James Willlstrop was forced to retire following the first game of his round one match against India's Saurav Ghosal due to illness.

Willstrop looked increasingly out of sorts on court as he struggled to move freely as Ghosal closed out the opening game by an 11-6 scoreline, before the Englishman retired.

Elsewhere, Nick Matthew, the England No.1 overcame a fierce challenge from qualifier George Parker to advance into the second round of the Championships courtesy of a 3-2 victory.

The 37-year-old looked in confident form as he took just seven minutes to win the opening game but back-to-back games from Parker put the three-time World Champion firmly on the back foot in his last World Championship before he retires.

Matthew regained his composure to draw level in the fourth after rattling off seven straight points, before comfortably securing the match in the fifth to set up a second-round fixture against Hong Kong's Max Lee.

“I’m relieved, you don’t want to take away from your opponent’s performance but mentally I wasn’t at the races at all,” said Matthew.

“I had to dig in and I guess that’s why I’ve been successful in the past, as you are able to win those sorts of matches. I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty well, I was moving pretty well, it’s all there but mentally I need to apply myself a lot better, and remember how hard I have to work tomorrow."

This a fascinating all-English battle between qualifier Parker and #TheWolf @nickmatthew - check out this finish by Parker ?? pic.twitter.com/V40egHOMUn

— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) December 10, 2017

Parker said: “It was tough, Nick plays at such a fast pace, I really struggled at the start. I thought I was going to get absolutely battered but I managed to get rid of some of the nerves and get stuck into the second and third.

"I got in front of him and started dominating him really for two or three games. I started to get a bit tired and he stepped it up and I couldn’t really get back in the match.

"I was happy with the fifth game, I managed to dig in a bit but it was just a but too late, he pushed up and I didn’t adapt quickly enough. I want him to go the distance, its his last World Champs and I want him to win it.”

Meanwhile, Daryl Selby got his PSA World Championship campaign off to a strong start after dispatching India's Mahesh Mangaonkar 3-0. Commenting on his victory, the 35-year-old said,

“He got off to a good start in the first game and then after that I felt pretty much in control. Anytime you can win in three games in the first round is a bonus because it’s such a big draw and playing day after day it’s just important to keep fresh."

England’s Declan James – fresh from a maiden World Series quarter-final last month in Hong Kong – will appear in the second round of the World Championships for the first time in his career.

The 24-year-old World No.28 defeated compatriot Richie Fallows by a 3-1 margin to set up a second round clash with Mexico’s Cesar Salazar, who beat Tom Richards.

“It was hard, we know each other’s game inside out as we’re really good friends and train together on a regular basis,” James said.

“I’m feeling confident, there’s a lot of really tough first rounds here so I’m really proud just to win a match and happy to be in the second round.”

Elsewhere, Chris Simpson booked his place in the second round of the Championships after defeating Nathan Lake 3-0 in an all-English clash.

30-year-old Simpson won a series of long, close fought rallies in the first game to take the lead, before coming from 4-1 down to win the second 11-6.

Cheltenham born Lake responded well in the third, taking an 8-3 lead, before English No.7 Simpson fought back with six unanswered points.

The win sets Simpson up with a clash against World No.6 Marwan ElShorbagy in the next round after the Egyptian beat Omar Abdel Meguid.

England's Joshua Masters, the tournament wildcard meanwhile, was appearing at this tournament for only the second time in his career. A resilient performance from the 22-year-old saw him push three-time World Champion Ramy Ashour to 11-7 in the opening game, before a masterclass from the Egyptian maverick saw him drop just three points in the second as he doubled his lead.

Ashour’s short game wasn’t quite as effective in the third as Masters pushed him into the back areas of the court, but he edged it by an 11-9 margin to seal his place in round two.

England’s Ben Coleman secured a spot in the second round after defeating Qualifier Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu 3-0 in a heated contest. The win sees Coleman face off against India’s no.1 Saurav Ghosal in the next round.

“Being here at the World Championships in England feels great. Just winning now, I’ll celebrate that for the next ten minutes and then I’ll look forward to tomorrow.” said Coleman.

“Saurav’s a higher level player than me because of his ranking, but I feel good, I’ve got great support and I feel like I can put on some good squash and see what happens.”

Elsewhere England's Tom Richards bowed out of the tournament following a close encounter with Mexico’s Cesar Salazar. Salazar edged past Richards to win 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (45m).

Meanwhile, Adrian Waller faced a tough opening clash with US Open champion and World No.3 Ali Farag to lose 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (30m).

Watch the action from Round 2 tomorrow on Eurosport Player or view live scores on the official Championships website.