JAMES Willstrop, playing in the richest-ever world tour squash event in Saudia Arabia, went out in the quarter-finals to Australian number one David Palmer after a fiercely-contested match.
All top eight seeds reached their appointed positions at the Saudi International, although both world number one Amr Shabana and Ramy Ashour also failed in their bid to reach the semi-finals.
A feature of the event, which was played outdoors, was th
e unseasonably cold conditions.
Last on in the quarters, the night was at its coldest for Willstrop's clash with Palmer and the result was squash played at a frantic pace, with shot-making at a premium.
Against the Aussie, Willstrop led in the opening two games but found himself 2-0 down.
He won the third easily (11-4) and only lost the fourth on a tiebreak (12-10).
Disappointed as he was by the defeat, the Pontefract-based ace was relieved to have come out of the match injury-free, considering the demanding conditions.
His next major event is the famous Tournament of Champions, which is played at New York's Grand Central Station in January.
Pontefract club-mate Lee Beachill beat Egyptian Amr Swelim in the first round but, still with impaired movement due to a troublesome injury, then lost to Frenchman Thierry Lincou.
Two of Pontefract's leading girl players lost in the finals of WISPA events.
Lauren Siddall was beaten by Orla Noom in the Hillegom Open in Holland and Deon Saffery went down to the outstanding young Malaysian Wee Wern Low in the final of a Super Satellite tournament.
Two of the club's younger players were successful at the Heaton Open - Kathryn Campion beat Elena Norrish 3-2 in an all-Pontefract under-15 final and Jack Cooper beat James Peach (Doncaster) 3-2 to claim the boys' under-13 crown.
Even though it is holiday time for most, there is no rest for the club's top juniors.
Pontefract's Junior Open, which begins the day after Boxing Day, has attracted more than 190 entries; the Scottish Junior Open begins at the same time and both events lead to the prestigious British Junior Open in Sheffield, which attracts more than 400 players from across the world.
Several Pontefract juniors are seeded for the Sheffield tournament, which (all except for the under-19 division) are world championships in all but name.
Indian women's number two, 17-year-old Dipika Pallikal, who won the British U 17 Open last year, is seeded 3/4 for this year's U 19 event.
She has been training at Pontefract and is due back at the club full-time when she begins her degree studies at Leeds University next year.
Top Argentinians Nahuel Ramos and Facundo Etienot and Canadian Erin Roberts have also been preparing for the British Open at the Stuart Road centre.
