Gregory Gaultier powered his way through to the quarter-finals by overwhelming Canadian Shaier Razik in just 29 minutes. The French maestro looked very shaarp indeed as he won 11-1, 11-4, 11-4.
After the match he said: "I am feeling good and learning how to look after my body a lot better thaan I used to."
Ramy Ashour was ten minutes late on court but attacked right from the start against Cameron Pilley. He won 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 in just 28 minutes.
Both players produced fast, attacking squash but Ashour was always likely to be the man hitting more winners. Pilley fought hard at the finish and had Ramy diving all over the court in to one rally, only to hit the ball back to himself to concede a penalty stroke.
Ashour, who is returning to action after injury, echoed Gaultier's comments about diet and fitness. He said: "I love the food here in Richmond so I have to be very careful about what I eat and how much.
"I always enjoy playing Cameron. He is a great professional and hits the ball very well. I treat every player with respect."
In the quarter-finals, Ashour meets fellow Egyptian Karim Darwish, who beat Australian qualifier Zac Alexander 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 in 30 minutes.
Darwish said: "Zac is a very strong player and improving all the time. I am looking forward to playing Ramy. He is one of my best friends. All the Egyptian players are very close. The last time I played him, I lost 3-2 in Hurghada. We always have close matches."
Number eight seed Azlan Iskandar conceded his match against young Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad because of a thigh injury. The Malaysian world number 10 stayed in his chair after losing the first two games and said: "I have been suffering for a few days and trying to play through it. The aductor muscle is causing the problem and it started bruising badly."
Gawad now meets Gaultier in the quarter-finals, a huge challenge for the skilful 20-year-old from Alexandria. He said: "I have always wanted to beat a top ten player. Now I am in the quarter-finals but my thoughts are with Azlan. I hope he gets better soon."
Pictures by Andrew Prezioso and Mary Johnson
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