Two-time champion James Willstrop (pic ri), who was expected to reach the final of the British National Championships for the 5th time in seven years, crashed out in the quarter-finals in Manchester after losing to Jonathan Kemp (pic le). The world No4 from walked onto the court with ten career wins out ten against Kemp, the left-hander who is ranked 23 in the world. Kemp kept to his game-plan and, after 48 minutes, wrapped up his historic 11-8, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6 victory. “It’s the best result of my career so far,” said an exuberant Kemp afterwards. In his first semi-final appearance since making his Nationals debut 11 years ago, Kemp will meet 3rd seed Daryl Selby who claimed his second successive semi-final slot when he beat Chris Ryder 9-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-4 in 71 minutes. Semi-final line-up: [1] Nick Matthew v [6] Tom Richards; [3] Daryl Selby v [5] Jonathan Kemp.
