ENGLISH duo Tom Richards and Jonathan Kemp lived up to their billing as the top-two seeds, after advancing through to the final of the BSPA Boston Open on Saturday evening.
Richards, who has endured an injury-hit 2013, continued on his road to recovery with a hard-fought 3-1 success over surprise semi-finalist Scott Handley.
Earlier in the day, Handley upset fourth seed and last year’s runner-up Greg Lobban with a straight game victory and the British over-35 champion continued in a similar vein of form against Richards as he took the opening game 11-7.
Richards, who defeated Tristan Eysele less than five hours prior to his match with Handley, duly recovered his composure to hit back and level the scores at 1-1.
The world number 22 continued in the ascendancy and despite a spirited fight-back from his opponent, he clinched a tight fourth game to win 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10 in 42 minutes.
Richards will now meet Kemp (pictured above) in his fourth final this year, after the Ipswich Sports Club professional overcame number three seed Eddie Charlton 3-1.
Kemp, who is ranked 44th in the latest world rankings, eased through the opening two games before Charlton halved the deficit with a 13-11 success in the tie-break.
Not to be outdone by Richards, however, Kemp replicated his compatriot’s fighting spirit to bounce back and take the fourth and final game 11-8.
In the women’s draw, Jaclyn Kemp continued her ominous run of form as she dropped just four points before ending the challenge of England’s Alison Thomson.
The unseeded Thomson had caused a shock by beating Australia’s number three seed Taylor Flavell in the quarter-finals, but she never came close to repeating the feat as she bowed out in just 24 minutes against Kemp.
The former world number 12 will now face number two seed Victoria Temple-Murray, after she made short work of Lily Taylor to win 3-0 in just over 15 minutes.
For a review of the first and second round action, click here.
Semi-Finals – Men’s Results:
[1] Tom Richards (Eng) 3-0 Scott Handley (Eng) 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-10 (42m)
[2] Jonathan Kemp (Eng) 3-1 [3] Eddie Charlton (Eng) 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-8 (43m)
Quarter-Finals – Men’s Results:
[1] Tom Richards (Eng) 3-0 Tristan Eysele 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (27m)
Scott Handley (Eng) 3-0 [4] Greg Lobban (Sco) 11-7, 11-9, 11-4 (25m)
[3] Eddie Charlton (Eng) 3-0 Doug Kempsell (Sco) 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 (44m)
[2] Jonathan Kemp (Eng) 3-1 Ben Ford (Eng) 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 13-11 (32m)
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Semi-Finals – Women’s Results:
[1] Jaclyn Kemp (Nzl) 3-0 Alison Thomson 11-2, 11-0, 11-2 (24m)
[2] Victoria Temple-Murray (Eng) 3-0 [4] Lily Taylor (Eng) 11-8, 11-2, 11-5 (19m)
Quarter-Finals – Women’s Results:
[1] Jaclyn Kemp (Nzl) 3-0 Mari Taylor (Eng) 11-7, 11-5, 11-3 (17m)
Alison Thomson (Eng) 3-0 [3] Taylor Flavell (Aus) 11-9, 12-10, 11-3 (26m)
[4] Lily Taylor (Eng) 3-0 Roxanna Keshavarz (Eng) 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (14m)
[2] Victoria Temple-Murray (Eng) 3-0 Alison Hemingway (Eng) 11-6, 11-5, 11-0 (15m)