LIVERPOOL (England), May 8: Gregory Gaultier, the first Frenchman ever to win the British Open, overcame a sequence of injuries and a famous name to defeat Pakistan’s Mansoor Zaman on Thursday.

The world No 2 from Marseille scored a 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 win over Mansoor, the unseeded Pakistani, who is the son of former British Open champion Qamar Zaman.

Mansoor led 7-4 in the second game and briefly looked as though he might cause more trouble, both with his skill and an unintentional whack on the champion’s elbow.

Gaultier, who has also been getting over wrist, calf and thigh problems, winced at this blow, but recovered satisfactorily and for much of the match was moving well.

“It’s just good not to stay on too long,” he said after the 37-minute encounter. “I don’t mind who I play in the first round, as long as I can get rid of them as quickly as possible and save my energy.”

Gaultier certainly did that, earning himself a meeting with Olli Tuominen, the 14th seeded Finn. Tuominen came from 0-4 down in the final game against Joey Barrington, the son of the six-time former British Open champion Jonah Barrington, to win 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7.

The Englishman seemed the more likely winner until he was accidentally hit in the right eye by the side of Tuominen’s head half way through the deciding game.

It caused a four-minute delay, with Barrington claiming that this was also where he had been hit by a racket during his debut for his country at last week’s European championships in Amsterdam.

If Gaultier wins again he could be one win from a meeting with his friend Amr Shabana, the top seed and the World Open champion who has never won the British Open.

Shabana, who finished last year exhausted after winning five successive tournaments, looked almost as fresh and fit as ever as he overcame Davide Bianchetti of Italy by 11-5, 11-8, 11-5.

“Davide’s a friend of mine and I hate playing against a friend,” said Shabana.

“And although I was moving well I didn’t feel well in the second game.

“But I haven’t played much this year and I’m not flat any more. I’m hungry to win tournaments again, especially this one.”

In the same section as Shabana and Gaultier is Karim Darwish, the seventh seeded Egyptian, who won in straight games against England’s Jonathan Kemp and helped make it a happy day for the tour’s most celebrated couple.

His wife Engy Kheirullah also won, her 5-9, 9-4, 9-2, 9-0 success against Dominique Lloyd-Walter of England earning a place in Friday’s main draw against the defending champion, Rachael Grinham, from Australia.

Friday will also see the top-seeded world No 1, Nicol David, wbegin against Madeline Perry, the former world quarter-finalist from Ireland. Perry’s oddly see-sawing 9-0, 6-9, 3-9, 9-1, 9-2 win over England’s Emma Beddoes earned a first round meeting with the famous Malaysian.

Results (x denotes seeding):

First round:Laurens Jan Anjema (NED x15) bt Jesse Engelbrecht (RSA) 11-6, 4-11, 11-6, 11-2; Karim Darwish (EGY x7) bt Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 13-11, 11-8, 11-7; Gregory Gaultier (FRA x3) by Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 11-8, 11-3, 11-8; Olli Tuominen (FIN x14) bt Joey Barrington (ENG) 9-11, 5-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7; David Palmer (AUS x5) bt Mohammed Nafiizwan Adnan (MAL) 11-3, 11-5, 11-6; Adrian Grant (ENG x12) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 12-10, 11-2, 4-11, 11-9; John White (SCO x13) bt Aaron Francomb (AUS) 11-4, 11-7, 11-5; Amr Shabana (EGY x1) bt Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-5, 11-8, 11-5.—AFP