Squash: Joyce into semifinals in Qatar

World No 2 Leilani Joyce played former world No 1, England's Cassie Campion, in a semifinal of the Qatar Open early this morning (NZT ).

Joyce beat England's Rebecca Macree in the first round 9-1, 9-4, 9-6.

She then toppled Suzanne Horner, also of England, in the quarter-finals 9-3, 9-7, 9-5, to go through to the last four.

World No 1, Australian Sarah Fitz-Gerald, played England's Stephanie Brind in the other semifinal. The final will be played tomorrow morning (NZT ).

The event is the lead-in to the women's world championships in Melbourne, which will go ahead next week along with the teams event.

But the men's October 15-21 championships have been scrapped because of the economic uncertainty since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

"With sponsorship tightening ... it was not possible to guarantee a sufficient level of prize fund for the men's individual championship to ensure sensible player compensation. So, with great regret, it has been cancelled," World Squash Federation chief executive Ted Wallbutton said.