World Open - Day Two: Willstrop survives early scare
The 27-year-old world No 6, from Leeds, found himself a game down against Switzerland's unseeded Nicholas Mueller but hit back to go through 9-11 11-4 11-7 11-2 after 42 minutes.
He will now face another unseeded opponent – Spain's Borja Golan – after he defeated 26th seed and Willstrop's Pontefract team-mate Saurav Ghosal, from India.
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Hide AdTop seed Nick Matthew, from Sheffield, is in second-round action on Saturday against Canada's Shahier Razik, while Halifax'-based Jonathan Kemp, faces Australia's David Palmer.
On Thursday, Matthew safely negotiated his way through a first-round test by defeating Australia's Ryan Cuskelly. The 30-year-old world No 2, from Sheffield, won 11-4 11-5 11-6 in 35 minutes.
Leeds-based Alister Walker, who plays for Chapel Allerton's PSL team, also made it through to the second round, beating South Africa's Steve Coppinger.
The 28-year-old recovered from losing a tight opening game to prevail 12-14 12-10 11-9 11-9.
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Hide AdKemp, the 20th seed, despatched Brazilian Rafael F Alarcon 11-2, 11-5, 11-9 in just 11 minutes.
Harrogate's Jenny Duncalf won her rubber to help top seeds England seal a place in the final of the Women's World Team Championships in New Zealand.
World No 2 Duncalf saw off the host nation's Jaclyn Hawkes 7-11 11-9 11-6 11-9, cancelling out Tania Bailey's earlier defeat to Shelley Kitchen.
Laura Massaro then clinched the deciding tie against Joelle King to set up a final showdown with second seeds Australia.