BRITISH OPEN SQUASH NEWS

World Masters Head For British Open Success in Nottingham

A host of World and British Open champions will converge on Nottingham tomorrow (Saturday) to compete in the Masters categories of the 2003 British Open Squash Championships at Nottingham Squash Club.

The 11 events, from Over-35 Men's and Women's championships to a Men's Over-65 championship, will reach their finals at the Nottingham club on Tuesday (30th September) - with all but one expected to provide English winners.

The main Men's and Women's British Open events begin the following day (Wednesday) on the state-of-the-art all-glass court at the Nottingham Albert Hall - with the finals taking place on Sunday 5th October.

British National O35 champion Mark Cairns, from Southmoor in Oxfordshire, is seeded to win the Men's O35 title.  He is expected to face fellow former English international Danny Meddings, from Surrey, in the final - though the No2 seed is likely to meet experienced former Pakistan international Zarak Jahan Khan, a 3/4 seed, in the semi-finals.

Gloucestershire's Adrian Williams is seeded to meet Swedish favourite Fredrik Johnson, runner-up in the same age-group in August's World Masters, in the Men's O40 final.

Lancashire's Ian Bradburn is the favourite in the Men's O45 event - but his anticipated opponent in the final is defending champion Peter Alexander, who also won the title in 1999.  Alexander, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, was runner-up in this year's World Masters in Finland.

Yorkshire's David Manning, from Brighouse, Huddersfield, was also runner-up in his age-group in the World Masters - but is seeded to win the Men's British Open O50 trophy in a final against Cumbria's No2 seed Ronnie Bell.

Former English international Philip Ayton, from Sussex, is top Men's O55 seed - but he is expected to meet Lancashire's 5/8 seed Bill Farrell, the O50 champion in 1996, in the quarter-finals en-route to an anticipated final clash with Cumbria's No2 seed John Smith.

Hampshire's John Perrott is firm favourite for the Men's O60 title, having won the World Masters trophy two months ago.  British Open 050 champion in 1995 and 055 winner in 1999 and 2000, Basingstoke-based Perrott is due to meet Worcestershire's Roy Bradley in the final.

Surrey's Pat Kirton arrives in Nottingham as defending Men's O65 champion and is seeded to claim his fifth British Open Masters trophy after O55 successes in 1994 and 1995, and the O60 title in 1999.  The Walton-on-Thames based player is first likely to meet John Cox, the World Masters O70 champion, before facing No2 seed John Woodliffe, the 1996 British Open O55 champion from Gloucestershire, in the final.

Gloucester's Fiona Geaves is combining her 20th successive appearance in the Women's Open championship with her debut in the Women's O35 event.  The world No11, who is also the British National O35 champion, is expected to meet Warwickshire's Mandy Kennedy in the final.

The Women's O40 final is predicted to be a repeat of August's World Masters' equivalent - with champion Sue Williams, from Dummer in Hampshire, expected to face Lincoln's No2 seed Fran Wallis in Tuesday's shootout.

Staffordshire's three-times British Open Masters champion Liz Brown is expected to win the Women's O45 title for the first time.  Brown, from Wolverhampton, was O35 winner in 1998 and O40 champion in 2000 and 2001 - and is seeded to meet Middlesex's Jill Campion in the final.

Faith Sinclair, from Shincliffe in County Durham, is clear favourite to take the Women's O50 title.  Champion for the past two years, Sinclair also lifted the World Masters O50 trophy in Finland - and is expected to meet Gloucestershire's second seed Liz Elgood in the final.