WORLD SQUASH NEWS

Thierry Lincou Confirmed As First French World No1

In the biggest shake-up of the list for many years, Thierry Lincou takes over the top position in the new January 2004 Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings, announced today (30 December) by the Professional Squash Association (PSA), to become France's first world No1.

Only the seventh player to head the list over the last twenty years, Lincou ends a two-year unbroken reign at the top by Peter Nicol, the Englishman who first reached the top spot in February 1998 and achieved a total of 55 months as world No1.

Other major changes in the New Year list include England's Lee Beachill rising five places to a career-high No4; Egypt's newly-crowned World Open champion Amr Shabana leaping six places to a best-ever No5; Australia's Joseph Kneipp making his debut in the top ten at 10; England's Nick Matthew soaring a mighty ten places to register a career-best No11 place; Egypt's Mohammed Abbas jumping nine places to a top twenty debut at 16; and England's world junior champion James Willstrop vaulting ten positions to make a first appearance in the top twenty at 18.

Lincou, 27, from Paris, enjoyed a remarkably consistent run on the PSA Tour in 2003, including nine successive semi-final berths and five final appearances - culminating in his presence in the final of the Bank Alfalah World Open ten days ago in Lahore, Pakistan.

Cairo-based Shabana, 24, produced the result of the year when he knocked out four higher-seeded players to lift the World Open crown in Lahore - becoming not only the lowest-ranked player ever to win the world title in the event's 27-year history, but also the first Egyptian.

Yorkshireman Lee Beachill, 26, from Pontefract, scored the best win of his career at the beginning of the month when he clinched the Qatar Classic title in Doha - earning his first PSA Super Series title after beating the then world No1 Peter Nicol in straight games in the quarter-finals, and Scotland's world No2 John White in a five-game final marathon.

It has taken Queenslander Joseph Kneipp almost four years to convert his top twenty breakthrough in February 2000 into an appearance in the top ten.  The 30-year-old from Brisbane, now based in Amsterdam, is enjoying a career rejuvenation which led him to this month's World Open semi-finals after a convincing upset over second seed John White.

England's other young stars of the January list also both hail from Yorkshire - Sheffield-based Nick Matthew, 23, building on unseeded appearances in the last eight of the English and US Opens in the summer by reaching the last four of the Qatar Classic and quarter-finals of the World Open after significant upsets; and James Willstrop, 20, from Pontefract, achieving his breakthrough after convincing performances in both Doha and Lahore.

Mohammed Abbas celebrated his 23rd birthday last week after upsetting higher-seeded players to achieve last sixteen berths in both the Qatar Classic and World Open this month.

1 [5] Thierry Lincou FRA
2 [2] John White SCO
3 [1] Peter Nicol ENG
4 [9] Lee Beachill ENG
5 [11] Amr Shabana EGY
6 [3] David Palmer AUS
7 [4] Jonathon Power CAN
8 [6] Anthony Ricketts AUS
9 [7] Karim Darwish EGY
10 [14] Joseph Kneipp AUS
11 [21] Nick Matthew ENG
12 [10] Gregory Gaultier FRA
13 [8] Ong Beng Hee MAS
14 [13] Graham Ryding CAN
15 [18] Omar Elborolossy EGY
16 [25] Mohammed Abbas EGY
17 [15] Paul Price AUS
18 [28] James Willstrop ENG
19 [24] Olli Tuominen FIN
20 [30] Renan Lavigne FRA

For full list - see www.psa-squash.com