WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions, New York, USA

2nd round:
[1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [12] Paul Price (AUS) 14-17, 6-15, 15-14, 15-8, 15-4 (83m)
[6] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [11] Graham Ryding (CAN) 15-3, 15-11, 15-10 (56m)
[3] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [16] Shahier Razik (CAN) 15-7, 15-8, 15-9 (47m)
[8] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [15] Martin Heath (SCO) 15-10, 15-10, 13-15, 15-10 (56m)
[7] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) bt [14] Alex Gough (WAL) 15-9, 15-12, 15-12 (61m)
[4] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [10] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 15-9, 15-14, 15-3 (57m)
[13] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [5] David Palmer (AUS) 13-15, 10-15, 15-6, 15-13, 15-7 (85m)
[2] John White (SCO) bt [9] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 15-7, 14-15, 15-10, 15-4 (74m)

Wily Willstrop Makes Palmer Wilt in New York

England's world junior squash champion James Willstrop chalked up another notable senior scalp on the PSA Tour in New York when he bravely fought back from two games down to defeat Australia's 2002 World Open champion David Palmer in the second round of the Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions at Grand Central Terminal.

The 20-year-old from Pontefract in Yorkshire took 85 minutes to craft his 13-15 10-15 15-6 15-13 15-7 victory over the former world No1 from Lithgow in New South Wales, who was a point away from a match ball at 13-12 in the fourth game.

Willstrop, whose world ranking has jumped from 28 to 12 in just the last two months, got off to a tough start when he lost the first two games. "I just decided that if I was going to lose, I was at least going to go home knackered," said Willstrop.

The young Englishman took some pace off the ball to defuse Palmer's pace and started placing some feather drop shots just out of his opponent's reach.  After winning the third by a fairly wide margin, Willstrop found himself in a true test of fortitude in the fourth.  From 10-all, the game seesawed back and forth as each player strategically used length, pace and touch to full advantage, much to the delight of the totally immersed crowd.  Willstrop prevailed.  "When I won that tough fourth game I knew I had the match," he said.  And indeed he did - recording Palmer's first ever defeat after holding a 2-0 lead.

Willstrop, who next meets Scotland's No2 seed John White, became the only unexpected player to reach the quarter-finals - but, earlier in the day, Australia's Paul Price was just a point away from eliminating France's top seed Thierry Lincou, the world No1.

"My head was gone," said Lincou about the first two games of his match against twelfth-seeded Price when the Frenchman found himself playing catch up as a result of being pinned to the back of the court by the deep-hitting Australian.  Down match ball at 14-12 in the third game, Lincou dug deep. "I said to myself 'you've done so much work to get here - just push and run to the maximum'." The crowd roared as he did just that, battling to capture the third game at 15-14.  Upon winning game point, the 2003 runner-up breathed a sigh of relief and set about winning the match 14-17 6-15 15-14 15-8 15-4 without too much more of a struggle.

Lincou will now face the player he eliminated in last year's semi-finals, four-times title-holder Jonathon Power. The Canadian faced his countryman Graham Ryding, whom he finds it difficult to play.   "I hate playing Graham - he's such a good friend and I have been playing him since I was 10," said the 29-year-old from Montreal later.  It was Ryding, however, for whom the match proved to be difficult as he lost in three to the player he describes as "being the best at competitive positioning, a great shot-maker, accurate and physical - and, as a result, so difficult to play because the ball is always coming back."

England's defending champion Peter Nicol was a model of efficiency as he dispatched Canada's Shahier Razik in 45 minutes.  The thirty-year-old from London, who has been a dominant force in squash for the past decade, will face one of the game's up and coming young players, 23-year-old compatriot Nick Matthew.  The No8 seed was up 2-0 against Scotland's Martin Heath, runner-up in 2000, when he found his head in the self-described "clouds" and dropped the third game before closing the match out in four.  "I can't afford to be slack against Peter and I'll need to take my game up a couple of levels," said Matthew.  "But I have nothing to lose, so I'll probably play my best squash."