WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: PSA Qatar Masters Squash Championship, Doha, Qatar

Quarter-finals:
[1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [5] Amr Shabana (EGY) 10-15, 15-8, 8-1 ret.
[3] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [11] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 15-6, 10-15, 15-7, 14-15, 15-2
[4] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [7] Jonathon Power (CAN) 15-8, 9-15, 15-13, 15-10
[6] David Palmer (AUS) bt [2] John White (SCO) 15-14, 15-13, 14-15, 11-15, 15-10

Champions Challenged In Qatar Quarters

The world champion, defending champion and a former champion all fell by the wayside in dramatic quarter-final clashes in the $120,000 PSA Qatar Masters at the Khalifa International Squash Complex in Doha.

The standout encounter was the eagerly-anticipated battle between title-holder and No2 seed John White, the world No1 from Scotland, and sixth seed David Palmer, the Australian No1 who captured the 2002 World Open title in Belgium after a thrilling five-game final against White.

Palmer took the first two games, both tight and hard.  But back came White to claim the third and fourth - diving, stretching and chasing, they even had the other players in the audience shaking their heads with incredulity.

Finally these two gladiators pushed themselves to the very limits of endurance in the fifth game.  The audience was transfixed, the referee and marker virtually redundant as they played everything!  Ultimately, after almost two hours, Palmer emerged victorious 15-14 15-13 14-15 11-15 15-10 in 114 minutes.

"After the World Open Final of 2002, you would think that we had been blessed enough - but their match took us to the realms of disbelief as they played out the most magnificent match," said PSA Technical Director Robert Edwards.

Palmer, the Belgium-based world No6 from New South Wales, takes on England's Lee Beachill in the semi-finals after the Yorkshireman ousted Canada's Jonathon Power in his first ever win over the two-times PSA Masters champion.  Fourth seed Beachill, on a roll in Doha after claiming the Qatar Classic title on the same courts in December, defeated the crowd favourite 15-8 9-15 15-13 15-10 to reach the semi-finals for the first time.

The other semi-final will feature top-seeded Frenchman Thierry Lincou and England's Peter Nicol, the Masters champion in 2000.

Lincou, last year's beaten finalist who became the first Frenchman to become world No1 in January, lost the opening game against world champion Amr Shabana, but the fifth seed from Egypt then began to struggle with an injury, leaving Lincou the victor with the score standing at 10-15 15-8 8-1 (retired).

Nicol, fresh from a charity trek in the Himalayas, was fully tested by young Frenchman Gregory Gaultier.  But the experienced former world No1 stemmed two Gallic comebacks to win 15-6 10-15 15-7 14-15 15-2.