WORLD SQUASH NEWS

Nicol Returns Refreshed - And Keen To Win Own Title

After a three-month layoff from the PSA Tour, England's world No1 Peter Nicol returns fully refreshed and determined to win next week's Mamut English Open Squash Championship, the event his own Eventis Sports Marketing company is staging.

Nicol is top seed in the $45,000 tournament which takes place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, from 11-15 August. 

The English Open has attracted a strong field, including Scotland's defending champion John White, the world No5 from Nottingham, and Australia's world No12 Anthony Ricketts, who is competing in his first PSA Tour event since January after undergoing knee surgery.

Three of the event's leading contenders are Yorkshiremen, led by Pontefract's world No2 Lee Beachill; his club-mate James Willstrop, the world junior champion and world No13; and Sheffield's own Nick Matthew, the 24-year-old world No8 who made his international breakthrough last year at the Crucible where he reached the quarter-finals as a qualifier.

Nicol says that being so intimately involved with the tournament is no problem: "It makes it all the more special that it is my event.  I'm excited about playing at the Crucible again and having a fun week in Sheffield."

Last year Nicol went out in the quarter-finals to Ricketts, whom he is scheduled to meet at the same stage next week.  "I didn't play badly last year, I just came up against a guy who was playing very well.  It's good to see Anthony back because he's had injury problems so it will be interesting to see how he is."

Another player Nicol has his eye on is Sheffield's Nick Matthew.  Matthew is seeded fourth for the event and Nicol says he deserves that ranking.  "Nick is a genuine threat in this tournament.  His rise has been completely justified with his form and I'm looking forward to see how he copes with the pressure of playing at home with some pressure on him.

"I'm sure he'll handle it very well and enjoy it though because he has a lot of confidence at the moment," added Nicol.

For those not able to see the action live in Sheffield, the PSA, in conjunction with Eventis, will be providing a live streaming service via the Association's website www.psa-squash.com. Squash fans are urged to click on the appropriate link on the home page in order to see high quality coverage of both the semi-finals and final.

"This is part of PSA's continuing "promotion" for the sport as we continue to underwrite the costs of this exciting new technology with Horizon, our web software designers," said PSA Chief Executive Gawain Briars.

First round draw:

[1] Peter Nicol (ENG) v Olli Tuominen (FIN)
[5] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) v Qualifier
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
[8] Mark Chaloner (ENG) v Qualifier
[6] James Willstrop (ENG) v Qualifier
[3] John White (SCO) v Ben Garner (ENG)
[7] Adrian Grant (ENG) v Qualifier
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) v Mansoor Zaman (PAK)