WORLD SQUASH NEWS

David Palmer & Nicol David Foil English British Open Double

(MANY MORE PICTURES TO FOLLOW IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS)

Hopes of an English double were foiled in tonight's (Monday) finals of the Dunlop British Open - Liverpool 2008 squash championships when Australia's David Palmer clinched the men's title for the fourth time and Malaysian Nicol David the women's crown for a third time at the ECHO Arena in Liverpool.

In what will go down as one of the most dramatic men's finals in the prestigious event's 80-year-old history, fifth seed Palmer squandered a 2/0 lead against England's James Willstrop, then saved two championship balls in the decider to beat the fourth seed 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 11-10 (3-1) in a 111-minute thriller.

Underdog Palmer, who had reached the final after his semi-final opponent Karim Darwish conceded the match he was leading after sustaining an Achilles injury, was in commanding form in the first two games and well into the third.

But Willstrop, 24, from Leeds, showed true Yorkshire grit by fighting back to level the match and moving 9-6 ahead.

Both players were clearly exhausted, but fought for every point - causing gasps of amazement from the capacity Arena crowd as irretrievable balls were retrieved.

The Englishman had match balls at 10-9 and 11-10 - but it was the 31-year-old from New South Wales who ultimately prevailed in the longest match of the tournament - and the longest British Open final since 1997.

"You've got to take your hat off to him," said British National champion Willstrop afterwards. "I didn't have an answer in the first two games - but then I dug in. He's a true champion - it's no disgrace, I've just got to accept it!"

Palmer admitted that he thought he was 'home and dry' at 6-4 up in the fourth. "I then got a bit slow - and he took advantage. James is a great guy and a great ambassador for the sport."

After a seesaw last half of the final game, Palmer reached match ball at 12-11, then noticed that his racket was cracked and walked off court to replace it. Amazingly, the winning shot that followed was a miss hit off the frame, which ended in the sidewall nick!

"We both had a few lucky bounces - I don't know what happened in the final shot, it came off my frame for a cross-court nick. 'I'll take that', I thought."

Earlier, Nicol David, in her fourth successive women's final, faced final debutante Jenny Duncalf, the fifth seed from Harrogate who beat Australia's defending champion Rachael Grinham en-route to the climax.

David, eager to make up for the disappointment of her shock defeat in last year's final, romped to a first game win in just eight minutes - then forged a 7-2 lead in the second.

But Duncalf, buoyed by a near capacity home crowd at the brand new ECHO Arena, fought back to level the game then moved to within a point of taking the game.

However, the 24-year-old from Penang rallied to save the game-ball and went on to win the match 9-1, 10-8, 9-0 in 40 minutes to secure her third title in four years.

"She's a very special player," said Duncalf of her opponent afterwards. "I just couldn't make any headway. I certainly could have done with that second game - it would have given me a lot of momentum."

Nicol David, now celebrating her fifth successive WISPA World Tour title and her 17th in 20 events, admitted that losing the title last year hit her hard: "I was really devastated - it was there for the taking.

"But you get stronger - you learn what you have to do. You don't let anything get in your way.

"I knew she was going for it in the second game - she had nothing to lose. I had to make sure I didn't let her in."

When asked about her feelings about the new 'Pro Scoring' system which will be in place by the time she seeks to reclaim her World Open title in Manchester in October, David said: "It'll be interesting. We'll see what happens."

RESULTS: Dunlop British Open Squash Championships, ECHO Arena, Liverpool, England

Men's final:

[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [4] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 11-10 (3-1) (111m)

Women's final:

[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-1, 10-8, 9-0 (40m)

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KUWAIT OPEN PAST & PRESENT

Fritz Borchert

(All pictures in Tournament)

I had to climb the stairs into the loft of my house and it took a while, to find the file from 1992, written on an electric typewriter and distributed to several Squash Publications. Yes, at that time Squash Publications were widespread and well respected. A far cry from today, the Liberation Cup in February 1992 in Kuwait, attracted alone from England 5 Professional Journalist (not Squash-fans), 2 Photographers and several TV Crews. Naturally the great Media Interest was heightened by the circumstances of this event.

LIBERATION CUP 1992.
Kuwait was just recovering from the after mass of the savage war with Saddam Hussein. Ruins and destruction in evidence everywhere. Nearly everyone you talk to was badly affected by the war and had a horror story to tell. I was privileged to be allowed, attached to an French TV crew, to go to the border region with Iraq and see many of the oil wells still burning and saw much of the oil spread over wide areas of the desert sand.

As part of the mammoth task of reconstruction and to show a positive signal to the World, the Liberation Cup was born. The Squash world responded and most of the leading players found their way to Kuwait City. The entry was lead by record British Open Champion Jahangir Khan, who later returned to Kuwait several times as President of the WSF. Also in the field of high-ranking competitors, was Jahangir’s arch rival and former World Champion Ross Norman, as well as Chris Dittmar. Great interest arose from the entertaining play of the up-coming Ahmed Barada.

Barada found in Jahangir his master and so did everyone else. Jahangir beat Chris Dittmar in the final, who had the better of Ross Norman in the Semis and received a much valued trophy.

SHEIKHA AL SAAD KUWAIT OPEN 2005

What a contrast to 1992, was my return to Kuwait City to the Sheika Al Saad Kuwait Open 2005. A modern City, vibrant and alive where ever one looked. Squash too was also alive and kicking. However the title of the Kuwait Open revealed a rather sad Story. Sheikha Al Saad, a prominent member of the Royal Family of Kuwait, died young in the prime of her life. A graduate with an active life in Commerce, she was also a great Squash fan. Her name is now proudly linked to the Kuwait Open.
An Open Air Arena was the scene for the grand opening of the Kuwait Open 2005. Only the weather played foul and most of the games had to be transferred into the Squash Club. However the Championships where blessed with two great finals. First Nicol David beat Natalie Grainger 4/9, 9/6, 9/7, 10/8 followed by a win from David Palmer over Peter Nicol with 11/4, 9/11,11/3, 11/6.


SHEIKHA AL SAAD KUWAIT OPEN 2007
Last years Kuwait Open provided some of the best squash of the season. Already the early rounds in the Al Qadsia Club, saw many memorable matches, accumulating with a Dream Finale between World No.One Amr Shabana and Crown-Prince Ramy Ashour. Ashour won 11/5, 11/3, 12/10. The Ladies match was far more balanced. In the end, it was Nicol David who won after 93 minutes with 9/6, 10/8, 2/9, 9/1 over Natalie Grainger

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Super Series Finals Returns To London in 2008

The ATCO Super Series Finals - London 2008 squash championships will bring together the top eight qualifiers from the annual PSA Super Series World Tour and will return to the Broadgate Arena in the heart of London's Square Mile from 19-23 May.

Ramy Ashour, the 20-year-old Egyptian who won the title on his debut in 2007, is seeded to reach the final for the second year in a row. Ashour has been close to ruling the squash world for almost a year - and was almost there after winning the event in Manchester last year.

However, injury denied him the chance of following his Super Series Finals triumph by winning either the British Open or World Open titles. But Ramy Ashour is fighting fit again - as evidenced by his stunning victory in the Tournament of Champions in New York last month, the first Super Series event of 2008.

But Amr Shabana is top seed in the 2008 Finals. Ashour's absence led to his elder compatriot's career-best run at the end of 2007, in which Shabana won four major World Tour events in a row and his third World Open. Now the effect of Ashour's presence upon the man who was world No1 all year should be fascinating to see.

Also in the 2008 draw are Gregory Gaultier, the world No3 from France; 2002 champion David Palmer, the world No4 from Australia; Englishmen Nick Matthew and James Willstrop, ranked five and six, respectively; France's 2004 champion Thierry Lincou, the world No7; and Egyptian Wael El Hindi, the world No9 who is making his debut in the event.

The Super Series Finals bring together the top eight qualifiers from the annual PSA Super Series Tour to compete in a week-long event. The tournament boasts one of the richest prize funds in the sport and TV highlights are distributed to a large global audience. First staged in Switzerland in 1992, the event first moved to the unique location of Broadgate Arena in the heart of London's Square Mile in 1999.

The event was staged in Manchester for the first time in August last year within weeks of Ziad Al-Turki and Paul Walters signing a seven-year agreement with the Professional Squash Association to promote the event.

"London has been chosen for its significance in helping the event to attract significant commercial partners, combined with additional marketing, PR and promotional opportunities - which would obviously help drive the success of the championships at all levels," said joint promoters Ziad Al-Turki, Vice-President of the ATCO Group, and Paul Walters, founder of the internationalSPORTgroup.

"Furthermore, VisitLondon have shown a great deal of interest in bringing the event back to London."

PSA Chief Executive Gawain Briars added: "The return of the Super Series Finals to London is a natural fit. Ziad Al Turki and Paul Walters are demonstrating their forward vision in bringing the event back to the English capital, whose squash market will soak up the dynamic match play of this pinnacle eight-man event of the PSA world tour.

"In particular, the Broadgate Arena - which has hosted so many spectacular finals - will resume its historic relationship with the tournament and bring the world's best players back to the heart of one of the world's leading financial centres. The fans here are tried and tested and love watching top class squash."

2008 event seeds:

[1] Amr Shabana (EGY); [2] Ramy Ashour (EGY); [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA); [4] David Palmer (AUS); [5] Nick Matthew (ENG); [6] James Willstrop (ENG); [7] Thierry Lincou (FRA); [8] Wael El Hindi (EGY)

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