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David Palmer & Nicol David Foil English British Open Double

Howard Harding reports. Photo courtesy: www.squashsite.co.uk

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)

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 17^th 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."

Official website: www.britishopensquash.com

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Issued on behalf of: PSA/WISPA

Willstrop & Duncalf Provide English Interest In British Open Semis

Howard Harding reports...

There will be English interest in both the men's and women's semi-finals of the Dunlop British Open - Liverpool 2008 squash championships after Yorkshireman James Willstrop survived a 61-minute battle against England team-mate Peter Barker in today's (Saturday) men's quarter-finals at the ECHO Arena Liverpool.

Earlier England's chances of a finalist in the women's event were massively boosted when Jenny Duncalf, also from Yorkshire, upset defending champion Rachael Grinham 9-5, 1-9, 9-6, 9-1.

The 25-year-old fifth seed from Harrogate, who had never before beaten the three times champion from Australia, will now face Isabelle Stoehr in the semi-finals after the French qualifier earlier ousted Rachael's sister Natalie Grinham, the second seed.

In a hard-fought and relentless encounter, 24-year-old Willstrop recovered from a swift second game loss to defeat left-handed Londoner Barker 11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8.

"It was an absolute scrap," said the England number one, who now reached the last four for the second time in four years. "I didn't feel either of us controlled the game well - but it was a good game and an honest one against a good guy whose game has really come on.

"You get more motivated as the rounds go on," added the world number three from Leeds.

Barker, who came up against Willstrop countless times as a junior and senior, said: "I'm very, very disappointed. But it was no disgrace. I'd be happy for James to go through to the final - and I know he'd have felt the same about me."

The men's event produced two successive shocks in the afternoon session when the defeat of defending champion Gregory Gaultier was followed by the surprise exit of top seed and world number one Amr Shabana.

Third seed Gaultier, the world number two who last year became the first ever French winner of the men's trophy, crashed out 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 to Egypt's Karim Darwish, the No8 seed.

"That was the best win of my career," said the 26-year-old from Cairo who was also a semi-finalist two years ago. "I knew I could do it - but I had to stay focussed as Greg is one of the best players around.

"I kept thinking about the last time we played - in Kuwait, where I was ahead in all of the games but he won 3/0," explained Darwish, ranked eight in the world.

"I wasn't focussed then, but I was today - I had to believe in myself."

It was a bad day at the office for Shabana, one of the game's most gifted and mercurial talents. After dropping the first game, the favourite came back to level the match.

But Palmer, making his 12^th appearance in the event since 1997 and champion three times, maintained the pressure to come through an 11-6, 3-11, 11-5, 11-8 winner after 49 minutes.

"I'm just happy to play at this level still - I've nothing to prove anymore," said the 31-year-old from New South Wales who recently settled in Boston, USA.

"I don't think either of us played particularly well - but maybe I wanted it a bit more," added Palmer, now in his seventh semi in nine years.

The lower half of the women's draw was thrown into disarray when Jenny Duncalf defeated Rachael Grinham, the reigning world champion and former world number one.

The 25-year-old fifth seed from Harrogate had never before beaten the three times champion from Australia: "I don't know what happened," said a seemingly startled Duncalf later. "I had to keep reminding myself to stay focused - you can't afford to relax for a moment with Rachael, she's so good with the racquet."

In the first British Open semi-final of her career, Duncalf will face Isabelle Stoehr after the French qualifier earlier ousted Rachael's sister Natalie Grinham, the second seed.

Grinham junior, a record three times Commonwealth Games gold medallist, won the opening game - but, at 4-0 in the second, took a lunge which caused pain in her left thigh.

"I called for the physio at 6-4. In the break, he said I could go back on but it might make sit worse," explained the 30-year-old from Queensland who now flies the Dutch flag.

"Sometimes pain just goes away, but when I tried a similar lunge at the beginning of the third game, the pain was so sharp I just had to stop. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before."

Stoehr had mixed feelings about claiming her maiden appearance in the semi-finals: "50% I'm happy and 50% I'm not," said the 28-year-old from Montpellier, who survived three qualifying matches before the first round.

"People say 'Isabelle is not fit'! This is a good reply to those who say that.

"Everything is now a bonus to me."

Later in the day, Malaysia's world number Nicol David recovered from a game and 5-2 down to beat difficult opponent Shelley Kitchen 7-9, 9-7, 9-5, 9-2. The win avenged a shock second round loss to the New Zealander in last year's World Open in Madrid.

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

Men's quarter-finals:

[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt [1] Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-6, 3-11, 11-5, 11-8 (49m)

[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 (39m)

[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [8] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-9, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8 (61m)

[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [11] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 (50m)

Women's quarter-finals:

[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [6] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 7-9, 9-7, 9-5, 9-2 (63m)

[4] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) 9-3, 10-9, 9-6 (46m)

[5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) 9-5, 1-9, 9-6, 9-1 (54m)

[Q] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) bt [2] Natalie Grinham (NED) 6-9, 9-4, 1-0 ret. (28m)

Men's semi-final line-up:

[5] David Palmer (AUS) v [7] Karim Darwish (EGY)

[4] James Willstrop (ENG) v [6] Thierry Lincou (FRA)

Women's semi-final line-up:

[1] Nicol David (MAS) v [4] Natalie Grainger (USA)

[5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) v [Q] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA)

Promoted by internationalSPORTgroup on behalf of England Squash, the Dunlop British Open - Liverpool 2008 is supported by title sponsor Dunlop, the Liverpool Culture Company, the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the ATCO Group.

Ramy Tested In British Open Debut In Liverpool

Howard Harding reports...

Second seed Ramy Ashour, the 20-year-old 'wonder kid' from Egypt who has already netted three PSA Tour titles this year, was severely tested by unseeded Englishman Alister Walker in today's (Thursday) men's first round of the Dunlop British Open - Liverpool 2008 at Liverpool Cricket Club.

The 'Wimbledon' of squash - being held in Liverpool for the first time - will be staged at the new ECHO Arena Liverpool from 10-12 May, following qualifying and early rounds at the Cricket Club.

Walker, a Botswana-born 25-year-old raised in Gloucestershire and now based in Leeds, led in all four games, winning the second. But Ashour - the world number two who, amazingly, was making his debut in the event - dug deep to win the first, then fought back from 10-5 down to take the third.

It took the squash star 65 minutes to finally overcome Walker 11-8, 7-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-7 and claim a place in the second round.

Gregory Gaultier, the third seed who last year became the first ever Frenchman to win the title, successfully began his defence with an 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 win over Pakistan's Mansoor Zaman in 37 minutes.

Surprisingly described in a British national newspaper as "the biggest name in squash", unseeded Zaman was the first of three Pakistanis to exit at the first round stage.

It was a decisive win by Gaultier - only five days after cramp caused him to writhe in agony on a court in Amsterdam at the end of the match which led to England's triumph in the European Team Championships.

The 25-year-old world number two from Aix-en-Provence proclaimed before the event that he was going to ignore the fact that he was title-holder - and prepare as if he were going for the title for the first time.

"I didn't come here with any pressure," said Gaultier. "Of course, I've got targets and it would be nice to win it again, but it's wide open."

About his first round win over Zaman, the Frenchman explained: "It was 3/0, so I'm not complaining. It's good to win my first match, but now I want to relax and try to be ready for tomorrow."

David Palmer is the only other former champion in the men's field. The fifth-seeded Australian - three times winner of the title between 2001 and 2004 - despatched Malaysian qualifier Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 in 32 minutes.

"I was happy to get through that - it was a good run and not too hard," said the 31-year-old from New South Wales who is now based in Boston, USA.

"But I'm expecting a tough game tomorrow - so I need to get ready for that," added the former world champion and world number one who now plays Englishman Adrian Grant.

The 12th seed is one of two left-handers from London who made it through to the last sixteen. Grant, the 27-year-old world No15 who is now based in Leeds, beat Surrey qualifier Tom Richards 11-10 (2-0), 11-2, 4-11, 11-9 - while Peter Barker, the eighth seed who kicked off England's victory trail last week by beating higher-ranked Frenchman Thierry Lincou for the first time, defeated Sussex wild card opponent Tom Pashley 11-4, 11-9, 11-8.

England's bid for success in the event is being led by James Willstrop, the fourth seed. But the world No3 expressed surprise at the lack of 'home' support from the crowd after his 11-5, 7-11, 11-8, 11-2 victory over Pakistan's 17-year-old Aamir Atlas Khan.

"I always thought that if you played in your home country, you'd get the bulk of the support - but the crowd seemed to be full of Pakistanis, all cheering every good shot by my opponent. I felt there was very little coming my way," said the perplexed 24-year-old England number one.

"But it was hard work - which I knew it would be, as Aamir is one of the most talented prospects to come out of Pakistan for a good few years. He's still young - and he's going to be very tough to beat in the future."

Sadly the Barrington name will not live on in the 2008 staging of the event after England rising star Joey Barrington crashed out after a five-game marathon. The son of squash legend Jonah Barrington - who established a six British Open title record in the early 1970s - Joey failed to repeat his recent upset over Olli Tuominen, losing 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7 to the Finn in 77 minutes.

A major upset seemed on the cards when Pakistan qualifier Farhan Mehboob romped to a 2/0 lead over Ong Beng Hee, the tenth seed.

But the Malaysian, who has achieved quarter-final berths in the event on five occasions, fought back to claim a 6-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 win after 85 minutes.

"When you play someone who has no pressure, who's fresh, and hungry, it's never going to be easy," the 28-year-old from Kuala Lumpur told the official website www.britishopensquash.com . "In the first two games he was just too good, attacking with no fear and hitting some great shots.

"I just needed to wake up mentally, I went 2/0 down so quickly, and even in the third it was eight-all. I always knew he was very talented and fast - definitely one to watch for the future."

In the qualifying finals of the women's event, Madeline Perry led the charge to claim places in the main draw. Since reaching the quarter-finals of the event last year, the 31-year-old from Ireland suffered a life-threatening head injury in a mugging in Italy late last year and has been fighting back to full fitness since recovering from her ordeal.

The former world No6 from Belfast, who has slipped to 15th place, came back from 2/1 down to beat English qualifier Emma Beddoes 9-0, 6-9, 3-9, 9-1, 9-2 to make it through to the main draw for the seventh time in her career.

However, Perry's reward is a first round clash with Nicol David, the top seed from Malaysia who is in her third year as world number one.

Egypt's Engy Kheirallah was also seeking to return to the event in which she has starred before - after achieving a semi-final berth two years ago. The 26-year-old from Alexandria recovered from a game down to beat England's Dominique Lloyd-Walter 5-9, 9-4, 9-2, 9-4 in 67 minutes - and will now face Australia's defending champion Rachael Grinham - who is also based in Egypt - in the first round.

Men's 2nd round line-up:

[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [13] John White (SCO)

[5] David Palmer (AUS) v [12] Adrian Grant (ENG)

[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [14] Olli Tuominen (FIN)

[7] Karim Darwish (EGY) v [15] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED)

[8] Peter Barker (ENG) v [9] Lee Beachill (ENG)

[4] James Willstrop (ENG) v [10] Ong Beng Hee (MAS)

[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v [16] Alex Gough (WAL)

[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [11] Mohd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)

Updated Women's 1st round draw:

[1] Nicol David (MAS) v [Q] Madeline Perry (IRL)

[6] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) v Vanessa Atkinson (NED)