WORLD SQUASH NEWS
RESULTS: Brit Insurance Super Series Squash Finals, Broadgate Arena, London
2nd qualifying round:
Fleet Group:
[1] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [4] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 15-6, 15-2, 10-15, 9-15,
15-10
Lee Beachill (ENG) bt Martin Heath (SCO) 15-7, 15-9, 15-8
Harrow Group:
[2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 11-15, 15-6, 15-8, 15-11
Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [3] John White (SCO) 15-10, 12-15, 15-9, 4-15, 15-12
Scots Suffer Super Series Slaughter
Scots John White and Martin Heath both crashed out of the 2003 Brit Insurance
Super Series Squash Finals after losing in the second qualifying round of the
$65,000 PSA Tour event at London's Broadgate Arena.
World No4 White, the third seed, suffered a shock defeat to Malaysia's Ong
Beng Hee in a dramatic five-game thriller on the all-glass court. Beng Hee's
15-10 12-15 15-9 4-15 15-12 victory in the Harrow Group was White's second
upset in the tournament after falling 3/2 to Australia's Anthony Ricketts in
the opening qualifying round.
The outcome of the final Harrow Group clash between White's victors Beng Hee
and Ricketts will now determine who advances to Thursday's semi-finals
alongside Canada's world No3 Jonathon Power, the No2 seed, who earlier in the
evening shrugged off the challenge of Ricketts to claim his second scalp of
the tournament with an impressive 11-15 15-6 15-8 15-11 victory over the
Super Series Finals debutant.
In the Fleet Group, England's world No9 Lee Beachill, another player making
his Super Series Finals debut, crushed Scotland's Martin Heath 15-7 15-9 15-8
to record his first victory in the competition and maintain his hopes of
qualification for the semi-final stage. The Yorkshireman cruised to victory
in 42 minutes - in doing so, wiping out Heath's chances of progressing into
the knockout stage.
The final match of the evening saw England's top seed Peter Nicol secure his
second win of the tournament and a place in the last four with a classic five
game win over France's fourth seed Thierry Lincou. After romping to a 2/0
lead - conceding just eight points in the process - the world No1 gradually
saw his advantage worn away by the Frenchman, who took the next two games to
draw the match level at 2-2. Nicol then edged out last year's runner-up in
the deciding game to win 15-6 15-2 10-15 9-15 15-10 and secure his sixth
successive appearance in the semi-finals.
The winner of the final Fleet Group match between Lincou and Beachill will
join Nicol in the last four.