RESULTS:    European Individual Squash Championships, Herentals, Belgium

Men's final:
[3/4] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)     12-10, 8-3 ret. (35m)

Women's final:
[1] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [3/4] Vanessa Atkinson (NED)     9-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 (35m)


Natalie Grinham, the world No4 from the Netherlands, and Thierry Lincou, the world No8 from France, have been crowned European Individual Champions after first-time triumphs in the European Squash Federation event at the Flemish Squash Center in Herentals, Belgium.

It was a long-awaited maiden title success as a Dutch player for Natalie Grinham, the Queensland-born 31-year-old who became the first player ever to win three squash gold medals in the Commonwealth Games in 2006 before becoming a Dutch national at the beginning of last year.

Grinham recovered from a game down to beat compatriot Vanessa Atkinson, the former world champion and world number one, 9-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-4 in 35 minutes.

"I made a few errors at the start," admitted Grinham to www.squashsite.co.uk afterwards.  "First, it’s all about getting used to the court again, getting the feel of it, but also, Vanessa played very well.  I was a bit nervous, because I was out at the start of the year, I’ve been ill, so I’m still not that confident, I’m coming back into it slowly.

"Also, I’m still not that confident about the change of scoring.  Before, I could be at 6-0 down, I was pretty confident I could come back, whereas now, if you don’t take a good start, you are really in trouble.

"I still haven’t won a world title though, and this year it’s in Holland so that’s something I really want to achieve," Grinham added.  "And I haven’t decided yet when I want to stop and try having kids.  One thing I know, now is not the time, I’m not ready for it yet, I’m too busy!"

The men's final was a repeat of last year's all-French climax in which Gregory Gaultier beat Thierry Lincou to win his fifth title in a row.  But this year's meeting - the pair's 21st since December 2004, with their head-to-head record poised at ten-all - was to bring Gaultier's 29-match unbeaten run in the event to an end when the 26-year-old from Aix-en-Provence was forced to retire injured with the score standing at 12-10, 8-3 in Lincou's favour.

"This was a great week for me - I was very keen to play here," said a delighted Lincou, the former world champion and world number one from Marseille, afterwards.  "Maybe Greg wasn’t as determined as I was today, and I was lucky in the final.

"But at 33, I haven’t retired - I’m still here - and for that, I’m happy. And I’m happy to keep going a bit longer!"