WORLD SQUASH NEWS

Champion White Draws Grant In PSA Masters Opener

Scotland's world No1 John White is drawn to face fellow Briton Adrian Grant, the world No17 from England, in the first round of the PSA Qatar Masters Squash Championship, the first PSA Super Series event of the year which gets underway tomorrow (Tuesday 20 April) in Doha, Qatar.

White, the No2 seed, clinched the $120,000 title last year for the first time after beating France's Thierry Lincou in the final.  Lincou, the world No3 from Paris, is seeded to go one better this year - and is drawn to meet Finland's Olli Tuominen in the first round.

Peter Nicol leads the English bid for the title he won in March 2000 in Egypt, in the event's inaugural year.  Nicol, the third seed, faces the Pakistan No1 Mansoor Zaman in the first round, with an anticipated clash with Lincou in the semi-finals.

Lee Beachill, the fourth seed from England, arrives in Doha fresh from his triumph in the last major event on the PSA Tour, the Bermuda Open in March.  The Yorkshireman takes on Dutchman Tommy Berden in the opening round.

Canada's Jonathon Power, the only man to have won this title twice (in 2001 and 2002), will be keen to make up for the disappointment of his shock second round exit last year, to Egypt's Karim Darwish.  The 29-year-old from Montreal is seeded seventh, and will meet England's Simon Parke in the first round before a scheduled quarter-final clash with Beachill.

First round matches in the top half of the draw take place on Tuesday, with the lower half matches being scheduled on Wednesday.  The final will be staged at the Khalifa Squash Complex in Doha on Sunday 25th April.

1st round draw:
[1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v Olli Tuominen (FIN)
[13] Omar Elborolossy (EGY) v Renan Lavigne (FRA)
[5] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Shahier Razik (CAN)
[16] James Willstrop (ENG) v Rodney Durbach (RSA)
[3] Peter Nicol (ENG) v Mansoor Zaman (PAK)
[15] Paul Price (AUS) v Moh'd Azlan Iskandar (MAS)
[8] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Mark Chaloner (ENG)
[11] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Nick Taylor (ENG)
[12] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) v Martin Heath (SCO)
[7] Jonathon Power (CAN) v Simon Parke (ENG)
[10] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Dan Jenson (AUS)
[4] Lee Beachill (ENG) v Tommy Berden (NED)
[14] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) v Borja Golan (ESP)
[6] David Palmer (AUS) v Alex Gough (WAL)
[9] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) v Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
[2] John White (SCO) v Adrian Grant (ENG)