WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Brit Insurance Super Series Squash Finals, Broadgate Arena, London

1st qualifying round:
   Harrow Group
[2] John White (SCO) bt Jonathon Power (CAN) 11-4, 11-6, 11-4
Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [3] Peter Nicol (ENG) 11-5, 11-7, 11-4
   Fleet Group
[4] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-9, 4-11, 11-10 (3-1), 11-8
[1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Joe Kneipp (AUS) 11-9, 11-8, 10-11 (0-2), 11-4

Nicol Slumps To Shock Defeat

England's world No9 Nick Matthew caused a major upset on the opening day of the Brit Insurance Super Series Squash Finals in London, thrashing compatriot and world No1 Peter Nicol in straight games in the first qualifying round.

Matthew, England's fastest rising squash star, produced a stunning performance at The Broadgate Arena to confirm his growing stature in the game.  The 23-year-old from Sheffield, making his debut appearance at the Finals, demolished Nicol in just over half an hour as he raced to an 11-5 11-7 11-4 win.

"I'm amazed, almost speechless.  I knew Peter was looking a bit tired but I never expected that," said Matthew.

"I was joking before the match that I would do well to take a game off Peter, so to win like that was unbelievable.  I rate Peter as one of the top five players of all time and it was my ambition to beat him before he retired."

Matthew will next face Canada's defending champion Jonathon Power who crashed to a 3-0 defeat to Scotland's world No2 John White in the opening Harrow Group match of the evening.

Power, a late call-up for the injured Australian Anthony Ricketts, was brushed aside in just 27 minutes as White, the Nottingham-based No2 seed, opened his title bid with an impressive 11-4 11-6 11-4 victory.

Earlier in the evening England's Lee Beachill defeated Egyptian world champion Amr Shabana 3-1 to get off to a winning start in the Fleet Group.  Beachill, the world No4 from Pontefract in Yorkshire, looked in superb form as he withstood a ferocious onslaught of attacking shots from the left-handed Shabana who was making his first appearance at the Finals.

The match was the first in history to be played under the PSA's new scoring system of point a rally to 11 instead of 15.  At 10-10 in the third game, the marker call 'love-all' for the first time to signal the beginning of the tiebreaker, which would end when one player had established a two-point lead.  At 3-1, Beachill clinched the game, before running through to take the historic match 11-9 4-11 11-10 (3-1) 11-8.

"The scoring system is interesting and players will take a while to adjust to it," said Beachill. "The good thing is that the finishing line comes in sight a bit earlier so you are encouraged to attack."

Top seed Thierry Lincou, the world No3 from France, defeated Australia's Super Series Finals debutant Joseph Kneipp in four games in the evening's other Fleet Group match.  Lincou, who finished third in the event last year and runner-up in 2002, played some stunning squash in a high quality match to claim victory in 70 minutes by 11-9 11-8 10-11 11-4.