WORLD SQUASH NEWS
RESULTS: Harrisdirect Tournament of Champions, New York, USA
Quarter-finals:
[1] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [7] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 15-8, 6-15, 15-11, 15-10
(62m)
[3] David Palmer (AUS) bt [8] Lee Beachill (ENG) 13-15, 15-12, 15-4 ret.
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [4] John White (SCO) 11-15, 12-15, 15-9,
15-12, 15-6 (84m)
[2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [5] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 8-15, 15-5, 15-5,
15-8 (57m)
Lincou Upsets White To Reach New York Semis
The best was saved for last in the quarter-final round of the $72,500
Harrisdirect Tournament of Champions in New York as Frenchman Thierry Lincou
came back from a 2-0 deficit to upset fourth seed John White and advance to a
semi-final meeting with defending champion Jonathon Power.
At 10-8 in the third game, Lincou hit a behind-the-back winner that thrilled
the crowd and gave him a burst of confidence to push forward and win the game
15-9. "From that point on, I became more and more confident and a bit more
aggressive," said the sixth-seeded Frenchman. "In the first two games, John
didn't give me many openings - his drops were too tight. I knew that I
needed to stay on court as long as possible and stay on his backhand to have
a chance to win the match." Eighty-four minutes after the start of the
match, Lincou clinched his 11-15 12-15 15-9 15-12 15-6 victory over the Scot
to reach his first PSA Super Series semi-final since last year's British
Open.
Second-seeded Canadian Jonathon Power was off to a slow start in his match
against Australian Stewart Boswell, who took the first game after a string of
unforced errors by the four-times champion. Boswell, the fifth seed,
reciprocated with his own run of tins in the second game, allowing Power to
regroup and take command of the match 8-15 15-5 15-5 15-8 after 57 minutes.
England's world No1 Peter Nicol found himself in a scrappy match with
Australia's seventh seed Anthony Ricketts, who snared the second game but was
ultimately done in by the top seed's length and pace. "I don't think either
of us played very well," said Ricketts. "But you can't give Peter Nicol any
easy shots and I did tonight."
Nicol will meet current world champion and No3 seed David Palmer in the other
semi-final. The Australian was leading England's Lee Beachill 13-15 15-12
15-4 when the eighth seed retired from the match due to an ankle injury
sustained in the second game. Beachill's exit marked the third successive
PSA Tour event in which the world No8 has been forced to retire with ankle
injuries.