December 17, 2003	Wednesday	Shawwal 22, 1424

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LAHORE, Dec 16: World No 1 Peter Nicol of England bowed out of the World Open Squash Championship, losing to little known David Bianchetti of Italy in a second round match on Tuesday.

Ranked 35, Bianchetti staged a marvellous comeback after going down 2-0 to win 11-15, 12-15, 15-7, 15-4, 15-10 in 67 minutes.

“I was dead tired. But it was not the only reason behind my defeat. He (Bianchetti) also played extremely well,” said Nicol in his brief chat after the match.

“It is the biggest day of my life as I succeeded in beating a star player for the first time in six-year career,” Bianchetti said, who left the court in a hurry to ring up his parents.

“My parents were watching the score through internet and they were very much delighted,” Bianchetti said, adding that soccer was still his favourite game and he was improving in squash.

Nicol, despite winning the first two games remained under threat as Bianchetti matched the score at various stages. He displayed a variety of strokes to clinch the games but Bianchetti came back strongly. Nicol started showing signs of fatigue as the match progressed.

Nicol was down 7-3 in the fourth game as he was seen gasping for breath eventually losing the game 15-4.

He tried to make a comeback in the fifth game, but, Bianchetti executed drop shots skillfully to take 3-0 lead. Nicol not only levelled the score but went ahead 6-4. Thereafter, Bianchetti remained in front.

The Italian made it 8-6 when Nicol failed to return a back hand shot and then hit the board. Bianchetti also hit the board as Nicol came closer 7-8. But Nicol hit the board twice and again missed a shot to allow Bianchetti take 11-7 lead. Bianchetti earned two more winners to advance to 13-9.

Nicol’s last success came when referee Yawar Islam called “no let” after a long rally that made the score 10-13.

Bianchetti returned a shot which hit Nicol in the head to make score line 14-10. He eventually earned the win with a nick to stun Nicol.

Nicol’s defeat made the tournament more colourless after another top player, Jonathan Power of Canada, had to pull out due to injury he sustained in Qatar Open.

However, it raised the chances for defending champion David Palmer of Australia to win the world’s most prestigious title for the second consecutive time.

Palmer had an easy win to enter the pre-quarterfinals when he thrashed 27th seed M. Azlan Iskandar of Malaysia 15-8, 15-9, 15-11 in just 33 minutes.

Pakistan’s hopes were dashed when 16th seed Mansoor Zaman lost to 24th ranked Olli Tuominen of Finland 11-15, 15-10, 15-8, 17-15.

Mansoor was a point away from extending the match into fifth game when he took 14-10 lead in the fourth game. However, he lost his rhythm as Tuominen fought with his back to the wall.

Mansoor hit the board twice to make it 14-12. He conceded two more points at this crucial stage and allowed Tuominen to level the score at 14-all. Mansoor lost temper for a while but found his composure soon.

Mansoor again took lead at 15-14. But Tuominen grabbed the next three point to make the last 16.

“I have beaten Mansoor 3-1 in Qatar Open and so I was confident for my win. I forced him to play in the back area and he made errors and I got the advantage,” Tuominen said after the match.

Mansoor said that he was not used of playing at this court which was fast one.

“I had played my early matches at the PSA Complex but this court is very fast and I could not adjust myself here,” Mansoor said.

In a well-contested match, Gregory Gualtier of France beat World No 10 Rodney Durbach (Russia) 15-10, 5-15, 15-11, 10-15, 15-11. The match lasted for 87 minutes and was the longest match of the competition.

In another keenly contested tie, Karim Darwish (Egypt) halted the march of James Wilstrope of England after 70 minutes. The score being 15-11, 15-13, 8-15, 7-15, 15-9.

Results:

Anthony Rickets (Australia) bt Wael El Hindi (Egypt) 15-5, 15-6, 15-10; Mohamed Abbas (Egypt) bt Simon Parke (England) 5-15, 15-7, 15-7, 15-, 15-5; Gregory Gualtier (France) bt Rodney Durbach (Russia) 15-10, 5-15, 15-11, 10-15, 15-11; Ollituominen (Finland) bt Mansoor Zaman (Pak) 11-15, 15-10, 15-8, 17-15; David Palmer (Australia) bt M Azlan Iskandar (Malaysia) 15-8, 15-9, 15-11; David Bianchetti (Italy) bt Peter Nicol (England) 11-15, 12-15, 15-7, 15-4, 15-10.; Karim Darwish (Egypt) bt James Wilstrope (England) 15-11, 15-13, 8-15, 7-15, 15-9; Amr Shabana (Egypt) bt Peter Genver (England) 15-6, 15-9, 11-15,15-7.