HONG KONG, Sept 2: World number one Peter Nicol became the biggest casualty at the US$100,000 Hong Kong Open squash, losing to unheralded compatriot Adrian Grant in a five-game second-round encounter on Thursday.
Nicol, who struggled to beat local hope Wong Wai-hang in his opening round fixture, met his match as Grant registered a titanic 9-11, 11-5, 11-10 (2-0), 8-11, 11-6 victory on the Hong Kong Park Sports Centre's pro-court.
The 16th-ranked Grant had never beaten a player of Nicol's calibre, but the win is sure to boost his confidence in a tournament filled with star players. "This is my biggest win without a doubt," said a delighted Grant, 23, after his 53-minute upset win put him in the quarter-finals.
"I played a few of these big tournaments and even medium-size tournaments. I have played against these guys for a few years and even though I lost, I felt that they outplayed me because I showed too much respect to them. It was more of a confidence thing, not believing that I could compete," said Grant.
"Peter Nicol has always been my favourite player. I've idolised him and I think he's the best player ever. I played him in practice matches, but that's nothing to PSA (Professional Squash Association) matches in a big scene like this."
Nicol said he didn't feel comfortable on the temporary court in the big arena, but that Grant deserved to win. "I didn't feel relaxed. The only time I felt I was winning points is when I was playing really fast pace and he went with me. But as soon as he started playing, he controlled the rallies. It was a bit frustrating because I felt I didn't play squash. It was just run and hit. I didn't feel comfortable playing on that court at all," said Nicol.
While Nicol was sent packing in the tournament, other top-ranked players moved safely through to quarterfinals. Fourth-ranked David Palmer of Australia dropped the opening game but still proved too strong for Egypt's Hisham Mohd Ashour 10-11, (0-2), 11-4, 11-5, 11-9; sixth-ranked Jonathon Power of Canada outplayed Australia's Joseph Kniepp 11-2, 11-9, 11-10 (8-6), while second-ranked Lee Beachill of England powered past Egypt's Karim Darwish 11-9, 10-11 (0-2), 11-7, 11-6.
Earlier, Nicol defending Hong Kong Open squash champion, launched new PSA World Tour scoring era of point-a-rally to 11 into main round play with adroit skill beating his opponent, Hong Kong No1 Wong Wai Hang 11-4 11-8 8-11 11-5 in 38 minutes. -AFP
