05 December 2004	Sunday	22 Shawwal 1425

DOHA, Dec 4: Thierry Lincou, who became the first Frenchman ever to become World Open squash champion after beating the top-seeded Englishman Lee Beachill in Friday's final , believes he can stay around the top of one of the most physically demanding sports of all for at least a couple of years.

The 28-year-old Marseille-based player has come a great distance, not only from his home on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean but in terms of his development as a person and a player.

Lincou's belief that he can remain at or near the pinnacle was first communicated to the world championships master of ceremonies Robert Edwards in xusing gaffe-prone interview.

"Some players are getting older," Lincou said, trying manfully in a foreign language to describe the opportunities which may be opening up on the crest of a new wave. "Some players are finding it more difficult now."

Under pressure from the microphone, Lincou felt obliged to elaborate. "Peter Nicol is getting older," he said, falteringly, unaware that the 31-year-old former world champion from Britain was in the audience, and listening interestedly.

"He finds it difficult to play as well as he did," Lincou continued amidst laughter, and was rescued by Edwards. "I think we'll move on before you dig yourself any deeper," Edwards said, although the incident passed without rancour and in good humour.

However Lincou was correct. Jonathon Power of Canada and John White of Scotland, both recent world number ones who have turned 30, are both slipping back, and Nicol's future at the top will depend upon his being able to complete protracted training stints as he once did, something injury and exhaustion have conspicuously prevented him from doing for about 18 months.

Otherwise Beachill, aged 27, should be around for a while, though Lincou has shown that he is beatable, and the other longer-term contenders could be Anthony Ricketts of Australia, Nick Matthew of England, and Amr Shabana and Karim Darwish, the two Egyptians.

Ricketts is very fit, fast and aggressive, but has technical faults, Matthew is improving by gradual steps but lacks killer shots, Shabana is brilliant but inconsistent, and Darwish was a disappointment, losing here to the 21-year-old Englishman James Willstrop in the second round.

Lincou also has a very clear idea of how and why he is a more formidable player now than when he lost to Shabana in the 2003 World Open final in Lahore.

"I have improved immensely on the mental side of the game in a few months," he said. "And I don't mind tough confrontation. When it comes to being strong and patient I've come to realise that I can overcome the other players.

"We are making efforts at managing mental strength, because at crucial times your concentration must be flawless."

But Lincou acknowledges that this crucial improvement would not have been possible without others. "I would have never won the title without my coaches and especially without my strength - the person who supported me through the bad times, my wife," he says.

But while enoying the thought that this has opened up new possibilities, Lincou will allow himself just a short time to appreciate the history he has created, the history which may strengthen his self-belief still more.

"Well it's just wonderful," he said. "I'm walking on clouds. It's been mad ever since the final was over. I have not stopped. It's just magic to win the world championships for myself and for France for the first time."-AFP