Gaultier Brings Down The Curtain On Peter Nicol's Career

The mighty career of British squash hero Peter Nicol was brought to a close this evening at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield where he was beaten in his final appearance on home soil by rising French star Gregory Gaultier in the semi-finals of the Mamut English Open, hosted by Sheffield City Council.

Seventh seed Gaultier will face compatriot Thierry Lincou, the No2 seed, in the first all-French PSA Tour final outside France on Saturday after Lincou came through his semi-final against Lee Beachill when the Englishman was forced to retire during the second game after sustaining an adductor injury in his right leg.

When announcing his retirement last month, after an illustrious career spanning a decade and a half, 33-year-old Peter Nicol felt he could successfully defend the 5-star PSA Tour title he won for the first time last year.

But Gaultier, ten years younger than the four-times Commonwealth Games gold medallist from London, demonstrated the qualities which made him one of the rising stars of the international game - and, in 45 minutes of exhilarating squash, defeated the title-holder 11-5, 11-6, 11-8.

"I though I played quite well - but everything I did, Greg managed to counter," said fifth seed Nicol afterwards. "I was always struggling, always a couple of steps behind him, both tactically and physically.

"He's come on a lot. He was exceptional tonight - just too good."

Nicol, whose career includes more than 50 major international titles and a total of 60 months at the top of the world rankings, received a prolonged standing ovation from the packed Crucible crowd at the end of his historic match on the all-glass court.

"The response here has been wonderful - the crowd was very supportive, willing me on," agreed the Englishman. "And it was great to get that ovation at the end."

Nicol will play his final event of all next month in Egypt at the World Open, staged alongside the famous pyramids of Giza: "I've got some work to do over the next two weeks, to get myself up to speed. Just one last block of work before I retire," added the 1999 World Open champion.

When asked if he felt he had made the right decision to retire, Nicol said: "Yes, definitely. I'm ready to stop, without a doubt. It's time to move on."

The other Anglo/French semi-final was expected to be as dramatic as the first. But at 7-2 down in the opening game, Yorkshireman Beachill slipped badly and clearly suffered a painful injury to his right leg. The eighth seed saw out the first game and played through to the same points tally in the second game, when he conceded defeat with the score at 11-3, 7-2 in Lincou's favour.

While Gaultier is celebrating his 15th appearance in a PSA Tour final, Lincou will mark his 30th at the Crucible.

Semi-finals:
[7] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [5] Peter Nicol (ENG) 11-5, 11-6, 11-8 (45m)
[2] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [8] Lee Beachill (ENG) 11-3, 7-2 ret. (20m)