Nicol Masters Power In 40th Clash In Qatar

England's Peter Nicol pulled off a masterful performance in today's second round of the Qatar Men's World Open when he beat arch-rival Jonathon Power in four games in the Qatar capital Doha.

The victory, in their 40th professional clash, came less than two weeks after the Canadian beat Nicol on home soil in the Canadian Classic in Toronto - and just over a month after the Englishman (pictured) sustained an ankle injury which caused his withdrawal from the British Open in Nottingham.

It was a battle between two former champions, and a repeat of the World Open final on the same court six years ago which gave Power the title for the first time. Power, the ninth seed, took the opening game - but third seed Nicol came back to overwhelm his rival and take the match 7-11 11-8 11-5 11-4 in 62 minutes.

"I am really pleased with the way I played," Nicol told www.squashnow.com after the match. "I had some doubts about whether I could get back to my old standard of play, about regaining that level of fitness, about the ankle standing up to things. I think I can put those aside now. I can still play a bit and I do have some touch with the racket.

"To be able to shape a match like this on a court like this is pretty demanding. I have put in a lot of court time since Canada. I work at Lambs Club these days in London and there have been a lot of 40-minute sessions with the guys there over the past couple of weeks," explained Nicol, who celebrated his 60th month as world No1 in September.

Nicol now meets another Canadian Graham Ryding, who defeated Welsh qualifier Alex Gough 11-10 11-5 11-3 in 42 minutes.

Egypt's defending champion Amr Shabana despatched fellow countryman Mohammed Abbas 11-7 11-5 5-11 11-6 in 45 minute to set up a meeting with his predecessor David Palmer, the 2002 champion from Australia, who beat England's Adrian Grant 11-5 11-4 11-7.

England's Pontefract club-mates Lee Beachill and James Willstrop will meet on the PSA Tour for the third time in four months in the World Open quarter-finals in Qatar after significant second round victories today. Beachill, the top seed and world No1, beat tenth-seeded Australian Joseph Kneipp 11-10 11-6 11-4 in 46 minutes while Willstrop, the 12th seed, upset fellow former world junior champion Karim Darwish, the eighth seed from Egypt 6-11 11-6 11-7 11-7 in 54 minutes.

There were two notable upsets in the women's pecking order in England in the last sixteen matches in the Women's Qatar Classic. Vicky Botwright, the 13th seed, achieved her first ever victory over fellow Englishwoman Linda Elriani, beating the sixth seed 9-2 9-7 9-4 in 43 minutes. Meanwhile seventh-seeded veteran Fiona Geaves, the two-times British Open Over-35 champion, was abruptly shown the door when beaten 9-3 9-6 9-5 in 35 minutes by new England recruit Jenny Duncalf, the 11th seed.

2nd round:
[1] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [10] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) 11-10 (4-2), 11-6, 11-4 (46m)
[12] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [8] Karim Darwish (EGY) 6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (54m)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) bt [13] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (44m)
[6] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [16] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 11-7, 11-5, 5-11, 11-6 (45m)
Graham Ryding (CAN) bt [Q] Alex Gough (WAL) 11-10 (2-0), 11-5, 11-3 (42m)
[3] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [9] Jonathon Power (CAN) 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (62m)
[14] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-5, 2-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5 (50m)
[2] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [11] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6 (54m)

Women's Qatar Classic, Doha, Qatar
2nd round:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [12] Jenny Tranfield (ENG) w/o
[13] Vicky Botwright (ENG) bt [6] Linda Elriani (ENG) 9-2, 9-7, 9-4 (43m)
[4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [14] Shelley Kitchen (NZL) 9-6, 9-4, 9-0 (38m)
[8] Nicol David (MAS) bt [16] Madeline Perry (IRL) 5-9, 9-5, 3-9, 9-7, 9-0 (55m)
[5] Natalie Grainger (USA) bt [9] Rebecca Macree (ENG) 9-7, 10-8, 2-9, 5-9, 9-2 (64m)
[3] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [15] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 9-5, 9-0, 9-0 (30m)
[11] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt [7] Fiona Geaves (ENG) 9-3, 9-6, 9-5 (35m)
[2] Cassie Jackman (ENG) bt Annelize Naude (NED) 9-4, 9-3, 9-2 (26m)