Nicol Topples Top Seed In 'Brutal' British Open Quarter-Final

England's Peter Nicol will meet Australian Anthony Ricketts in Sunday's Dunlop British Open semi-finals after toppling top seed Thierry Lincou in what he described as a "brutal match". The former Scot and five-times finalist upset the world No1 from France 11-6 8-11 11-7 11-7 in a 74-minute marathon at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

The other men's semi-final will feature Canada's fourth seed Jonathon Power and England's No7 seed James Willstrop - while the women's last four line-up will pitch Australia's defending champion Rachael Grinham against third-seeded Malaysian Nicol David, and Rachael's younger sister Natalie Grinham, the fourth seed, against England's eighth seed Tania Bailey.

Despite being ranked five places below Lincou, fifth seed Nicol was celebrating his tenth successive major event win over the Frenchman - but conceded that "every match with Thierry is so close".

The 32-year-old from London is enjoying a renaissance in his career since slipping from the top of the world rankings a year ago - and is now focussed on a third successive gold medal at next year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

"This is the best I've played since the English Open (in August) by a long way," explained Nicol, a twice winner of the sport's most prestigious title. "For me, playing well is more important than winning - though I do want to win this trophy for a third time."

When asked why Nicol seems to be his nemesis, world champion Lincou replied: "I think he wants to do well against me because I'm French!"

Ricketts, the sixth seed from Sydney, coasted to an 11-2 11-8 11-5 victory over Ong Beng Hee, avenging the Malaysian's defeat of his Aussie team-mate David Palmer, the defending champion, in the previous round.

"I wanted to get off to a quick start, and not allow him to carry on from where he left off in his earlier match," said Ricketts, in the semi-finals for the second time. "That worked well, and I plan to play a similar game against Peter tomorrow, though I'm sure it will be even more intense."

In a high-paced match, Jonathon Power defeated Scotland's eighth seed John White 11-4 11-6 11-4 in 45 minutes. After surviving a 70-minute second round marathon with France's Gregory Gaultier, the Canadian was glad to get the match over in straight games.

"John is always tricky, and nobody else plays at his speed. I like to play fast but he's something else," said Power, who has just risen to No2 in the world. "Considering I had such a tough game yesterday, I felt I was moving well. In the third he was getting frustrated."

While White was disappointed with the outcome, the former British Open finalist was pleased with his overall performance in the tournament. "Jonathon's playing well and back on form, which has taken him to two in the world. He's putting it together on a squash court which he hasn't done for a while," explained the former world No1.

"But my confidence is back and I'm now looking forward to putting in good performances at the Motor City Open in Detroit and the US Open in Boston next month."

In the last match of the night, James Willstrop delighted his Manchester fans by fighting back from a game down to beat Australian qualifier Stewart Boswell, the former world No4 who is enjoying a sensational comeback run since recovering from a mystery back ailment.

"To be in the semi-finals of the British Open for the first time is such a thrill," said the 22-year-old Yorkshireman who will be the youngest men's semi-finalist by more than four years. "It's a huge event, and I always dreamed about playing in the closing stages.

"But I really had to work at it - Stewart played magnificently and I have nothing but enormous admiration for the way he has come back, as if he has never been away," added the former world junior champion.

The 27-year-old from Canberra - the only qualifier to reach the men's quarter-finals - was understandably disappointed with the outcome: "But if someone had told me at the beginning of the year that I'd be playing in the quarter-finals of the British Open before the year was out, I'd have thought they were mad," said the comeback king.

Earlier, Australia's top seed Rachael Grinham kept alive her hopes of winning the women's title for a third successive year by beating England's seventh seed Jenny Duncalf 5-9 9-4 9-6 9-1 in 60 minutes.

"I had trouble getting the ball tight in the first game and Jenny played really well," said the world number one afterwards. "She and the other English girls are obviously used to this court - look at all the upsets they've caused this week - but I definitely find it punishing.

"You've got to be playing 100% to win this title, and I don't think I'm quite there yet - but generally I have been playing a lot better recently since taking a long six-week break in the summer," explained the 28-year-old Queenslander.

Grinham will meet Malaysia's third seed Nicol David, who fought from two games down to beat local favourite Vicky Botwright 8-10 7-9 9-1 9-1 9-2 in 71 minutes.

"She was so relaxed in those first two games and I just didn't feel comfortable," said the relieved Malaysian, who lost the last two meetings with Botwright in straight games. "In the third game, though, I managed to get control.

"I guess it's also because it's the British Open, so mentally it's quite tough - and this is the first time I've been expected to reach the semi-finals, which I've never done before, so all the pressure was on me," explained the world No3 from Penang.

Botwright was downcast at her quarter-final exit in front of a loyal home crowd: "I let her get too good a start in the third game - but the biggest disappointment was to lose from a 2/0 lead," explained the world number seven from Manchester.

The other semi-final will feature Australia's Natalie Grinham and England's sole survivor Tania Bailey, from Lincolnshire. Both beat English qualifiers in 45 minutes, fourth seed Grinham putting out Lancashire's Laura-Jane Lengthorn 9-5 9-7 9-4, and eighth seed Bailey defeating her good friend Alison Waters, from London, 9-3 9-4 10-8.

Grinham junior, who was given a walkover in the previous round, confessed to 'first round nerves' in her quarter-final victory over the 21-year-old from Preston. After a major upset in the previous round over fifth seed Natalie Grainger, Lengthorn was disappointed not to have at least taken a game from her higher-ranked opponent.

"But what I learned from this match is that more experienced players are able to push at the important points," said Lengthorn. "It's really hard to be disappointed overall - as I've just played in the last eight of the British Open, yet I've never even reached the National Championships' quarter-finals before!"

Tania Bailey knew she would have a tough battle with Waters: "Last time we played, she beat me in the National Championships on this court, and has just gone from strength to strength since then. After all my setbacks over the past few years, I feel at last as if I'm playing as well as I ever did, especially after a good hard training period over the summer.

"Having reached the final on this very court three years ago, I'd love to get back there this year," added Bailey.

Men's quarter-finals:
[5] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 (74m)
[6] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [15] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
[4] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [8] John White (SCO) 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 (45m)
[7] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [Q] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 10-11 (1-3), 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (62m)

Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [7] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 5-9, 9-4, 9-6, 9-1 (60m)
[3] Nicol David (MAS) bt [6] Vicky Botwright (ENG) 8-10, 7-9, 9-1, 9-1, 9-2 (71m)
[4] Natalie Grinham (AUS) bt [Q] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) 9-5, 9-7, 9-4 (45m)
[8] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt [Q] Alison Waters (ENG) 9-3, 9-4, 10-8 (45m)