Men's Final:
  [1] Peter Nicol bt [3] Lee Beachill
       7-15, 15-11, 15-9, 12-15, 15-8 (93m)

Women's Final:
  [3] Cassie Jackman bt [4] Rebecca Macree 
       9-6, 4-9, 9-4, 9-3 (68m)

Nicol & Jackman clinch National titles
Howard Harding reports

Malcolm Willstrop on the finals

Nicol takes the title from Beachill
Peter Nicol reclaimed the National title from Lee Beachill in a thrilling five-game final, denying Beachill a record third consecutive title.

"It was tough," said Nicol at the end. We both controlled parts of the game, but I managed to control a little more of it than Lee, and in the end he ran out of steam a little."

Beachill controlled the first game, putting Nicol under pressure particularly on his backhand, and forced enough errors from Nicol to take the lead.

Nicol came back strongly though, taking the next two games before it was Beachill's turn to regain control in the fourth, hitting two glorious winners to ease away from 12-11 to game ball.

There was little sign of the chopping winners that Beachill used to such effect on Nicol last year though, and in the fifth it was Nicol exerting the pressure again. He eased away to establish an 11-8 lead before Beachill, desperate to retain the title in front of a noisy Pontefract crowd, threw in two errors to help Nicol reach match ball, before taking his second title in four finals.

"I hadn't done the work before the worlds to perform at my best," said Nicol, "and a hard game with Anthony Ricketts took its toll on me. I had a good break over Christmas and New Year and I've worked to build up strength in my ankle and leg. I'm 100% fit now, so it should stand me in good stead for New York next week where I need to do well to retain the number one spot."

Just Champion for Cassie
Cassie Jackman claimed a remarkable record-equalling fifth National title, beating Rebecca Macree in fine style just two months after stepping back onto court after a second career-threatening back operation.

It was a tough, physical match, with 67 decisions, but never descended to the level of yesterday's semi-final. Jackman kept Macree pegged into the back corners for much of the match, an too the first game, pulling away from 5-6 down.

Macree won the second, during which Jackman ran into Macree chasing a ball and collapsed on the court. No treatment was required, but Macree went on to take the game and after Jackman received some stretching treatment during the game interval she Jackman regained control to take the final two games to retain the title.

"This is bloody brilliant," she told the crowd afterwards. "If anyone told me two months ago that I'd even be competing in this event I would have been pleased, but to win it is just fantastic."

Jackman was pleased with her game too. "I've been moving well all week, and it went according to plan today. I knew I needed to keep Rebecca deep and wait for opportunities, she's got good shots if you go short too much. She changed her game and attacked more in the second, but apart from that it all went pretty well."

Nicol takes the title

Age Group Finalists

NICOL & JACKMAN CLINCH NATIONAL TITLES
Howard Harding reports

World No1 Peter Nicol and former world No1 Cassie Jackman claimed the British National Squash titles at the National Squash Centre in Manchester in style today after titanic tussles on the all-glass showcourt which hosted the Commonwealth Games action last summer.

Top seed Nicol, who first won the title in 1996 as a Scot, faced his Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning partner Lee Beachill in a repeat of the 2002 final which Beachill won to become the first player in history to successfully defend the men's title.

The 25-year-old title-holder from Pontefract took the opening game, but was pegged back by Nicol who then went 2-1 up.  Spurred on by a sell-out crowd boosted by a highly-vocal group of supporters from his Pontefract club, Beachill levelled the match - but Nicol's greater experience eventually showed through as the former world champion stormed to a 7-15 15-11 15-9 12-15 15-8 victory in 94 minutes - fittingly the longest match of the championships.

"It was tough - I controlled bits, then he did, but in the end I think he just ran out of steam," said the new champion from London.  "It was a great final, and with Lee you always know it's going to be fairly contested - but I'm delighted to be the champion again," Nicol added.

The women's final was also one of the longest of the week, in which Norfolk's defending champion Cassie Jackman equalled the record of five titles when she beat unexpected opponent Rebecca Macree, from Essex, 9-6 4-9 9-4 9-3 in 67 minutes.

In the semi-finals, both players upset higher-seeded opponents, Cassie the No2 seed Tania Bailey and Macree the favourite Linda Charman.

"If somebody had told me a few months ago that I'd be in this year's Nationals final, I would have thought they were stark raving mad," said the 30-year-old from Norwich who underwent her second career-threatening back operation last September.  "I still can't believe it - I'm moving so much better than I was after the first operation and haven't had any problems at all.

"Winning the Nationals at the beginning of the year sets you up for the year ahead, so I am now looking forward even more to my first major WISPA event next week in New York, the Tournament of Champions," added Jackman after her fourth successive title win in her sixth final in a row.