Men's Quarter-Finals:
[1] Peter Nicol (Eng) bt [7] Anthony Ricketts (Aus)
     15/8, 6/15, 15/11, 15/10 (62m)
[3] David Palmer (Aus) bt [8] Lee Beachill (Eng)
     13/15, 15/12, 15/4  rtd  (65m)
[6] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [4] John White (Sco)
      11/15,12/15, 15/9, 15/12, 15/6 (84m)
[2] Jonathon Power (Can) bt [5] Stewart Boswell (Aus)
      8/15, 15/5,15/5, 15/8 (57m)

Lincou lashes White as
top three progress
Beth Rasin reports from New York
The best was saved for last in the quarterfinal round of the Harrisdirect Tournament of Champions as Frenchman Thierry Lincou came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat #4 seed John White and advance to a semifinal meeting with defending champion Jonathon Power.

At 10-8 in the third game, Lincou hit a behind-the-back winner that thrilled the crowd and gave him a burst of confidence to push forward and win the game 15-9. "From that point on, I became more and more confident and a bit more aggressive, " said Lincou. "In the first two games, John didn't give me many openings - his drops were too tight. I knew that I needed to stay on court as long as possible and stay on his backhand to have a chance to win the match."

Eighty-four minutes after the start of the match, Lincou found himself in his first semifinal since last year's British Open.

Jonathon Power was off to a slow start in his match against Australian Stewart Boswell, who took the first game of the match at 15-8 after a string of unforced errors by the defending champion. Boswell reciprocated in the second game with his own run of tins, allowing Power to regroup and take command of the match.

World #1 Peter Nicol found himself in a scrappy match with seventh seed Anthony Rickett who snared the second game but was ultimately done in by Nicol's length and pace. "I don't think either of us played very well," said Ricketts. "But you can't give Peter Nicol any easy shots and I did tonight."

Nicol will meet current world champion and #3 seed David Palmer in the other semifinal match. Palmer was leading #8 Lee Beachill 2-1 when Beachill retired from the match due to an ankle injury sustained in the third game.

Beachill's exit marked the third successive PSA Tour event in which the world No8 has been forced to retire with ankle injuries.

   Schedule of play  Wed 26th, 2003
   18.00 [2] Natalie Pohrer (Usa) v [7] Cassie Jackman (Eng)
   19.00 [1] Peter Nicol (Eng) v [3] David Palmer (Aus)
   20.00 [1] Carol Owens (Nzl) v [6] Tania Bailey (Eng)
   21.00 [2] Jonathon Power (Can) v [6] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
   (First match 23.00 UK)
 

White & Lincou

Nicol & Ricketts

Spectators in Grand Central
Photo by Rachael Grinham
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