12-Sep:
Palmer Targets
US Open History

Australia's second seed David Palmer says he's confident of becoming the first person in the history of the US Open Squash Championship to successfully defend the title when he opens his campaign in the $52,500 tournament in Boston on Saturday (13 September).

The 2003 event will be staged on an all-glass squash court at the Boston Symphony Hall - twelve months after the Open became the first-ever sporting event to be staged at the world-famous 101-year-old concert hall.

World champion Palmer faces a qualifier in the opening round and if he reaches the final is seeded to face world No1 and three-times champion Peter Nicol on September 16. The world No2 defeated the Englishman in the semi-finals last year on his way to his first US Open title.

Palmer, from Lithgow in New South Wales, says that he is fully recovered from the March appendix operation and its resultant complications that sidelined him for several months, and is eager to defend his crown.

"It was a long road back but I am now back to training fully again and I am going into the US Open as defending champion and feel I have a very good chance of retaining it," said Palmer, who beat the currently-injured Australian Stewart Boswell in last year's final.

"I will be just taking one match at a time but it would be very satisfying and a confidence booster if I were to win the Open," said the Belgium-based Aussie.

"After playing the English Open last month and coming out of it injury and pain free was the main thing. Reaching the semi-finals with no match practice under the belt was a good result and I feel I am on my way back to where I was before the operation."

Palmer believes his hardest match would be against Scotland's third seed John White, whom he has beaten in their past five clashes since 2001, albeit four of them in five games.

"He is the in-form player at the moment, having won both the PSA Masters and English Open titles," Palmer pointed out. "Regaining the No1 ranking is still one of my goals for the year and it's possible if I win the US and British Opens that I would go to No1."

Jahangir Khan of Pakistan boasts two US Open titles (85 & 88), fellow countryman Jansher Khan three (87, 90 & 95), Rodney Martin of Australia two (89 & 91), Rodney Eyles, also of Australia, two (93 & 96), Peter Nicol three (94, 98 & 01) and Canada's Jonathon Power two (97 & 00). Although the US Open was first held in 1954, it only became a "softball" event in 1985, in the process attracting the world's leading players.