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PSA PLAYER BIOGRAPHY Name: David Palmer Country: Australia Date of Birth: 28 June 1976 Height: 1.88m Place of Birth: Lithgow, NSW Place of Residence: Antwerp, Belgium Current World Ranking (Feb 05): 3 Highest World Ranking (Sep 01): 1 National Ranking: 1 PSA Titles: 15 PSA Final Appearances: 32 |
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David Palmer came of age in 2001. The Belgian-based Aussie swept through the British Open field at the NIA in Birmingham in June to become the first Australian for twenty years to claim the sport’s most established title. Then in August – in his fifth successive PSA Tour final appearance of the year – he claimed his debut Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open title. His phenomenal consistency earned him the ultimate reward the following month when he deposed Peter Nicol to become world No1 for the first time on 1st September. The 27-year-old from Lithgow in New South Wales joined the PSA in 1994 and won four successive PSA Tour titles in 1997. After his PSA success in 2001, Palmer turned his attention on the World Team Championships, and led hosts Australia to a 3-0 victory over title-holders England in the semi-finals, then took the trophy with a 3-0 win over Egypt in the final in Melbourne. Palmer enjoyed an excellent year in 2002 – winning his first Super Series Finals title in June in London (beating defending champion Peter Nicol in the semis, then Thierry Lincou in the final) and a month later picking up bronze medals in both the singles and men’s doubles in the Commonwealth Games in England. But victories in the US Open and South African Challenge later in the year led to his crowning glory – success in his first World Open in front of a local supporters in his adopted home town of Antwerp in Belgium. Seeded three, he made his breakthrough after beating Jonathon Power in the semi-finals, then – in one of the most dramatic comebacks of all-time – fought back from 0-2 down to overcome Scotland’s John White 13-15 12-15 15-6 15-14 15-11 in the final Palmer had a disappointing start to 2003, after being laid low by complications following the removal of his appendix in Bermuda in February. After reaching the semi-finals of the Tournament of Champions in New York in February, he was absent from the PSA Tour until his comeback at the English Open in June. Back to his best by September, David reached the US Open final (where he lost to Nicol) before crossing the Atlantic to secure his second British Open title in October, this time beating the English world No1 in the final in Nottingham After an indifferent start in 2004, Palmer progressed two round beyond his seeding in the inaugural five-star Bermuda Open in March – beating No2 seed Peter Nicol in the quarter-finals and Jonathon Power in a five-game marathon in the semis. In the final, spurred on by his new adopted ‘home’ fans on the British colony island where he is now based, Palmer battled hard against fourth seed Lee Beachill, but eventually went down to the Englishman in straight games. He reached the PSA Masters final in Qatar the following month, beating John White and Lee Beachill - but it was back in England in November that he joined a select band of three-times British Open champions when he successfully defended his title in Nottingham, defeating world champion Amr Shabana in four games in the final. A heavy December schedule saw Palmer reach the World Open semi-finals in Qatar, then the quarter-finals of the Pakistan Open in Islamabad (where he lost out to Jonathon Power), before moving into World Doubles Championships action in India where (with Anthony Ricketts) he reached the semi-finals of the Men's event and (with Rachael Grinham) claimed the Mixed title. After marrying Melinda in January 2005, David rejoined the PSA Tour in February's Tournament of Champions in New York, where he made it to the semi-finals after overcoming Jonathon Power in a 93-minute quarter-final. |
DAVID PALMER TOURNAMENT SUCCESSES: Feb 05 Semi-finalist *Tournament of Champions USA Dec 04 Winner #Mixed World Doubles Championship IND Dec 04 Semi-finalist #World Doubles Championship IND Dec 04 Quarter-finalist *Pakistan Open PAK Dec 04 Semi-finalist *World Open QAT Nov 04 Winner British Open ENG Sep 04 Semi-finalist US Open USA Sep 04 Semi-finalist Hong Kong Open HKG Apr 04 Runner-up *PSA Masters QAT Mar 04 Runner-up Bermuda Open BER Feb 04 2nd round Tournament of Champions USA Jan 04 1st round Kuwait Open KUW Dec 03 3rd round *World Open PAK Dec 03 Quarter-finalist *Qatar Classic QAT Nov 03 Runner-up Canadian Classic CAN Nov 03 Quarter-finalist *Canadian Open CAN Oct 03 (Australia No1) #World Team Championships AUT Oct 03 Winner British Open ENG Sep 03 Runner-up US Open USA Aug 03 Semi-finalist Prince English Open ENG Feb 03 Semi-finalist *Tournament of Champions USA Dec 02 Winner *World Open BEL Nov 02 Runner-up *Qatar Classic QAT Oct 02 Winner South African Challenge RSA Sep 02 Winner US Open USA Sep 02 Semi-finalist *Hong Kong Open HKG Aug 02 Bronze medallist #Commonwealth Games Men’s Doubles ENG Jul 02 Bronze medallist #Commonwealth Games Men’s Singles ENG Jun 02 Winner *Super Series Finals ENG Apr 02 Semi-finalist *PSA Masters QAT Mar 02 Semi-finalist *Pakistan Open PAK Nov 01 Quarter-finalist YMG Capital Classic CAN Oct 01 (Champion team) #World Team Championships AUS Oct 01 Runner-up *Qatar Classic QAT Sep 01 Semi-finalist *Al-Ahram International EGY Aug 01 Winner *Hong Kong Open HKG Jun 01 Runner-up *Super Series Finals ENG Jun 01 Winner *British Open ENG May 01 Runner-up Irish Open IRL Apr 01 Runner-up *PSA Masters EGY Feb 01 Semi-finalist *Flanders Open BEL Dec 00 Quarter-finalist YMG Capital Classic CAN Nov 00 Semi-finalist Florida Open USA Nov 00 Quarter-finalist US Open USA Oct 00 Winner Motor City Open USA Oct 00 Semi-finalist *British Open ENG Aug 00 Quarter-finalist *Al-Ahram International EGY Mar 00 Semi-finalist Irish Open IRL Nov 99 Runner-up Pittsburgh Open USA Oct 99 Runner-up Motor City Open USA Oct 99 Winner CAS International PAK May 99 Runner-up Clermont-Ferrand Open FRA May 99 Winner Mega Italia Open ITA Apr 99 Runner-up Finnish Open FIN Aug 98 Runner-up Geoff Hunt Aus. Satellite AUS Nov 97 Winner Philadelphia Open USA Sep 97 Winner Rio International BRA Sep 97 Winner Chile Open CHI Aug 97 Winner Ecuador Open ECU Aug 97 Runner-up Cali Open COL Aug 96 Runner-up Head Satellite No1 MAS Sep 95 Runner-up Kleenheat Open AUS 1994 Winner #Australian Junior (U-19) Nationals AUS # non-PSA * Super Series event |