01-Feb:
Favourite Beachill Keeps His
Distance In Nationals Draw
With five Britons in the new men's world top
ten competing in next week's British National Squash Championships,
favourite Lee Beachill will be relieved that three of them are in
the lower half of the draw announced today by the Manchester Partnership
and England Squash.
The event, it its ninth successive year in Manchester and third at the
National Squash Centre in Sportcity, will get underway with qualifying on
Sunday 6th February, with the men's first round matches taking place on
Tuesday (8th). Action moves onto the centre's famous all-glass court with
men's and women's quarter-finals from Thursday (10th), through to the
finals on Sunday (13th).
Twice winner Beachill, the world No2 from Pontefract in Yorkshire, is
seeded to reach his fifth successive National final - where he would be
expected to face fellow Englishman Peter Nicol, the second seed who
is also a two-times champion.
Beachill is drawn to face Gloucestershire's Alister Walker in the
first round - and would expect to rendezvous with fellow Yorkshireman
Nick Matthew, the fourth seed from Sheffield, in the semi-finals.
London-based Nicol, the world No4 who triumphed in last week's
Dayton Open in
the USA, meets a qualifier in the opening round - and is then likely to
meet Scotland's defending champion John White for a place in the
semi-finals. This standout potential quarter-final highlights the quality
of the British Nationals field: Like Nicol, fifth seed White is also a
former world No1 - and, also like Nicol, will arrive in Manchester fresh
from a show-stopping victory in the USA, at the
Windy City Open
in Chicago, the first major international event of the New Year.
The semi-final opponent scheduled to be waiting for the winner of Nicol
and White's quarter of the draw is James Willstrop, the
fastest-rising star of English squash who is seeded three. After taking on
a qualifier in round one, the 21-year-old from Pontefract is likely to
meet Manchester/Pontefract National League team-mate Nick Taylor in
the second round. Twice a runner-up, Taylor leads local interest in the
men's event and still remains a major threat, despite his recent
retirement to concentrate on coaching.
In the women's event, Sussex's Linda Elriani is seeded to put four
runners-up successes behind her to claim her first title in her 17th
appearance since 1987. The 33-year-old from Eastbourne, who has already
collected two WISPA titles in the USA this year, is drawn to meet a
qualifier in the first round - and is then likely to meet third seed
Jenny Tranfield, of Yorkshire, for a place in the final.
Whilst the men's draw features five former champions, only fifth seed
Fiona Geaves is a former women's title-winner. The indefatigable
37-year-old from Gloucester meets Middlesex's Dominique Lloyd-Walter
in the first round before an anticipated quarter-final clash with Elriani.
The women's No2 seed is Essex's Rebecca Macree, runner-up in 2003,
who also first meets a qualifier. Macree's scheduled opponent in the last
four is Manchester star Vicky Botwright, the world No10 who is
seeded to reach her first ever semi-final this year.
Men's 1st round draw:
[1] Lee Beachill (Yorks) v Alister Walker (Glos)
[9] Mark Chaloner (Lincs) v Scott Handley (Oxon)
[8] Alex Gough (Wales) v Qualifier
[15] Peter Barker (Essex) v Qualifier
[4] Nick Matthew (Yorks) v Qualifier
[13] Stephen Meads (Berks) v Jonathan Kemp (Shrops)
[6] Adrian Grant (Kent) v Stacey Ross (Surrey)
[16] Joey Barrington (Somerset) v Alex Stait (Glos)
[14] Peter Genever (Sussex) v Phillip Barker (Essex)
[7] Simon Parke (Yorks) v Qualifier
[10] Nick Taylor (Lancs) v Qualifier
[3] James Willstrop (Yorks) v Qualifier
[12] Bradley Ball (Suffolk) v Hadrian Stiff (Devon)
[5] John White (Scotland) v Qualifier
[11] Marcus Berrett (Yorks) v Ben Garner (Surrey)
[2] Peter Nicol (Yorks) v Qualifier
Women's 1st round draw:
[1] Linda Elriani (Sussex) v Qualifier
[5] Fiona Geaves (Glos) v Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Middx)
[3] Jenny Tranfield (Yorks) v Qualifier
[6] Jenny Duncalf (Yorks) v Laura-Jane Lengthorn (Lancs)
[8] Tania Bailey (Lincs) v Alison Waters (Middx)
[4] Vicky Botwright (Lancs) v Stephanie Brind (Kent)
[7] Madeline Perry (Ireland) v Qualifier
[2] Rebecca Macree (Essex) v Qualifier
|
MEN'S DRAW
WOMEN'S DRAW
MEN'S DRAW
WOMEN'S DRAW |
