BACK
IN KUWAIT
The second edition of the Sheihka Al Saad Kuwait Open is
back, bigger and better than 2004, with a $65k men's event
featuring all the top men plus a $43k WISPA Gold event.
The event will celebrate the life of Sheikha Al Saad Al-Sabah,
who died on the 2nd February 2003 at the age of just 38.The
tournament will be a sporting memorial to a remarkable woman, who
was herself a first class squash player. The popular Sheikha was
Managing Director of International Marketing KPC and a member of the
Kuwaiti royal family, deeply committed to her country.
Deja Vu for ToC stars
Defending champions Peter Nicol and Rachael Grinham
are back, and both will be looking to put disappointments in New
York behind them.
Nicol finds himself in the same quarter as ToC champion Anthony
Ricketts, who ended his run of 10 successive ToC semi-finals,
and the winner from there is scheduled to meet top seed Thierry
Lincou.
Second seed Lee Beachill may get an early chance of ToC
revenge over Amr Shabana, as the pair are also scheduled to
meet in the quarters.
Grinham too faces the prospect of Deja Vu from New York. She plays
Vicky Botwright in the first round, then most likely Linda
Elriani in the quarters in what would be a repeat of their ToC
semi-final.
Vanessa Atkinson, fresh from victory in New York, faces a
qualifier and then an English Jenny - Tranfield or Duncalf. |
 SquashSite
will be
bringing you full coverage from Kuwait, with Framboise on site for
the duration ...
02-Mar-05:
MATTHEW BACKS OUT
 In
last week's Tournament of Champions in New York, a back injury
caused Nick Matthew to concede his quarter-final match against
Thierry Lincou midway through the third game. "The same injury has
reoccurred a few times now, so it's a case of having a month or so
of strengthening and rehab work before I'll be 100%," Matthew told
the PSA today.
In a reseeding of the event, and a revised draw, Egypt's Karim
Darwish is elevated to eighth seed and will now face England's
Adrian Grant in the first round. Malaysian Ong Beng Hee comes into
the draw and will take on England's sixth seed James Willstrop. |
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Preview
