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By Ron Beck Aug 30 - The PSA tour brings its exciting roadshow to Hong Kong this week in the start of the 2004-05 Pro Squash Campaign.  The English Open had the possibility to be the tour opener; however, the promoters were not given permission to use the new 11-point scoring and the event, for all intents and purposes became an all-English event, with important stars such as Jonathon Power, David Palmer, Amr Shabana, Joe Kneipp and Thierry Lincou passing on the event in favor of Hong Kong.

The excitement surrounding the pro tour this fall can be summed up in one word: parity.

The long running Peter Nicol - Jonathon Power rivalry, which has enjoyed a ten-year run and stands at 18 matches for Nicol, 17 for Power, may well be continued this year. But standing in the way of those two great players meeting each other in the latter stages of this year's events will be a large group of pretenders to the top position, each of which can stake a legitemate claim.

There is Peter Nicol, current number one but showing serious signs of endurance and fitness issues in the latter stages of tournaments. England's Lee Beachill at #2 has had a solid six months of strong performances. Can he, though, avoid the injury-prone past which has always dogged him. There is world #3 Thierry Lincou, who has not had a really strong result since ascending to the #1 position almost nine months ago. Looking very strong is #4 David Palmer, who really spent most of last season regaining his match fitness after a difficult bout with Appendicitis. Always dangerous John White is stronger than his #5 ranking would indicate.

And lurking at #6 is the attacking genius Jonathon Power. Power, who struggled with several injuries last season, not the least of which was a broken wrist, says he has been working hard on fitness and match toughness this summer. That's possible bad news for his opponents, as Power has shown himself able to re-invent his game, virtuallly on an annual basis.

Then there is world champion Amr Shabana, at #7, who may be injury free finally at the beginning of the new campaign.

Rounding out the top contenders are Joe Kneipp, Anthony Ricketts, and James Willstrop, each of which has the confidence and the game to take out each of the players ahead of him and to move into the late stages of a major event such as Hong Kong.

[Qualifying first round results]

First Round Draw:
[1] Peter Nicol (ENG) v Wong Wai Hang (HKG)
Adrian Grant (ENG) v [Q] Mohd Azlan Iskander (Mal)
Nick Matthew (ENG) v Dan Jenson (AUS)
[10] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v [Q] Bradley Ball (Eng)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) v [Q] Wael El Hindi (Egy)
[14] Omar El Borolossy (EGY) v [Q] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
[6] Jonathon Power (CAN) v [Q] Philip Barker (Eng)
[11] Joe Kneipp (AUS) v Graham Ryding (CAN)
[13] James Willstrop (ENG) v Renan Lavigne (FRA)
[7] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [Q] Simon Parke (Eng)
[12] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) v Paul Price (AUS)
[3] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v [Q] Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
[15] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) v Ong Beng Hee (MAS)
[5] John White (SCO) v [Q] Peter Barker (Eng)
[9] Karim Darwish (EGY) v Mansoor Zaman (PAK)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) v Mark Chaloner (ENG)

( Tournament reports last updated 31-aug-04 11:57 )

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