Peter Nicol withdraws due to stress fracture

10.11.00 Birmingham, SquashTalk News by M Bronstein

[also: completed men's qualifying, women's qualifying]

Squashtalk. October 11 2000

NICOL OUT OF BRITISH OPEN
On the eve of the first round, The British Open was rocked by the news that Peter Nicol had to withdraw due to a stress fracture in his right shin bone.

It was almost midnight on Tuesday when Neil Harvey, Nicol's coach, informed the organiser that the world champion and world number one from Scotland would be unable to play. He was due to play Omar El Borolossy in the first round on Wednesday at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

This is the second year running that Nicol has had his Open hopes dashed by physical ills. Last year in Aberdeen, just a few miles from his home town of Inverurie, Nicol disappointed a huge hometown crowd when he had to withdraw from the final against Jonathon Power due to severe dehydration from gastroenteritis.

This now makes Canadian Jonathon Power favourite to win the title and gives Simon Parke, the new world number three, a chance to make his first ever appearance in a British Open final, one of the few titles that he has not claimed in his long career. Parke is in the top half of the draw and Nicol's withdrawal will give him a fairly clear run with only Martin Heath of Scotland, a possible quarter-final opponent, as a realistic threat.

Nicol's latest withdrawal marks a year of injury-affected tournaments. Power had to pull out of three tournaments because of various injuries and Ahmed Barada had to withdraw from Hurghada after being wounded in an unexplained knife attack, and is only now getting back to full fitness.

Nicol's enforced absence will be a bitter disappointment to him; when he finally beat Jansher Khan in 1998 to take his first ever British Open, (and after the subsequent retirement of Khan) Nicol could expect to notch up a string of Open titles. Now he will have to wait another 12 months for a chance of winning a second title.

What has not been explained is the lateness of the announcement; this left the organisers desperately trying to contact Bradley Ball, the lucky loser whose name had been drawn out of a hat. Ball had lost to another English player, Lee Beachill in the qualifying rounds and could well have been on the way home last evening. For El Borolossy, the news came as a surprise birthday present as he celebrates his 25th birthday on October 11.