2002 British Nationals

February 19 - The British Nationals, 2002 edition, lurched into action today at the Northern in Manchester after a bevy of withdrawals and a re-draw changed the complexion of the event.

PARKE PETERS OUT
The only interesting matchup of the first round pitted Simon Parke, who is on the road back to recovery (yet again), this time after heel surgery. Parke's opponent was junior star James Willstrop. If Simon Parke and Peter Marshall were England recent past squash hopes, and Lee Beachill the present, then James Willstrop is the future.

Facing a high-tension first rounder under intense scrutiny, Willstrop rose to the moment, dashing Parke's comeback hopes with an important 4 game victory for the young Willstrop. Willstrop now faces two very winnable matches, against Nick Matthew and potentially Nick Taylor.

Dodging the largest bullet in the re-draw, defending champion Lee Beachill quietly found himself in a much safer draw (as opposed to an early matchup with Nick Taylor) and he quickly ousted qualifier Alastair Walker.

PIZZA PARTY
Meanwhile, the potential wildcard in the event, last year's British Open finalist Chris Walker, was downed by food poisoning caused by a Pizza (what's a world class athlete doing eating pizza the night before a big match???)

The second round is void of exciting matchups. The most interesting contests tomorrow being Willstrop against Matthew, Gough against Genever, and Beachill against Meads.

WOMEN'S ACTION STARTS
On the women's side of the action, several interesting first round contests loom Wednesday. Pam Nimmo and Rebecca Macree could stage a very interesting battle, while Laura Jane Lengthorn, emerging from the junior circuit, might well prove too strong for Vicky Botwright, who has not done much on court in the past nine months.