Peter Nicol Bows Out On A Century And A Half!

Amr Shabana makes his mark on the new October Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings as world number one for the seventh month. 

But more than a year before the Egyptian made his debut in the list at 262, Britain's Peter Nicol made his entry in the world top ten. 

And today, the 33-year-old from London who retired from the PSA Tour last month, makes his final appearance in the rankings at No6 – marking his 150th successive month in the world's top ten!  This record of consecutive months in the top ten is unlikely to ever be matched again in squash, due to the increasing parity in the game.
Moreover, Peter Nicol achieved this during a period of considerable pressure from a range of rivals - principally Jonathon Power and Jansher Khan but also including a wide range of top-tier players such as Peter Marshall, Simon Parke, David Palmer and Thierry Lincou, to name a few.

"I get a strange feeling when I think of this achievement – this incredible twelve-and-a-half-year journey in squash - but it's one of which I am immensely proud," said Nicol, who rounded off his professional career in September when he reach the quarter-finals of the Al-Ahram World Open in the spectacular setting by the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt - the scene of his World Open triumph in 1999.

With 49 PSA Tour titles to his name and 60 months at the top of the world rankings, Peter Nicol is one of the most successful squash players of all-time.  In March this year, he fought through a world-class field to win the singles gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, later also clinching gold in the Men's Doubles to claim his fourth Games gold medal since 1998.

"One of the vivid memories of my 14 years as CEO of the World Squash Federation came on 13 November 1993," recalls Ted Wallbutton, now the Professional Squash Association's Marketing Executive.  "I was in Doha for the Qatar International and, for the first time, saw Peter Nicol play. His huge talent was obvious and it was no surprise to me that he was in the top 10 just six months later.

"In those 150 months since then that Peter has graced the PSA top 10, he has shown flawless sportsmanship, great charm and effortless wit.  His amazing record is unique in Squash and outstanding in any sport - and he has added immeasurably to the reputation of Squash and the PSA."

Victory in the World Open sees David Palmer close the gap behind Shabana in the October list.  The second-placed Australian was knocked out of last month's semi-finals of the Dunlop British Open by Thierry Lincou, but stretches his lead above the third-placed Frenchman who ended as runner up in Nottingham.

Anthony Ricketts, the Super Series Finals champion who was a surprise first round casualty in the British Open, rises to four in the new list, overtaking England's James Willstrop.

The biggest top 20 rise is achieved by Egypt's Ramy Ashour, the record two-times world junior champion who reached the World Open quarter-finals unseeded, then made it into the semi-finals of the St Louis Open.  The 19-year-old from Cairo leaps eight places into the top 20 at No13.

The domestic rivalry between Malaysians Ong Beng Hee and Mohd Azlan Iskandar takes an unusual step in the October list, where both are neck-and-neck at No16.  Beng Hee fought through to the last eight of the British Open as a qualifier.

 

     1      [1]        Amr Shabana               EGY

     2     [2]        David Palmer                AUS

     3     [3]        Thierry Lincou             FRA

     4     [5]        Anthony Ricketts          AUS

     5     [4]        James Willstrop           ENG

     6     [6]        Peter Nicol                  ENG

     7     [7]        Gregory Gaultier          FRA

     8     [8]        Nick Matthew              ENG

     9     [9]        Lee Beachill                 ENG

     10    [11]       John White                  SCO

     11    [10]      Karim Darwish              EGY

     12    [13]      Stewart Boswell           AUS

     13    [21]      Ramy Ashour                EGY

     14    [16]      Wael El Hindi              EGY

     15    [17]      Adrian Grant                ENG

     16=  [14]      Ong Beng Hee              MAS

     16=  [12]      Mohd Azlan Iskandar   MAS

     18    [15]      Olli Tuominen               FIN

     19    [18]      Mohammed Abbas         EGY

     20   [19]      Alex Gough                  WAL