RESULTS & Reports
Final	Thu 19th
[2] Jonathon Power (Can) bt [7] David Palmer (Aus)  15/9 15/13 15/9 It took 56 minutes, but world #1 Jonathon Power showed why he is at the top, winning the tournament with a full set of 3-0 victories. The Canadian's fitness seems to be much improved, and he pulled away at the end of each of the three games to end the challenge of Australia's David Palmer, 15/9 15/13 15/9.
Semi-Finals	Wed 18th
[7] David Palmer (Aus) bt [3] Simon Parke (Eng)  15/12 15/7 15/12  (48m) [2] Jonathon Power (Can) bt [13] Ong Beng Hee (Mas)  15/12 15/10 15/7  (52m)   POWER & PALMER IN PSA MASTERS FINAL World No1 Jonathon Power reached his 40th PSA Tour final in fine style on the open-air court at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada, but had to play at his brilliant best to overcome Malaysian Ong Beng Hee 15-12 15-10 15-7 in the semi-finals of the $60,000 Al-Ahram PSA Masters.  The Canadian will meet Australia's seventh seed David Palmer, who followed his shock victory over top seed Peter Nicol by upsetting another Englishman, third seed Simon Parke. Second seed Power mesmerised the Egyptian crowd with his racket skills as he held 21-year-old Ong Beng Hee, a former world junior champion, at bay.  The 13th seed from Penang, who will surely soon break into the world's top ten, kept the new favourite on court for longer than any other Masters competitor, and eventually succumbed in 52 minutes - but Power has already achieved enough to consolidate his new world No1 ranking for the foreseeable future. In-form David Palmer justified his new world No4 ranking with a 15-12 15-7 15-12 win over Parke, who has slipped to seven in the world.  The 48-minute victory takes the Belgian-based Australian from New South Wales to his 13th PSA Tour final.  Palmer will be hoping to repeat his shock defeat of Power, the defending champion, in last year's British Open - though the Canadian has since gained his revenge, in November's Capital Classic in his hometown Toronto.
Quarter-Finals	Mon/Tue 16th/17th
Quarter-finals (2nd day): [7] David Palmer Aus) bt [1] Peter Nicol (Eng)     12/15 15/10 12/15 15/8 15/13  107m [3] Simon Parke (Eng) bt [6] Paul Johnson (Eng)  12/15 15/6 15/10 11/15 15/7    74m PALMER PUNISHES NICOL Two long matches, one stunning upset. David Palmer upset the applecart in  Birmingham last October, beating Jonathon Power in the quarters in a thrilling match, and tonight he did it again, digging deep to come from behind to beat world champion Peter Nicol. It was even better than that, as he was 6-0, 9-3 and 12-8 behind in the final game, but worked his way back to score the best win of his career. The other quarter went to seeding, with Simon Parke overcoming compatriot Paul Johnson to set up a semi-final match with Palmer. The match see-sawed until Johnson appeared to tire in the fifth, and Parke reached the semi-finals, as he did last year. He would have been expecting to meet Nicol there, who he lost to last year, but given that Palmer is currently ranked four compared to Parke's seven (they swapped places in the April rankings) the Yorkshireman won't necessarily feel a whole lot happier about his prospects. Quarter-finals (1st day): [13] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Omar Elborolossy (EGY)   13-15 15-8 15-11 17-14 (82m) [2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [11] Del Harris (ENG)      15-9 15-5 15-8 (41m) ONG BENG HEE ENDS ELBOROLOSSY'S RUN Malaysia's former world junior champion Ong Beng Hee demonstrated his rapidly-growing maturity on the senior circuit when he ended Egyptian hero Omar Elborolossy's giant-killing run in the $60,000 Al-Ahram PSA Masters in the first day's play at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada. Beng Hee, from Penang, lost in straight games to Elborolossy when they last met in the Macau Open final in November - but this time the 21-year-old 13th seed fought back from a game down to defeat the unseeded Egyptian 13-15 15-8 15-11 17-14 in the first quarter-final in 82 minutes. The Malaysian, who trains with top seed Peter Nicol's coach Neil Harvey in London, now faces Canada's No2 seed Jonathon Power in Wednesday's semi-finals.  The 26-year-old from Toronto looked every way the world No1 that he has just become as he dismissed England's 11th seed Del Harris 15-9 15-5 15-8 in 41 minutes in the other quarter-final match.
Second Round	Sat 14th
ELBOROLOSSY MAINTAINS MASTERS MOMENTUM Spurred on by fervent local support, unseeded Egyptian Omar Elborolossy continued his giant-killing run in the Al-Ahram PSA Masters in his hometown Cairo by upsetting 9th seed Paul Price 15-10 15-13 13-15 15-3 to become the only non-seed to reach the last eight. The world No17's 59-minute victory against the Australian world No5 takes him to a confrontation with another unexpected quarter-finalist, Ong Beng Hee. The former world junior champion from Malaysia twice saw his lead cutback, then clinched the narrowest of victories over eighth-seeded Welshman Alex Gough in a 15-11 13-15 15-13 8-15 15-14 125-minute marathon. England's top seed Peter Nicol had the easiest of passages through to the last eight, which will be staged at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada. The 28-year-old from London, who lost his world No1 ranking this month to Canadian rival Jonathon Power just two weeks after 'defecting' from Scotland, was given a walkover when Canadian 15th seed Graham Ryding withdrew from the event with food poisoning. 2nd round: [1] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [15] Graham Ryding (CAN)   w/o [7] David Palmer (AUS) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN)   15-8 15-13 15-12 [3] Simon Parke (ENG) bt Thierry Lincou (FRA)   15-11 8-15 15-13 15-8 [6] Paul Johnson (ENG) bt [16] Stewart Boswell (AUS)    15-13 15-11 15-13 [13] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt [8] Alex Gough (WAL)     15-11 13-15 15-13 8-15 15-14 Omar Elborolossy (EGY) bt [9] Paul Price (AUS)  15-10 15-13 13-15 15-3 [11] Del Harris (ENG) bt [5] Martin Heath (SCO)     9-15 17-15 17-15 15-4 [2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [14] John White (SCO)   15-13 15-9 15-9
First Round	Fri 13th
NICOL SURVIVES WHILE EVANS IS VANQUISHED Playing in his first tournament in England colours since defecting from Scotland last month, Peter Nicol found himself in the unusual position of being 2-1 down to a player ranked 35 places below him in the opening round of the Al-Ahram PSA Masters in Cairo, Egypt. With England national coach David Pearson in his corner for the first time for many years, world champion Nicol soon re-established his focus to defeat Belgium's Stefan Casteleyn, the former world top ten player now ranked a lowly 37, 15-9 13-15 14-15 15-5 15-6 in 64 minutes. The day's biggest upset provided an unexpected bonus for the home crowds watching the PSA Super Series event in which, in the absence of national hero Ahmed Barada, only two Egyptians were competing. Unseeded Omar Elborolossy, the world No17 from Cairo, played the match of his life to beat fourth-seeded David Evans, the world No3 and British Open champion from Wales, 15-14 15-4 11-15 17-15 in 68 minutes.  Elborolossy goes on to meet 9th seed Paul Price, the Australian beaten by Evans in last October's British Open final. Two other British seeds crashed out of the PSA Masters after losing to unseeded European opponents.  England's Mark Chaloner, the 10th seed, failed to capitalise on a 2-1 lead before bowing out 15-11 11-15 6-15 15-4 15-9 in 95 minutes to France's Thierry Lincou, whilst twelfth-seeded compatriot Nick Taylor also fell in five games, losing 3-15 15-9 15-4 12-15 15-8 to Finland's Olli Tuominen. Despite twice leading. recently-crowned British National champion Lee Beachill suffered his first defeat since February when he was beaten 11-15 15-9 12-15 15-13 15-3 in 82 minutes by England team-mate Paul Johnson, the sixth seed. 1st Round [1] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt Stefan Casteleyn (BEL) 15-9 13-15 14-15 15-5 15-6 [15] Graham Ryding (CAN) bt Anthony Hill (AUS)  15-11 15-10 15-9 [7] David Palmer (AUS) bt Stephen Meads (ENG)   15-7 15-9 13-15 17-16 Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt [12] Nick Taylor (ENG)   3-15 15-9 15-4 12-15 15-8 [3] Simon Parke (ENG) bt John Williams (AUS)    15-12 15-8 15-7 Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [10] Mark Chaloner (ENG)    15-11 11-15 6-15 15-4 15-9 [6] Paul Johnson (ENG) bt Lee Beachill (ENG)    11-15 15-9 12-15 15-13 15-3 [16] Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt Rodney Durbach (RSA)  17-15 15-10 15-11 [13] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) bt Peter Genever (ENG)  15-12 15-10 15-10 [8] Alex Gough (WAL) bt Anthony Ricketts (AUS)  15-13 1-15 15-12 15-9 [9] Paul Price (AUS) bt Juha Raumolin (FIN) 15-10 17-15 15-10 Omar Elborolossy (EGY) bt [4] David Evans (WAL) 15-14 15-4 11-15 17-15 [11] Del Harris (ENG) bt Billy Haddrell (AUS)   10-15 15-5 15-7 15-11 [5] Martin Heath (SCO) bt Derek Ryan (IRL)  15-11 15-13 15-12 [14] John White (SCO) bt Mark Cairns (ENG)  11-15 15-12 15-12 15-11 [2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt Amr Shabana (EGY)   15-12 15-7 15-11
Preview
POWER & NICOL SET TO RENEW DUEL IN EGYPT The world's top two squash players Jonathon Power and Peter Nicol will renew their rivalry in Egypt tomorrow (Friday 13 April) when the Al-Ahram PSA Masters gets underway in Cairo.  After two rounds in Cairo, the PSA Super Series event moves to the Red Sea resort of Hurghada from the quarter-finals onwards from 16-19 April. Nicol moved 12-11 ahead of Power in their career 'head-to-head' tally following his victory in February's final of the Tournament of Champions in New York.  The pair's anticipated meeting in the Hurghada climax next Thursday will be the first since Nicol defected from Scotland to play in England colours. Furthermore, though seeded No1, Nicol lost his world No1 ranking to the Canadian this month, following the ankle injury which ruled him out of last year's British and US Opens. For the second successive year, the PSA Masters will take place without Egypt's top squash star Ahmed Barada. Last year the former world No3 was recovering in hospital after being stabbed in the back outside his home in Cairo.  Despite making a successful PSA Tour comeback later in the year, Barada has since been troubled by lower back pain which has ruled him out of events in 2001. A back injury sustained in last week's Shellcast Classic in Canada has caused Australia's world No21 Joseph Kneipp to withdraw from the Al-Ahram Masters.  Compatriot Stewart Boswell becomes a seed as a result, and Finland's Olli Tuominen moves into the main draw.