Squash: Lincou, Palmer struggle into second round

Thierry Lincou, the only Frenchman to have won the world title, had to save two match points and a harassing encounter with Shawn Delierre, the world number 58 from Canada, to avoid a first round exit in this years World Open.The oldest man in the tournament at 35, Lincou was made to battle for 98 minutes and to cope with a number of contentious rallies on a hot court in order to survive 13-11, 4-11, 11-3, 4-11, 15-13.Lincou next plays Stewart Boswell, the former world number four from Australia, who beat Nafizwan Adnan of Malaysia by 11-3, 11-6, 11-4.Remarkably, the other 35-year-old former world champion, David Palmer, also struggled to survive in five games, needing an hour and a half to fend off Scotlands Alan Clyne by 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 4-11, 11-8.Palmer changed the speed of the rallies, varied it with drop shots and lobs and Clyne could only run hard and try to stay in it during the first two games.However, at the beginning of the third, Palmer became annoyed by refereeing decisions, and it appeared to take a while for him to settle down again. He may also have been struggling with the thought of early elimination from what may be his last World Open.Clyne responded by raising his level, making few mistakes and forcing a fifth game. But from 8-all in the decider, the Australian typically found a way.He next plays his compatriot Ryan Cuskelly. If both former world champions win again, they will play each other.Nick Matthew, the defending world champion, suffered no such alarms. He required only 35 minutes to beat Stephane Galifi of Italy 11-8, 11-1, 11-3.But it could get a lot tougher quite quickly. Matthew next plays Tarek Momen, the young Egyptian who upset him in the first round of the Qatar Classic in Doha last week.