English Grand Prix 2007

Prince Willstrop Clinches English Grand Prix Crown

In a dream outcome for event sponsors Prince, new signing James Willstrop clinched the Prince English Grand Prix – Birmingham 2007 title in the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham - upsetting higher-seeded Thierry Lincou in a dramatic climax of the inaugural 5-star PSA Tour championship in the West Midlands city.

Just 24 hours after being hailed as the new global face of the racquet brand, fourth-seeded Englishman Willstrop secured an unexpected place in the English Grand Prix final after battling to a five-game victory in 95 minutes over world champion David Palmer, the top seed from Australia.

And at two games and 6-0 up over third seed Lincou in the final, it looked as if the 24-year-old Yorkshireman had the title in the bag.

But the wily Frenchman, who had also prevailed in a marathon five-game semi-final, had other ideas - and reclaimed the advantage to force the match into a fifth game decider.

However, Willstrop was not to be outdone: The former world junior champion quickly raced to a 7-1 lead - and after 77 minutes secured his fairytale 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 7-11, 11-3 triumph.

"It's a real honour to win this one, especially as it's my first Prince tournament, absolutely brilliant," Willstrop said. "Thierry is a fantastic squash player - I've been watching him for so long, and he is the king for three things: one, king of starting slow, then, at getting better as the matches go on, and three, at coming back!

"And when I was 2/0 and 7/1 up, I treated it differently as I would have with anybody else, because I've seen him coming back from that position so many times. But he was so accurate, I was scraping balls off the wall and I just couldn't do anything. It's nothing fancy, nothing complicated, simple squash but so efficient. I came through just by sticking at it, and giving it everything I had," added the new champion, after claiming the 7^th PSA Tour title of his career.

A disappointed Lincou explained: "I lacked patience in particular in the first two games. I did train and work into a more offensive game, but I would say that I used it wrongly tonight, and that I didn't find the right tempo."

Both players will now be focussing their attention on the forthcoming Dunlop British Open, which takes place at the National Squash Centre in Manchester from 20-24 September. Incredibly, Willstrop is scheduled to meet Palmer in the quarter-finals, with the winner likely to face Lincou in the following round!

Willstrop & Lincou To Contest Prince English Grand Prix Final

It took three hours of dramatic squash on an all-glass court in the spectacular setting of the Great Hall at the University of Birmingham to produce the two players - James Willstrop of England and Thierry Lincou of France - who will contest the final of the Prince English Grand Prix – Birmingham 2007.

Fourth seed Willstrop was the first through to the climax of the inaugural 5-star PSA Tour championship in the West Midlands city after beating Australian favourite David Palmer in a semi-final clash between the reigning British National champion and the World Open champion.

In his third successive encounter in the event with an Englishman, Palmer recovered from a game down to take a 2/1 lead - and looked in ominous form. But Willstrop, the 24-year-old England number one from Leeds, immediately regained the upper hand to draw level after taking the fourth game for the loss of just two points.

It was nip and tuck in the decider until the Englishman moved to match ball at 10-9 - when, to add the already intense drama, Willstrop broke a string and had to enforce an untimely break as he left the court to replace the racquet.

Shortly after his return, however - and to a huge roar of delight from the packed crowd - Willstrop finally clinched the point to earn an 11-9, 8-11, 6-11, 11-2, 11-9 victory in 95 minutes to claim his 10^th appearance in a PSA Tour final.

"I got a brilliant start - but at 2/1 down, he was totally in control and I was on the ropes," admitted Willstrop. "You have to believe you can come back against any opponent, so I just dug in and it came together.

"It's great for Prince reasons and great for me too," added the world No7, referring to his recent signing to title sponsor Prince. "I just love competing in these events and I hate waking up on the final day knowing I'm not playing."

The other semi-final was an all-French affair between the country's two top players - Thierry Lincou, the third seed and nine times winner of the French national title, and Gregory Gaultier, the 24-year-old second seed from Aix-en-Provence who has now overtaken his compatriot in the world rankings.

It was another gruelling encounter in which the lead changed a number of times. However, it was the experienced Lincou who ultimately prevailed, winning 3-11, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5 in 87 minutes.

The triumph takes the 31-year-old from Marseille - who won three Tour titles in England last year - into the 33^rd PSA Tour final of his career.