Squash: Marshall flies flag for Britain

PETER MARSHALL was able to cement his position as the top British player when he progressed to the final of the Portuguese Open for the second successive year yesterday, writes Richard Eaton from Vale do Lobo, Portugal.

The England No 1 beat Peter Nicol, the Scottish champion, in a repeat of the British national showdown. But it took Marshall 96 minutes to reach his third final in four tournaments and there were moments when it looked as if he might be worn down by the 20- year-old from Inverurie.

However, the world No 4 from Leicestershire recovered well from a spell of tiredness in the second game, coming back from 11-7 down to reach 14-11, and at 14-14 he took a chance on a sudden-death game-ball which worked.

Nicol's cross-court return was quickly killed by Marshall's fierce backhand drive volley and after that the two- game deficit always seemed too much. The score was 15-6,

15-14, 9-15, 15-6.

In today's final, Marshall will play Jansher Khan, the world champion, who beat Australia's Rodney Eyles 13-15, 15-8, 15-10, 15-6 in the other semi-final.