The Story So Far
David Palmer is Australia 's leading squash player. A PSA professional since 1994, in 1997 he won four successive PSA Tour titles. He strode into the top ten in February 2000, claiming two PSA titles from six final appearances in 1999, seized the No. 3 ranking in May 2001 - beating world champion Peter Nicol – and went on to reaching the PSA Masters final in Egypt. He triumphed at the Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong and attained the World No. 1 ranking in September 2001.
Palmer truly came of age in June 2001, sweeping through the British Open field at the NIA in Birmingham as the first Australian in two decades to claim the sport's most honored and cherished title. Then in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Open in August, in his fifth successive appearance in a PSA Tour final, he grasped the title for the first time - and the promise of a World No.1 ranking in September.
How it Happened:
The 26-year-old from Lithgow, New South Wales first appeared in the PSA World Rankings in March 1994 at 199, moving into the top 100 six months later, and the top 50 by September 1997. His rankings accelerated in 1999: 41st in January, he catapulted to 15th place by December, into the top 10 the next January, and reached the coveted World No. 1 position in September 2001.
His 1999 surge began in the Finnish Open in April when he conquered compatriot Dan Jenson, the top seed, to reach the final where he lost in four to Egypt 's Omar Elborolossy. Winning the Mega Italia Open in May, later in the month he entered the finals of the Clermont-Ferrand Open in France - after first qualifying, then beating Scotland 's top seed Martin Heath in the opening round, then Welshman David Evans in straight games in the semi-finals before losing the final in five to Thierry Lincou.
Title success in the CAS International in Pakistan led to two U.S. final appearances ( Detroit ’s Motor City Open and the Pittsburgh Open). In December 1999 he reached the second round of the British Open after upsetting Ireland 's Derek Ryan in the opener.
Palmer reached his first Super Series quarter-final in August 2000, beating Finland 's Olli Tuominen and Egypt 's newest star, Kareem Darwish, in Egypt ’s Al-Ahram International. He fought hard against 4th seed Simon Parke, but ultimately lost in four to the experienced Englishman. Palmer's efforts were rewarded by a then-career-high No. 8 ranking in the September 2000 list - which made him the top-ranked Australian for the first time.
Seeded eight, he achieved his 'most rewarding win of the year' in October when he defeated defending champion Jonathon Power 17-16 15-14 9-15 7-15 15-12 in the quarterfinals of the British Open. It was followed by his ‘biggest disappointment of the year' when he lost in the semi-finals to Welshman David Evans, who won the title.
His next stop was Detroit in the USA where he was seeded to win the Motor City Open. He did triumph, but had to fight back from 2-0 down to beat Welshman Alex Gough 10-15 11-15 15-12 15-8 15-7. Palmer's next scalp was World No. 4 Ahmed Barada in the Florida Open. The Egyptian retired in the third game of their quarter-final, making the Australian the only unseeded player to reach the last four, where he lost to Martin Heath.
