Matthew opens Australian defence in style

World number one Nick Matthew made an impressive start to his Australian Open defence when he beat South Africa’s Steve Coppinger in straight games 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 in Canberra on Monday. Matthew only looked in trouble briefly in the third game when he was behind 5-9, but he stepped up the pace to storm home and wrap up a hard fought match. Matthew’s win at last year’s Australian Open signalled the start of a stellar 12 months for the Englishman, during which time he cemented his top ranking, won two Commonwealth Games gold medals and claimed his first World Open title. He showed against Coppinger, the world number 35 from Cape Town, that he is the one to beat again this year. "I knew it would be a tough match from the moment I saw the draw," Matthew said. "I’m delighted to get off in three games because it could have got tough out there if I’d lost that first game." Matthew now takes on Ong Beng Hee after the Malaysian overcame a slow start to beat New Zealand qualifier Martin Knight 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-4. In the day’s major upset, Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema played some superb squash to down seventh seeded Frenchman Thierry Lincou. Anjema came back from losing the first game in a tiebreak to record his first ever win over Lincou 14-16, 11-9, 14-12, 11-5. The Dutchman played some breathtaking squash throughout the match, but he was matched most of the way by the 35-year-old Lincou, who only began to fade towards the end as fatigue and lack of match play began to catch up with him. It was Anjema’s first win over the Frenchman and he was delighted to finally break the hoodoo. "I had to wait for 10 years until this guy was 35 years old and could hardly walk anymore, and I could just about beat him," he said. A downcast Lincou said he was at least 20 percent off the pace after having his preparation hampered by injury. "At my age it’s pretty hard to come back and for my body to find the pace," he said. "It’s hard for me to get back to the level I was before the injury." Anjema next takes on American number one Julian Illingworth, an 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9 winner over Switzerland’s Nicholas Mueller. Australian veteran David Palmer defied an ankle injury in the fifth game to upset eighth seeded Malaysian Azlan Iskandar 14-12, 11-9, 5-11, 9-11, 11-8. Other winners included third seeded Egyptian Karim Darwish, Hong Kong's Max Lee and Englishman Tom Richards.