Bermuda resident and current world champion David Palmer was crowned British Open champion for the second time in Nottingham, England, yesterday, surprising everybody by destroying world number one Peter Nicol in straight games.

For the Australian, who was out of action for most of the early part of year recovering from the appendix operation he underwent in Bermuda in November, 2002, the victory was more than adequate revenge for a defeat he suffered at the hands of Nicol at the US Open in Boston last month.

He was understandably delighted when contacted by The Royal Gazette last night.

"Today is probably the best day of my life," he exclaimed.

"After all the complications I had after the appendix operation, and the months of inactivity, it is just brilliant that I've been able to come back and win the British."

Despite the seedings, Palmer was the narrow favourite going into the final after Nicol had endured an epic five-game marathon the previous night against current world number five Jonathan Power, renewing a rivalry which has dominated professional squash for almost a decade.

"I definitely felt I had a slight advantage going into the final because Peter had had such a gruelling match in the evening session the night before," he said.

"But I played a lot better against Peter than I had in any of the other rounds. I got off to a good start which had been a rarity all week and I managed to keep the pressure up. The second game was the most crucial stage of the match. I was 13-11 down and won four straight points to take the game. That gave me a two-game cushion and it was clear that Peter was beginning to struggle by then."

This is the first time the 27-year-old has ever defeated Nicol in straight games in a major tournament and he agreed that it would give him enormous confidence going into the World Team Championships in Austria in two weeks' time.

"Yes, of course winning a major tournament like this does wonders for your confidence and your game," he said.

"Australia have a great team this year and I believe we can win the whole thing. I'm also really looking forward to seeing all the Bermuda boys out there, who are competing for the first time. We might even get to play against them in the first pool stage which I'm sure will be interesting! Whatever happens, I'm sure it will be an exciting tournament and I'm glad Bermuda are going to be there."