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World squash champion David Palmer insists all the pressure is on his rivals as they attempt to take his crown this week.

The Aussie looked relaxed and confident as he checked out the South Shore venue ahead of his title defence.

And he's got no qualms about being one of the men everyone wants to beat.

"I think it's a good thing. I don't think there's any pressure on me at all.

"There's only two others in the draw that have won this tournament before. To me, the pressure is on the other guys. Everyone wants to be a World Champion once in their career."

Palmer, a consummate tactician who describes the game as 'chess at 100mph', has already done it twice. And he believes that experience gives him the edge over some of his rivals.

"I expect to do well this week. If I can get through the early rounds without too much damage the fact that I've been there before and won in that situation will be an advantage in the final stages.

"I'd love to win a third World Open that's for sure."

His main rivals will be Amr Shabana - the Egyptian world number one who has just reeled of three tournament victories on the bounce - and Greg Gaultier - the young French star who won the British Open title earlier this year.

But Palmer believes there is so little to choose between the top players that noone can predict the winner.

"Shabana and Greg are the favourites but there is a handful of guys that could give it a good shake as well.

"In the World Open the pressure can throw the averages out a little bit."

And he thinks the early rounds could be key in deciding the ultimate winner.

"You don't want to have to waste a lot of energy in the early rounds. There's always guys looking for an upset and you've got to get them off the court as quickly as possible to give you an edge in the later stages of the tournament."

Palmer, who has a house in Bermuda and is a popular figure at the local squash association, hopes the home crowd will get behind him again, as they have in the past.

"I love having the home crowd behind me and it's helped me in the past here in some huge matches.

"But I've got to earn their respect. I don't expect to get support just because I'm a resident here."

And he agreed with Thierry Lincou's assessment that the mental game could be critical.

"You have to have the belief not to change your game. If the shot is there to hit it's no different at 9-9 in the fifth set than it is at 1-1 in the first.

"I think Australians do have that attitude and yeah I back myself in pressure situations. That's just self-belief. It's a matter of playing the point and not the situation."[[In-content Ad]]

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