It’s a bit unusual to have a world champion in a column titled ‘In Obscurity’, but only three years ago, when we last ventured into the hot and sweaty realms of squash, we were singing the praises of Rodney Eyles, who’d just won the “real” world championship, the British Open.

David Palmer wasn’t even on the radar back then. He doesn’t like to talk about it much, but part of the reason for the obscurity from which he’s risen was the attitude of the AIS, who bluntly informed him that they’d decided to throw their support behind more “promising” juniors.

Most of those prodigies are now a long way back in Palmer’s wake.

The reason for his meteoric rise? “I don’t think there’s anyone fitter on the circuit” he says. All other things being equal, he attributes his ability to play well until the final point, and to disguise fatigue, to be the most telling aspects of his new game.

That and a new-found aggression that has created moments of controversy, especially with Britain’s Jonathan Power. In fact, Palmer stops just short of describing squash as a physical contact game. “But it depends on the referees. The standard’s a bit up and down. In England they enforce the rules more closely than they do in some other places, and then we tend to be a bit more careful”. This is not how I remember squash. When it was big out here, the odd physical confrontation was as jarringly incongruous as a cricket melee. “The game’s just a lot faster now. Players are fitter, they’ve still got a small space to move in, like a boxing ring, and the glass walls mean the ball comes off a lot faster”, he explains unapologetically.

In the last twelve months, Palmer’s won the ultimate prize – squash’s Wimbledon, the British Open – and beaten the world’s best, Power and Scotland’s Peter Nicol, consistently. Despite early warnings, the Open win caused tremors throughout the squash community.

Suddenly, he’s playing in a whole new stratosphere, which tends to happen when the best in the world notice you. “Now I’ve taken home the British Open, I expect a tough time every time I walk onto a court”. But his preparation for this moment will, he believes, see him through. “I’m better at being more consistent than they are right now”.

One year ago, he was only the thirteenth-ranked player in the world, but tough European competition (he’s now based in Belgium, even though he lives in Sydney) and a new coach, Shaun Moxham, who’s been just as much a revelation to the squash world, have turned his game around dramatically. Moxham was a player who achieved a modest ranking, mainly due to lack of funds, but has turned out to be a master coach. “Being able to hit with someone as good as Shaun every day makes a huge difference. We plan our training months in advance, and my whole approach is more professional.”

One reason we see little of Palmer is money. “Unless there’s more tournaments in Australia to get the profile, there’s more money in Europe.” Australia’s cause wasn’t helped by the withdrawal of sponsors for the men’s world singles event recently at the squash extravaganza staged at the Melbourne Aquatic Centre. The replacement challenge event – minus many stars – was won by another Aussie, Paul Price. Palmer compensated by winning the world teams event, when he and Price beat the Egyptians in the final.

As is the case with our tenpin bowlers, badminton players and table-tennis champions, Palmer’s profile is huge in certain remote, exotic places. In Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, his matches get plenty of newspaper and live television coverage.

Although he’d rather be home, he says “now is a great time to be at the top”, as prize money escalates. “And we get to see some pretty exciting places around the world”.

Published in Inside Sport, November, 2001