Atkinson & Gaultier Tipped For European Glory In Prague

France's world No12 Gregory Gaultier and Netherlands' world champion Vanessa Atkinson head the men's and women's draws in the European Individual Championships, which will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, from 15-18 June, featuring players from 22 European countries.

The 2005 championships follow the successful re-launch of the European Squash Federation event last year in Slovakia.

Vanessa Atkinson, the world No2 from The Hague, is expected to meet England's defending champion Rebecca Botwright, a 3/4 seed, in the semi-finals, en-route to a final showdown with No2 seed Linda Charman, the England No1 from Eastbourne in Sussex.

Frenchman Gregory Gaultier is seeded to retain the title he won twelve months ago in Bratislava. The 22-year-old from Aix-en-Provence meets the winner of a qualifying match between Russia's Andrey Bratter and Poland's Marcin Leszewicz in the first round - before a likely clash with 3/4 seed Peter Barker, from England, in the semi-finals.

Gaultier's anticipated opponent in the final is England's No2 seed Bradley Ball, the world No24 from Ipswich who clinched the Dutch Open title last week. Ball is likely to face two local opponents on his way to the climax - 9/16 seed Milos Pokorny in the second round, and Czech No1 Jan Koukal, the other 3/4 seed, in the semi-finals.