Naked ambition's barely a problem

Chris Walker dragged himself out of bed on his 35th birthday to check the Press coverage of his appearance in the British Open Final.

The former England No1 had come within one game of victory over third seed David Palmer. But, after two qualifiers and the main round matches leading up to the final, during which he removed three players from the world top 10, fatigue finally got the better of him.

Newspaper coverage was, predictably, limited in comparison with the storm that greeted Vicky Botwright's revealing costume for the tournament, but Walker could hardly complain.

"I'd be a hypocrite if I said it bothered me, wouldn't I," said the man who once posed naked, spare a few handilyplaced squash balls, in order to drum up interest in his career.

Walker's appearance in the final at Birmingham would have caught a few experts in the sport by surprise.

He took six months off last year to travel around the world and is about to concentrate on the US hardball circuit for the rest of the year.