World number three and Bermuda resident David Palmer beat world number 15 Joe Kneipp in a fun-filled exhibition match on Friday night, but the evening?s genuine competition came in the warm-up game.

The showpiece event was all through-the-legs shots, jokes, handing racquets to juniors and general knockabout hilarity which Palmer won 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 but a man who wasn?t smiling by then was Bermuda number two and world number 143 James Stout.

Stout, a professional who trains in Belgium and shares a coach with Palmer, was comfortably beaten 8-11, 11-10, 11-8, 11-5 by club pro Patrick Foster, a former world number 69 and Irish international who hasn?t played on the tour for the best part of two years.

The younger player should have been the comfortable favourite going into the encounter with Foster who, by his own admission, is no longer sticking to the punishing fitness regime of a tour professional.

But Foster, albeit after a sluggish and nervous start, rolled back the years to embarrass Stout in front of a sell-out crowd at the Bermuda Squash Racquets Association headquarters.

?I didn?t feel right in the first game, I just couldn?t get into it,? said Foster after just his third serious match in six months since moving to the Island.

?I was allowing too much to get past me but as the game went on, I volleyed a lot more and took more control. I felt under a bit of pressure and although I thought it was meant to be an exhibition, a few attempts at gags went down badly and James obviously wanted interested. And once I realised that we were playing a serious game, I was determined not to lose it.

?I don?t get to play these sort of games very often, but I certainly have got my appetite back now and would love to play competitively for Bermuda next year when I am eligible.?

Although Stout moved more fluidly and seemed to be coasting in the opening game, once Foster stepped up the pace, the pro didn?t seem able to raise his game.

Once he was beaten out 11-10 in the second game tie-break, Stout seemed to lose confidence, going down 6-0 in the third game and then losing the last to five points in just five minutes.