Dinner conversation was a little strained last night when close friends John White and David Palmer came face-to-face across the table just hours after the two clashed on court with the Scotsman defeating the Bermuda resident for the first time.

The two players have chosen not to stay in the Fairmont tournament hotel, instead lodging with former Island pro Julian Rose, White in a spare room, Palmer in the side apartment he calls home.

But their close friendship was tossed aside for the 69 minutes they did battle in the second round of the Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters yesterday, with White coming out on top in a bad-tempered tussle which saw both players battling their own demons as well as the referee.

By the end of the contest, won by the red hot number 11 seed, 7-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6, Palmer had punched the side of the court on three occasions, tossed his racquet in the air and even spat on the wall in disgust.

The tension rose as the match wore on, with White wresting the initiative from the latter stages of the second game onwards, breaking the rhythm of the methodical Palmer and taking control with his distinct brand of rally killing.

"It feels great to beat David in a PSA (Professional Squash Association) game," said a smiling White after the game, with Palmer already out of the arena.

"I have beaten him in leagues and exhibitions but he has five wins to my none in PSA games, so to do it here on a stage like this in pretty much the last major of the year feels great.

"We are great friends and we know each other's games inside out so I knew it was going to be a tight match. I knew he was going to have me running around everywhere, so my aim was to make sure he was doing the same.

"He is a big, strong guy and likes to control the T and I tried to get him away from that.

"By the end he was getting frustrated and began to self-destruct, hitting unorthodox shots and a lot of balls down the middle, giving away strokes and making it easy for me."

The first rally was an indication of what was to come, lasting fully three minutes before the first point was recorded. In all, the first game lasted more than 20 minutes, although at least a couple of those were wasted by White's frustrated joking with the referee.

But in the second, the tide turned and White lit up, dropping and boasting with deadly accuracy and leaving Palmer increasingly annoyed with his own shortcomings.

His shorts strayed short of a length and towards the middle ? a combination which White lapped up gratefully.

And as White clinched the game, Palmer exploded in frustration, punching ? and then spitting on ? the left wall.

This frustration seemed to carry over into the next game, with White racing to a 7-0 lead as Palmer's loose play continued to be punished ruthlessly.

In what turned out to be the final game, again White raced ahead, this time going 7-1 up before finally clinching it 11-6 with Palmer stomping off in disgust with himself and his squash ? an unglamorous exit for a player who was so confident coming into the event.

Although he professed to being in great shape this year, after coming into the tournament last time around on the back of injury and illness, it later transpired he is currently on antibiotics for a virus.

In the earlier second round game on the state-of-the art all-glass court at the Jessie Vesey Sports Hall, world champion Thierry Lincou wobbled a little against former world champion Amr Shabana, before coming through in four, 6-11, 11-2, 13-11, 11-3.

In a match that was far shorter, but perhaps more error-strewn, than the White victory, both Lincou and Shabana exhibited brilliance and athleticism at the front of the court to keep the crowd on the edge of their seats.

The quick-wristed Egyptian outwitted Lincou enough in the first game to take it 11-6 before an exhibition-style game in which Shabana took seven straight points before the Frenchman took nine to come through 11-2 in a match short on rallies.

The third game proved to be effectively the decider with Shabana finally broken by the effervescent Lincou on a controversial point in the tie-breaker, forced after the Prince of Cairo had saved three game points.

Shabana was left calling for a let while Lincou was already sipping on his Gatorade and the Egyptian was a shadow of himself in the final game, going down meekly and exhausted 11-3 in the last.

In the evening session, both Masters defending champion Peter Nicol and 2004 Bermuda Open winner Lee Beachill cruised through to the quarter-finals, although Nicol had a little more trouble.

Admitting to feeling "sluggish" afterwards, the 32-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, was taken to a tie-break in the first game with Malaysian youngster Mohd Azlan Iskander and had to battle hard to end the encounter in three games.

Comfortably the stronger player, Nicol again showed why he is such a force in the game with an impressive display of power and precision, with his delicate lobs a particular joy to behold.

But the young whippersnapper wasn't giving in easily and failed to show the veteran and perennial number one any respect, often having the hubris to leave Nicol flat-footed with his devastating play at the front of the court.

However youthful exuberance and confidence isn't enough, and Askander was continually forced into errors by Nicol, a regular training partner, and was unable to make a strong enough impression on the match, despite Nicol looking a little off-form.

"I was glad to get that over in three and get off the court," said Nicol, gunning for his 50th Professional Squash Association title here.

"It was one of those days when I was feeling a bit sluggish and I wasn't stepping in to the ball as I wanted, so rallies were kept going longer than I would have liked."

Number two seed Beachill had less trouble with his opponent, unseating Ryding in just over half-an-hour.

The Yorkshireman again displayed seamless movement in gliding around the court and easily coping with much of what the Canadian threw at him.

He got through his games 11-4, 11-7,11-2 and will do battle with Egyptian Karim Darwish today.

In other quarter-final games, Nicol will have a tough game against fellow Englishman James Willstrop, although the younger man's five-game marathon yesterday may take its toll against an experienced opponent.

In the day session tomorrow at Bermuda High School for Girls, Lincou takes on Jonathon Power, who also came through a five-game battle, while White's prize for beating Palmer, apart from "having to do the washing up for a week" at Rose's house, is a clash with Nick Matthew, number seven seed and a semi-finalist here last year.