Game 1: 11-6 to Palmer
Shabana aiming to win his maiden British Open title (the only major he hasn't won so far) and Palmer aiming to win his 4th British Open. Both came out firing and before u could blink, Shabana had registered 2 points on the scoreboard. Palmer unfazed by the pace of the game, opened his account on the board with his own winner which only drew further fire from Shabana's racquet as he reeled off another two lightning quick points to lead 4-1. Then Shabana tinned a forehand volley drop which as u may know is one of his bread-n-butter shots and then Palmer returned the favor with a tin of his own. It was at this time that one could sense that Palmer was more up for the game than Shabana as Palmer kept leaping to reach near unreachable shots and kept himself in play with some beautiful recoveries. Shabana redirected a ball right off of his toes in the front right corner to claim his last winner of the game and then Palmer registered 4 unanswered points, including a forehand cross court volley nick to merit him a game ball at 9-6 and then proceeded to take the first game with a tight backhand drop.
 
Game 2: 11-3 to Shabana
Shabana came out of the gates as if he had after-burners installed. Taking the pace up yet another notch which frankly not many can comprehend to be humanly possible. Palmer tried to stay with him in the rallies, but this is Shabana's domain. If u play at this pace against the Prince, more often than not, u end up loosing badly and that's exactly what happened with Palmer in this game. Although he was in it all the way, but he just doesn't possess the reflexes & racquetwork to get Shabana under any pressure at this sort of pace. Palmer had the right shots in mind but the pace at which the ball was coming to him was restrcting his play and shotmaking ability and this was evident in Palmer drumming the tin 5 times in this game. Well ! you don't serve up five free points to Shabana in a game and then hope to run that one out as a winner. In contrast, Shabana only found the tin once in this game and even faked Palmer out with a backhand cross (ala Peter Nicol) and finished the game in fine style by laying a low forehand cross court kill which bounced twice before the side (ala Jonathon Power).
 
Game 3: 11-5 to Palmer
Shabana again started off quickly by claiming the first two points before tinning a straight kill to help Palmer register his first point. He attempted the same shot again after a well contested rally and this time got it right as Palmer was left stranded when the straight kill from Shabana's forehand bounced three times before touching the back wall. Palmer though not impressed answered with his own forehand straight volley drop to which the Prince had no answer. Shabana then fired in a backhand boast winner to claim the ascendancy in the game, but then instantly tinned the next shot to give Palmer the initiative back. This is when Palmer really showed that he wanted to walk off the court today as the winner and he leapt n stretched for every shot that the Prince could throw at him. The Prince consistently attacked and the Marine stubbornly retrieved, so much so that he actually got a point with a well placed backhand drop after barely having recovered from a full backhand lunge position. This left Shabana stranded as he didn't expect Palmer to react with such a precise shot after having recovered from such a vulnerable position. This may have proven to be the point where Palmer broke through as his determination was evident and he simply refusing to let go quietly. Shabana greeted the tin three times after that point and Palmer happily collected the remains with two backhand drop shots which left Shabana defenceless.
 
Game 4: 11-8 to Palmer
A shaky start to the fourth by both players and there was a feeling that Shabana can still make a game of this thing, with Palmer not being able to assert his authority early on in the game. He tinned in the first rally, then was awarded a 'no-let' by the referee on Shabana's drop and then hit a lob outside the court as well. But the Marine was not to be denied so easily. He stayed with Shabana in an amazing rally, where he pushed the Prince to all four corners and then finished it off with a fine backhand volley drop. Shabana looked a little wobbly at this stage and as a result mishit the next shot to let David claim parity score-wise. Palmer then showed he is equally vulnerable to the odd frame hit as well and turned the momentum back in Shabana's favor, by tinning the next point of the match as well. Shabana really looked in control with an immaculate forehand straight kill to claim a score of 7 points to 3 and we were well on our way to a fifth game at this point. But the Marine held the fort well. Again drew Shabana into a rally where Shabana was forced to sprint around all over the court whereas Palmer sat comfortably in the middle at the 'T' position and finished that point off in superb fashion with a seemingly never ending hold on the forehand side which he converted into a straight drive down the line which the Prince read as a forehand cross court and as a result was not even in the same zipcode of the resultant shot. Another forehand volley kill and a tin from Shabana allowed Palmer to level-up and at 8-all, Shabana slipped in the front left hand corner trying to retrieve a backhand drop from Palmer but failed to make contact with the ball. Since there was no contact between the players, Shabana was awarded a 'no-let' and Palmer moved on to 9-8. Palmer jumped at this chance and finished off the next point with a super forehand cross court volley nick which rolled out to claim his first match ball. Then Palmer confirmed Shabana's exit from the tournament with a respectable serve which the Prince couldn't get back to the front wall. Game and match to David Palmer.