The former world champion from France beat Ramy Ashour, the reigning world champion from Egypt, to earn his second fine win of the tournament and become the only unbeaten player in his group.
Remarkably, Lincou looked much livelier than his 20-year-old opponent, and his quick, fresh, and eager court coverage was a feature of a 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4 win which at one stage looked as though it would come significantly quicker than it did.
Lincou led 6-4 in the third game before he made unexpected and uncharacteristic errors, especially with the 
backhand drop, which reprieved the struggling Ashour.
This helped the younger man to advance to an early parity in the fourth game, and the possibility of a decider was just beginning to loom when Lincou rediscovered his abilities to take the ball early, to mix steadiness with aggression, and to cover the court with economic but hustling movement. When he did he got right on top again.
“As long as the mind is okay and as long as I feel young enough, you just have to push the button and try to move as quick as you can against the younger players,” Lincou said cautiously, as though even he wasn't sure how long his second youth would last.
But Lincou is more relaxed than most, more intelligent than many and perhaps more intuitive than anyone – and these qualities help make for longevity.
Ashour by contrast, had moments when he looked down in the dumps.
Although his best had a quicksilver quality which few can match, he also had phases when he found the tin more often than he should, and occasionally went for cross courts which a well-positioned Lincou was comfortably able to cut off.
It means the world champion cannot now qualify, and we were unable to learn how he feels about that, because he departed quickly. He was muttering to himself, and it might have been revealing to know what he had been thinking, especially at the moment at 4-7 in the second game when he volleyed the ball down, stared at his racket in astonishment, wiggled it irritatedly, and gestured with a puzzled expression as though his senses had somehow re-arranged themselves.
Whatever it may be – apart from an excellent Lincou – which has been preventing Ashour from reaching his loftiest heights, most squash fans will be keen that he quickly overcomes it.
He played the first game as though his hard match with James Willstrop on Saturday might have taken something from him, then pulled a three point deficit back to one in the second game with flashes of unique brilliance, before thunderously putting an overhead into the tin to go
7-9 down.
He followed it with two disappointing points to land himself in a hole at two games down. Having dug himself out of it and produced a delicious cross court winning lob to reach 2-3 in the fourth, his challenge evaporated.
Lincou meanwhile rediscovered his mature excellence. His backhand drop and backhand volley drop were delicately destructive weapons, and his appetite for victory as intense as it has ever been. He was also a gracious and popular winner.
Whether that would be so tomorrow, if he were to succeed again, is another matter. Lincou plays Willstrop, and will reach the final if he beats the Englishman, and could even do so if he loses – provided Shabana wins well against Ashour. The opponent in the final will be either Greg Gaultier or Karim Darwish. Sumptuous.
By: Richard Eaton