Bermuda Masters Squash

08-Mar:
Bermuda Redraw after
Power Pulls Out ...
Roger Sherratt reports

The squash world was shocked last week by the unexpected retirement announcement by world #1 Jonathon Power of Canada who was also #1 seed in this year’s Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters 2006, scheduled to be played from 2nd –8th April at the BHS Jessie Vesey Sports Centre.

The PSA swung into action this week, adjusting the seedings and finalizing the new draw.

The new #1 seed is the current World Open Champion, Amr Shabana of Egypt, who is on brilliant form at the moment, and the #2 seed is Anthony Ricketts of Australia, winner of last year’s British Open. Both of these players will be very hard to beat, but they will be hard pressed by a world class field all eager to take the title.

Under normal circumstances the replacement for Power would automatically be the world #32 player because all those above him are already in the tournament, but that position is held by former Bermuda Open and former World Junior champion, Simon Parke, who is committed to compete in the Irish Open, as are Renan Lavigne #33 and Davide Bianchetti #34, so the extra player is world #35 Dan Jensen of Australia, a former world #4.

Tournament organizers in Bermuda had been delighted with the original draw which saw local qualifier, Nick Kyme world #71, facing Bermuda-based Australian, David Palmer, now the #3 seed, who is also the current #1 ranked player as of the March PSA rankings.

Palmer enjoys a tremendous following on the Island, and by complete coincidence these two are drawn against each other again, so local squash fans will get to cheer both of their favourite players, and even if Palmer manages to trounce Kyme he will still be guaranteed ardent support from the “vocal locals” as he progresses through the tournament.

24-Mar:
Top Women head for Bermuda
Fans at finals night for the Bermuda Masters have an extra treat in store, as the world's top two women, Nicol David and Vanessa Atkinson, will be be playing an exhibition match as part of the proceedings ...
Full story
23-Mar:
Pakistani Pair Out Of Bermuda
A further redraw was required after Shahid and Mansoor Zaman were forced to withdraw due to visa problems ...
Full story

"This did cause quite a problem for us and the PSA because Jonathon had not officially withdrawn from our tournament until Monday of this week, and as #1 seed it meant the whole draw would have to be re-done.

"We were naturally disappointed to hear that Jonathon had retired because he has been one of the most exciting players on the professional circuit, but he leaves at a time when there is an abundance of exceptionally talented players at the top.

"Despite the retirement of the greatest player ever from North America, we still have a tremendous wealth of superb players competing in the Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters 2006. We look forward to a spectacular feast of squash next month."

Tournament Director

04-Mar:
Power pulls the plug
on Bermuda ...

World number one Jonathon Power announced his retirement from professional squash yesterday and confirmed he will not be returning to defend his Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters title next month.

The Masters champion, who is undisputedly the best squash player ever to emerge from North America, hinted after his triumph last year that his only remaining ambition in the sport was to return to the number one spot.

And having achieved that goal in February following a stellar 2005, the 31-year old Canadian admitted yesterday that he had nothing left to play for after 15 glorious years on tour.

“I’m sorry about not coming down to Bermuda to defend my title – but I always said that if I got back to number one that would be it for me,” he said from New York yesterday.

“Of all the places I’ve played during my career it is one of my favourites and I will miss the crowd and the people who make the event what it is. But after a decade and a half training and playing on the professional tour, there comes a time when your body and your mind have had enough.”

Full story from The Royal Gazette

"It’s obviously sad news. Not only was he the defending champion, he was also one of, if not the, most exciting players in the world to watch and was a massive draw for all squash fans, not just in Bermuda but all over the world.

"But we don’t anticipate it affecting our tournament that drastically. The world number 32 [Simon Parke] will therefore get directly into the first round draw and we still have all of the world’s very best players competing.

"I wish Jonathon the best of luck."

Tournament Director

23-Feb:
Mixed Emotions for Palmer

World number one David Palmer is not quite sure how he should feel about his first round draw against local wildcard Nick Kyme in the Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters.

Normally a draw against the wildcard is something the top players appreciate, but with Palmer being a Bermuda resident he naturally has mixed feelings.

"No disrespect to Nick, but in the normal course of events I would be very happy about playing the wildcard,” Palmer told The Royal Gazette from his training base in Belgium.

"But I know how much the Bermudian crowd gets behind him at the Masters and when you hear an enormous roar coming from behind you every time you lose a point, psychologically it can be a bit off-putting. I have a lot of friends in Bermuda though and hopefully there will be one or two people cheering me on as well.

"I’m friends with Nick and have trained with him quite a bit so I’m looking forward to playing him in such a big tournament. I was really disappointed with my second round loss last year [to John White]. I was a bit off that day and did not really do myself justice. Winning a tournament in Bermuda is one of my very highest goals so maybe this year will be the year."

Full story from The Royal Gazette

"We were delighted with the tremendous success of the 2005 event and are looking forward to fine tuning the tournament in 2006. The major change in this year's format is that we have split the second round and added an extra day to the schedule to allow for more matches on the glass court."

"Our success is due in large part to having first class volunteers working hard behind the scenes, and to our very supportive sponsors without whom we would simply not be able to put on an event of this magnitude."

"We are delighted to have Virtual Spectator as our title sponsor for the second year. Their superb technology is providing a new dimension to our sport and greatly enhances the event."

Tournament Director