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• SEMIS • QUARTERS • Day FOUR • Day THREE • Day TWO • Day ONE • Day Zero •
TODAY IN BERMUDA
Day SEVEN, 08-Apr, FINAL:
[1] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [6] Peter Nicol (Eng)
9/11, 11/6, 11/7, 2/11, 11/8 (65m) |
Shabana wins Super Show
Steve Cubbins reports from Hamilton
Amr Shabana is the new Bermuda
Masters Champion after winning a fantastic five game duel with Peter
Nicol in front of an awestruck crowd in Hamilton.
Two opening rallies of two-and a half-minutes each gave no indication
of the fireworks to come as the two players traded shots in a
fast-paced exciting match, with advantage swinging one way then the
other. |
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 Once those opening skirmishes were out of
the way it was Nicol who pulled away in the first game. Volleying
everything, he quickly went 7/2 up, and although Shabana closed he
couldn't quite get back as Nicol's volley drop on his fourth game ball
gave him the lead after 18 minutes - the longest game of the match.
They
were both running like crazy, going short at a moment's notice, and
pulling off miraculous gets.
The Hamilton crowd was, as ever, getting
involved during the rallies, and at one point Nicol came out of court
to good-humouredly tell Shabana's supporters not to applaud in the
middle of the rallies, otherwise they would merely get him a let. Shabana
followed, to say "unless you think I'm losing the rally - then
clap and get me a let!".
In a way it summed up the spirit of the match. Two players trying
their hearts out but enjoying every minute of it, a crowd that was
fully involved, and officials who had little to do other than call the
score.
The momentum swung the Egyptian's way in the second, as Shabana took a
quick 3/0 lead which he never relinquished. They were still pulling
each other all over the court, front to back, side to side, leaving
their bag of shots empty as all were called into play. 11/6 in seven
minutes as Nicol hit three tins from 8/6 down - not careless errors,
attempted winners that didn't quite make it.
The third game saw the pattern continue, 11/7 to Shabana in 9 minutes
as both continued to look for every opportunity to attack.
 Conventional wisdom would have had Nicol tiring after some hard
matches - he is 33 after all - but he came out firing in the fourth
and Shabana, contributing to Nicol's cause with a few tins, found
himself 10/0 down in a flash. The world champion avoided the
ignominity of a whitewash as Nicol tinned a dropshot, but the match
was soon level.
The tide turned again as Shabana sped to a 7/1 lead, but Nicol was not
done, recovering to 9/6. The rallies continued to be fast and
exciting, the crowd still enthralled and noisy, but at 9/6 were
treated to an absolute gem (I'm asking the VS guys to show it in its
entirety), ending with a tin from Shabana when he had the whole of the
court open.
But the Egyptian took the next three points, and a breathless crowd
had a new PSA Masters champion to cheer ... and how they cheered.
 "It
was a tough match, he's an amazing player. He started off so fast
and quick he caught me by surprise a little. I started to see the
ball better in the second and was able to get more control of the
centre of the court.
"We were both attacking, I knew he wasn't going to wait for me to
attack, he was going to attack first which made for a lot of fast
exciting rallies.
"It wasn't an easy match at all, I didn't think I was going to win
for a lot of it.
"I expected him to die a little in the fourth, but it was me who
got tired. I got off to a great start in the fifth and managed to
hold on, but it was very close.
"I've got absolute respect for Peter, he raised the bar for all of
us, he's an inspiration.
"It's been a great tournament, the crowd, the organisation, the
sponsors have all been perfect, I just hope the sponsors can
double or triple the prize money next year!"
Amr Shabana |
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 "It
was a great game. There were only three or four decisions in the
whole match, which is the way it should be played.
"We played at very fast pace, both going for our shots, it was
very exciting. Once we got going even our long rallies were quite
short comparatively.
"I played well at the start, then went through some patches where
I gave him some easy points - you can't give him any of those, he
takes them and then takes some more.
"In last game I made a few mistakes and gave him a start, and he
just stayed ahead, but he played slightly better than me at the
end so he deserves it.
"In the three years I've been here I've made the quarters, the
semis and now the final, but no, I'm not coming back next year to
win it!"
Peter Nicol |
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Before the final the crowd in Hamilton was entertained by an
exhibition match between
Nicol David and Vanessa Atkinson, followed by a doubles match and the
closing show ... |
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