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  PACE
Canadian Classic 2006
Toronto, Canada,
09-14 January, $50k |
14-Jan,
Final :
[2] Amr Shabana (Egy)
bt
[1] Jonathon Power (Can)
11/9, 11/8, 11/5 (37m) |
SHABANA DENIES
POWER IN TORONTO
Liz Shaughnessy reports from
Toronto
It was not the final that was hoped
for: the scintillating prospect of the World Open champion playing
the world number one was dashed by injury. In this case, the final
of the PACE Savings & Credit Union Canadian Squash Classic,
presented by Dundee Securities, it was Canadian Jonathon Power’s
lower back that once more curtailed his challenge for another
title.
The charismatic Power was the victim of his own success; always in
demand and having played virtually non-stop for nine weeks. This
tournament was perhaps one match too many and World Open champion
Amr Shabana, from Cairo, Egypt, took only his second career
victory over Power. His first victory came about in the same
fashion when Power retired due to injury during the 2005 Dayton
Open.
Tonight he played the full three games, but the match was as good
as finished after the first 19 minute game, during which Power
took a 3-minute injury break to get some manipulation on his lower
spine.
He came back to win the next point to make the score 9-9 but he
gave up a penalty stroke on the next rally and was unable to get
to a Shabana drop shot on the next, giving the talented Egyptian
the game 11-9.
Power was grimacing with pain almost from the first rally of the
second game. Trailing 2-4, he hung from the back wall in an
attempt to rid himself of the spasms, but it was little use. He
could barely run and turning brought more grimaces of pain. The
game was over in eight minutes, 11-8 in Shabana’s favour.
The third was even quicker with Power forced to go for winners and
hitting tin. Shabana was going for drops, realizing that Power was
unable to move. In four minutes Shabana had the game 11-5.
Power was upset and said to the capacity audience that he wished
he played tennis so he could give them all their money back. It
was a classic Power quip and the audience responded to him with a
long ovation.
|
DRAW
|
 "I
had a numb leg all day, something to do with my sciatic nerve.
The physio couldn’t understand what was happening.
"I
didn’t feel stiff, but after a hard game yesterday I didn’t
have time to recover."
Jonathon Power |
|
 "It’s
sad, but I wanted to win and a win is a win.
"Jonathon hasn’t
stopped since September and he had a hard game last night. But
I am happy to win this tournament."
Amr Shabana |
|
"It
was my hardest match tonight - Gaultier is always tough to
play. He doesn’t like to give anything away.
"Sure, I'll be stiff tomorrow, but that’s normal. I know
Shabana’s game and he knows mine. I will have to move well
against him or I’ll be in trouble.
"Amr is a shooter, so I have to get on the ball quickly and
counter-punch."
Jonathon Power |
|
"That
was probably one of my best performances. I’m comfortable with
my game and I am not anxious. I’m enjoying my squash because I
don’t have anything to prove any more.
"For the final I play the same as with Darwish: don’t give any
loose shots because he will put them away. You have to keep
him tight."
Amr Shabana |
|
 "I
rarely meet players of this calibre and pace ..."
Borja Golan |
"I was very tired, my legs were
stiff and when you can’t move, you cannot get up the court to
cover the short shots."
Jean-Michel Arcucci |
|
|
13-Jan, Semi-Finals:
[2] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [4] Karim Darwish (Egy)
11/6, 11/3, 11/4 (32m)
[1] Jonathon Power (Can) bt [3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
11/8, 11/9, 9/11, 11/4 (76m)
|
13-Jan, Semi-Finals:
Power overcomes
Gaultier,
Shabana cruises into final ...
Liz Shaughnessy reports from
Toronto
Canada’s Jonathon Power took his rightful place in the
final of the PACE Savings & Credit Union Canadian Classic,
presented by Dundee Securities, with a display of disciplined
squash that finally took the fight out of Gregory Gaultier,
the French number two. And that takes a lot of doing. Gaultier
is one of the toughest and most determined players on the tour
and hates to give up a single point, which accounts for the
number of times his Gallic temper flared up as he attempted to
change the referee’s decisions.
Power’s win was by no means easy and he had to work hard for 76
minutes before Gaultier gave away points through sheer
exhaustion. Power won the first 19 minute game 11-8, stopped a
Gaultier comeback to win the second 11-9 and then lost a
lung-busting third game 9-11 which lasted 29 minutes, easily the
longest game of the entire tournament.
Gaultier knows Power’s game and knew how to counter his backhand
drops, constantly driving them across the court. He also put in
some fine deception of his own to force Power out of position.
Power had jammed the small finger of his left hand against
Gaultier and took a 3-minute injury break after the third game
to have it strapped. The break didn’t do him any harm and he
came back for the fourth, firing on all cylinders and, as he saw
Gaultier’s obvious fatigue, he started utilizing in his patented
backhand drops, forcing some tired errors from Gaultier.
That famous backhand drop shot gave Power the match-winning
point after 10 minutes of the fourth game placing him in
tomorrow’s final, opposite Amr Shabana, the reigning World Open
champion.
SHABANA RULES EGYPT
It took Amr Shabana just 31 minutes to reach the final.
Shabana, now ranked two in the world, has beaten Karim
Darwish, ranked 11, six times in seven meetings before
tonight. History was on his side -as well as a mountain of
confidence from his world title - and Shabana held the upper
hand from the first rally.
Shabana was on a different plane: faster, more accurate and
devastating with his stream of winners. Darwish, who won the
World Junior Championship six years ago, seems to have lost some
of the flair that he exhibited as a junior. Shabana’s speed in
this meeting was stunning and Darwish simply could not stay with
the pace and was constantly left flat-footed by Shabana’s
lightning reaction.
By the third game Darwish had lost his fight and Shabana cruised
to an 11-4 win in just seven minutes.
When he faces Power in the final, the history shoe will be on
the other foot - although in the last month, they have been
training together and giving exhibitions, he has only beaten the
Canadian once in seven meetings, when Power had to retire due to
injury.
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12-Jan, Quarters:
[1] Jonathon Power (Can) bt [Q] Borja Golan (Esp)
11/5, 11/3, 11/7 (46m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) bt [Q] Jean-Michel Arcucci (Fra)
11/0, 11/4, 11/0 (29m)
[4] Karim Darwish (Egy) bt
[8] Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
11/10 (4-2), 6/11, 11/9,
11/7 (70m)
[2] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [7] Wael El Hindi (Egy)
12/10, 11/6, 8/11,
11/4 (48m)
|
12-Jan, Quarter-Finals:
Shabana &
Power
into semis
to face Gaultier & Darwish
Liz Shaughnessy reports from
Toronto
Borja Golan’s
winning streak came to an end in the quarter finals of the PACE
Savings & Credit Union Squash Classic, presented by Dundee
Securities, when he ran into a brick wall by the name of Jonathon
Power. Golan, from Barcelona, came through qualifying with ease
and won his first round match after a real tussle opening night of
the Classic with another Canadian, Graham Ryding, but Power is an altogether different sort of
player.
Although he wasn’t completely out-classed, Golan never reached a
stage in any of the three games where he was in control, but rather
spent the time reacting to Power’s range of shots and constant
change of pace.
 The first game was almost a lesson from the master to the pupil, as
Power dictated play with text book perfection to the back of the
court and regularly using his patented backhand drops to the front
left. Power was master of the game, with deeply cut cross-courts and
fading boasts. Power can do so much with the ball, from any angle,
that Golan found - like so many before him - that he spends most of
his time on court trying to guess where the ball is going and the
rest of the time trying to pick it up.
Golan did not lie down, but pushed to make the first game last 13
minutes, which is an accomplishment in itself. Power won that game
11-5, and then continued his wonderfully entertaining display to win
the second game 11-3, He let up slightly in the third to give Golan
a window of hope. A score of 4-4, Golan appeared fresh and hopeful.
He started using backhand drops, but found that Power would and
could counter drop to the same spot - and do it better.
A confident Power played for winners from the back of the court as
he forced the young Spaniard all over the court. Leading 8-4, it
looked all over, but Golan earned a couple of penalty strokes - much
to Power’s complete surprise (there always has to be some drama in a
Power match) - and climbed to 7-9. The hope arose again but was cut
short as Power hit a backhand crosscourt cut to get to match point
and followed it up with a ball tight on the wall which Golan was
unable to scrape off. The game was won 11-7 and the 46 minute match
- watched by a capacity crowd of 750 - was Power’s with a 3 love
score line.
THE EXERTION OF SUCCESS OVERWHELMS ARCUCCI
In the all-French quarter final match earlier in the evening, the
natural pecking order and extreme fatigue on the part of qualifier
Jean-Michel Arcucci gave fourth seed Gregory Gaultier
a very easy route to the semi-finals. The first game was literally a
cakewalk for Gaultier, zipping his opponent 11-0 in 4 1/2 minutes.
Arcucci was simply not moving to the short balls quickly enough. He
said later that he was simply exhausted after the three hard matches
which brought him through the qualifying rounds on Monday and
Tuesday, plus the first round of PACE Canadian Squash Classic on the
previous evening.
Arcucci’s game is based on rhythm and Gaultier likes to break that
rhythm with finely timed boasts and deeply cut cross courts that
barely leave the floor. Arcucci’s legs were simply not up to the
task and when he finally got his first point with a forehand drop,
there was ironic applause from the spectators which brought a wry
smile to his face.
The first real rally came at 5-2 in the second game with Arcucci
giving as good as he got and making Gaultier cover the entire court.
But it was Gaultier who had the last word with a backhand drop. The
exhausted Arcucci managed a few more points in that game but that
was all for the evening; he lost the third game 0-11 and was
probably glad to leave
EGYPT VERSUS EGYPT...
The first of two
all-Egyptian quarter-finals matches day two of the PACE Savings &
Credit Union Canadian Squash Classic, presented by Dundee
Securities, featured World Open Champion Amr Shabana and world
number 19 Wael El Hindi playing the kind of squash we have come to
expect from Egyptians - full of skill and inventive shot making.
Shabana is one of the great shot makers on the PSA circuit and on
form can hit more winners in a game than most players can hit in a
year. In the first game he treated El Hindi with respect and played
a good deal of percentage squash to the back corners. It paid off
with a 6-2 lead and then he spoiled it with a series of unforced
errors, allowing the well-built El Hindi to get back into the match
and even the score at 7-7. Now we had a battle and these two players
produced some exhilarating rallies filled with speed and guile.
With a score of 9-9, Shabana sportingly called his own shot down to
put his opponent at game ball but saved the point when El Hindi
could not get to a tight ball and was denied a let by the referee.
At 10-10 they went into a tie-break, but Shabana hit a forehand
winner to get to game point and El Hindi, who looked to be tiring,
hit the tin to finish the 20 minute game. Shabana then hit a
dazzling streak to run away with the second game. It was all over in
a devastatingly six minutes, with a score of 11-6 in Shabana’s
favour.
In the third game, Shabana did what he has done before - tried to
send his opponent to the showers too early. The errors started to
roll off his racket and El Hindi found a new lease on life, notching
up a gear to win the game 11-8 and suggesting a possible five-game
battle to an appreciative audience of 750 which jammed the John
Bassett Theatre.
Shabana, however, had other ideas and, using his arsenal of sublime
winners, streaked away to a six minute 11-4 win, ending the 49
minute match and comfortably positioning himself for the
semi-finals.
The second all-Egyptian quarter featured fourth-seeded Karim
Darwish and eighth-seeded Mohammed Abbas, and it took a
full 70 minutes before Darwish managed to see off his compatriot
to set up a meeting with Shabana in the semis. |
 DARYL'S DIARY FROM
TORONTO
#3
Daryl's Diary skipped a day
yesterday as it was the last round of qualifying and I lost 3-1 to
Borja in a tough match. So I was pretty gutted after it so didn't
watch any of the other matches, hence no diary. But...
Round
One at the Fitness Institute ...
Today I put my Framboise hat on, (how do you spell beret?! is that
right?) took a day off from punishing myself in the gym and sat
down to watch the last 16 matches. The matches started at the
Fitness Institute which is an enclosed, hot, bouncy court with the
score being called through speakers as the players cannot hear
noise from outside the court.
 First
on was Gough v Arcucci. With a moderate crowd of 30 or so
Alex started off getting in front of Arcucci and dominating the
'T' taking the first game 11-7. The game gradually changed after
that with Alex finding the tin a bit more and Arcucci keeping the
ball out of it. Arcucci was continually patient and Goughy looked
to be getting tired and wasn't quite as accurate to the front as
he normally is.
So after about 80 minutes and some bizarre decisions from the
referee, Arcucci wins 3-1, which is a good effort considering he
had two tough qualifying matches.
 Next
on was Chaloner v Abbas. I only saw the last game as I had
to get my groaning stomach some lunch. After speaking to Mark
afterwards he said that today Mohammed was hitting the ball
exactly where he wanted it and did not hit any loose balls and
hardly any tins. Mark never stopped chasing everything down but
today Abbas was just too accurate. 3-0 to Abbas.
 Darwish
and Walker were the next Gladiators to enter the arena. The
match started off at a ferocious pace and didn't let up. Karim was
making the hot bouncy court look like an outdoor glass court in
Iceland. His length was spot on, and his straight kills and
cross-court flicks were sublime, although it was only on his 4th
or 5th good shot that he won the rally as Ali was getting to
everything.
In the second game Ali gave as good as he got and adapted his game
well. His counter drops were catching Darwish out, but just a lack
of belief I think and 2 tins in the tie-break gave Darwish a 2-0
lead, which he converted to 3-0 as Ali understandably ran out of
steam.
But a good performance from both players, and watch out for
Darwish when he gets on the glass court.
 The
last match being played at the Fitness Institute was El Hindi v
Kemp. This was a contentious match from the outset with both
players continually coming outside the court to remonstrate with
the referee who in my opinion was probably not strong enough to
referee this particular match.
I can honestly say I have never seen so many outright winners hit
by both players in a match. It was a weird match because the
rallies weren't very long and both players were looking to attack
at every opportunity. Jon's holds were working well in the first
game, then Wael found some rhythm and played some sublime drops,
especially on the backhand.
Jon worked hard in the fourth and held his nerve the better at the
end with Wael receiving a conduct point to give Jon the game. The
fifth was tight and although he was getting in Jon's way a lot he
was hitting some deadly lengths. At 7-7 it was anyone's match to
win ... but a couple of errors from Kempy gave Wael a hard-earned
place in the quarters.
Round One ... Part Two
Now it was off to the Convention Centre where the other
matches were being played. Although it took me a while to get in
as I didn't have a players pass because I didn't reach the main
draw and they didn't believe I was Press in my jeans, Timberlands
and Diesel T-shirt. Anyway finally blag (not really blag as I
should be allowed in as a player!) my way into the Centre, and
straight away it reminds me of the old Wembley Arena when my Dad
used to take me to watch the British Open, when there was 800
people there and the big red comfy chairs all the way around. Well
here there are only backwall seats but they are fanned out and
tiered so everyone has a pretty good view.
I'm loving the venue, and with Mr De Lierre's team working the
cameras there are TVs everywhere showing the live footage,
replays, score etc. This is the sort of stage you want to play on
if you're a Squash Player, and with a good 400 people there
tonight I thought Mr Nimick and his team had done a fantastic job.
The place is buzzing and the first match is a cracker.
 Borja
Golan who conquered myself against Graham Ryding.
Graham started slow and found himself one down very quickly. The
match from this point was very even, both players moving well,
long rallies, of course some dodgy decisions from the referee but
against both players, although I felt unfortunately for Graham his
came at more crucial times. Tonight Borja played with no fear and
really believed he could beat his much higher-ranked opponent.
Borja's touch at the front was excellent, and coupled with
uncharacteristic errors from Graham, maybe due to some pressure to
do well in his home city, he led 2-1.
He also led 9-6 in the fourth but Graham never gave in and clawed
himself back into the match and levelled at 2-2. It was really
there for the taking for both players. The fifth was tight and the
crowd were really getting behind there man, but there was nothing
they could do as Borja held his nerve this time to clinch a dream
match for him, against Jonathon in the quarters.
 The
second match on was LJ v Shabana. Shabana started well and
led 6-2 in the first with some patient rallying and some clinical
finishing.
LJ worked hard and came back into it with some winners of his own
but Amr wins the 1st 11-7. The next game Shabana is controlling
the middle of the court and LJ is having to do a lot of work to
stay in the rallies- 11-3.
The last game was a lot tighter with LJ hitting deeper length and
competing point for point, but you always had the feeling that
Shabana could just step up a gear and he did at crucial points to
win 3-0, although LJ played pretty well especially in the third.
And so to Bed ...
 Unfortunately
I had to leave after this match because it was getting past my
bedtime, I hadn't eaten yet and I had been watching squash for 6
hours straight. My mind was tired, my back ached from sitting
down.
Fram I don't know how you do it!!!! I can see how you don't have
any time, because it's 11.30 now and I didn't even stay until the
end. Apologies for not doing Power v Bianchetti, and Gaultier v
Razik, I will try to do all the quarters, but I'm not promising!!
Daryl Selby
|
11-Jan, Round One
Egyptians in charge
as
Arcucci & Golan advance
Liz Shaughnessy reports from
Toronto
The first round of the
Pace Canadian Classic saw two upsets in the top half of the draw and
Egyptian domination of the bottom half. Action started at the
Fitness Institute where Jean-Michel Arcucci, Mohammed
Abbas, Karim Darwish and Wael El Hindi earned
quarter-final places before moving on to the glass court at the John
Basset Theatre.
Short-lived glory for Ryding
Canadian Graham Ryding had the honour of opening the PACE
Savings & Credit Union Canadian Classic, presented by Dundee
Securities at the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto, the first time a
four-wall glass court has been used on a performing stage in Canada.
The glory was short lived as his opponent, Borja Golan from
Spain, spoilt the party by just pipping Ryding in a five-game
marathon. Golan, ranked 47 in the world, took advantage of Ryding’s
slow start to steamroll his way to a one game lead winning 11-5 in
just eight minutes.
Ryding settled down in the second game and started to read Golan’s
drops to the front left corner. He took the lead at 7-6 and then,
putting in some fine winners of his own, won the game 11-8 to even
the match.
Golan is a tough competitor who strokes the ball with great
precision and every time he played a drop shot, he had Ryding at
full stretch. He used this weapon to win the third game11-8 and lead
most of the fourth game, but Ryding raised his game to tie the score
at 9-9. Golan tried one dropshot too many and on the next rally, hit
the tin and put Ryding at game point. The Canadian, ranked 19th in
the world, made no mistake on the next point with a backhand drop
shot of his own to take the game 11-9.
Golan held the upper hand for the fifth game and, despite some
dazzling rallies, Ryding simply could not catch up. Trailing 7-8,
Ryding made a crucial error to put Golan two points from victory.
Golan hit a passing drive to win the next point and on match point,
Ryding tried an overhead backhand which hit the tin to seal his fate
and give the up-and-coming young Spaniard another important win.
 "I
felt the court was very slow and found it hard to get the ball
to the back, although I enjoyed the venue.
"This theatre is better for the players, not so much through
traffic and more room for the players to warm up.
"I really like it."
Jonathon Power |
Shabana
Cruises in Three
World champion Amr Shabana from Egypt showed why he is the
champion with a controlled display of shots that left his young
opponent, Laurens Anjema from the Netherlands, powerless.
Shabana, ranked number two in the world, behind Jonathon Power, is
known for his ability to hit winners from all over the court. Part
of that ability is to disguise his intention, leaving his opponent
going one way, while the ball is heading in another direction.
Anjema has shot up the rankings in the last year - he is now number
23 - but simply has not developed the sophisticated level of skills
to combat the range of Shabana’s repertoire. Shabana won in straight
games, despite a solid challenge from Anjema, which forced the third
game into a tie-break to complete an Egyptian quartet in the bottom
half of the draw.
Power's Emotional Opener
Jonathon Power had to contend with some Italian emotion as well
as his opponent’s skill in taking a straight game victory over
Italian champion Davide Bianchetti, ranked 34 in the world.
In the first game Power was ruthless, winning 11-1 and leaving
Bianchetti realizing that he had to change his approach.
 “You
cannot open up the court with Power because he will play a winner.
And you cannot match him in pace. So in the second game, I had to
slow the game down and play tighter,” Bianchetti said after the
match, his first-ever meeting with Power.
The strategy worked and Bianchetti played well enough to hold two
game points before Power managed to win the tie break 14-12. The
world number one continued his domination in the third and despite
some impassioned pleas from Bianchetti when the referee made
decisions he thought unjust, Power kept that magic wrist working,
cutting shots from all angles and playing a game that he has made
uniquely his own.
“Nobody else plays like Power,” Bianchetti commented. “He does so
much with very little wrist movement and you cannot read his shot.” |
|
|
PACE
Canadian Classic 2006
Toronto, Canada,
09-14 January, $50k |
Round One
Jan 11 |
Quarters
Jan 12 |
Semis
Jan 13 |
Final
Jan 14 |
[1]
Jonathon Power (Can)
11/1, 11/10 (4-2), 11/6 (47m)
[Q] Davide Bianchetti (Ita) |
Jonathon Power
11/5, 11/3, 11/7 (46m)
Borja Golan |
Jonathon Power
11/8, 11/9, 9/11, 11/4 (76m)
Gregory Gaultier |
Jonathon Power
19.00
Amr Shabana |
[5] Graham
Ryding (Can)
11/5, 8/11, 11/8, 9/11, 11/7 (76m)
[Q] Borja Golan (Esp) |
[3]
Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
11/5, 11/7, 11/9 (59m)
Shahier Razik (Can) |
Gregory Gaultier
11/0, 11/4, 11/0 (29m)
Jean-Michel Arcucci |
[6] Alex Gough (Wal)
6/11, 11/7, 11/4, 11/6 (82m)
[Q] Jean-Michel Arcucci (Fra) |
Mark
Chaloner (Eng)
11/7, 11/4, 11/2 (27m)
[8] Mohammed Abbas (Egy) |
Mohammed Abbas
11/10 (4/2), 6/11, 11/9, 11/7 (70m)
Karim Darwish |
Karim Darwish
11/6, 11/3, 11/4 (32m)
Amr Shabana |
[Q]
Alister Walker (Eng)
11/8, 11/10(2-0) 11/4 (30m)
[4] Karim Darwish (Egy) |
Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
10/11(1-3), 11/4, 11/8, 10/11(3-5), 11/8 (62m)
[7] Wael El Hindi (Egy) |
Wael El Hindi
12/10, 11/6, 8/11, 11/4 (48m)
Amr Shabana |
Laurens
Jan Anjema (Ned)
11/7, 11/3, 11/10(3-1) (37m)
[2] Amr Shabana (Egy) |
Qualifying and four first round
matches at The Fitness Institute.
Qualifying Finals:
[8] Jean-Michel Arcucci (FRA) bt [2] Ben Garner (ENG)
11-7, 6-11, 11-10 (4-2), 11-9 (57m)
[3] Alister Walker (ENG) bt [6] Dylan Bennett (NED)
9-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 11-7 (53m)
[4] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [7] Darryl Selby (ENG)
11-9, 11-3, 1-11,11-6 (63m)
[1] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt [5] Shawn DeLierre (CAN)
11-8, 11-3, 11-3 (42m)
Qualifying First Round:
Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt Christopher Gordon (USA)
11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (50m)
Shawn Delierre (CAN) bt Dylan Patterson (USA)
11-3, 11-3, 7-11, 11-10 (3-1) (50m)
Alister Walker (ENG) bt David Phillips (CAN)
11-9, 11-6, 11-3 (28m)
Dylan Bennett (NED) bt Michael Reid (CAN)
11-5, 11-6, 11-7 (23m)
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Patrick Bedore (CAN)
11-2, 11-5, 11-8 (36m)
Borja Golan (ESP) bt Bertrand Tissot (FRA)
11-7, 11-2, 11-4 (31m)
Jean-Michel Arcucci (FRA) bt Laurent Elriani (FRA)
11-7, 11-10 (2-0), 6-11, 5-11, 11-3 (89m)
Ben Garner (ENG) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
11-7, 11-7, 11-8 (23m)
|
|
The John Bassett Theatre
provides premier viewing and expanded spectatorship each day of the
tournament. All seating is back wall (watching from the back of the
players) in an elegant plush individual seat venue located on the main
orchestra level of the Theatre. Prices range from $30-$50 in the Club
section, $90 to $120 for the Platinum
section behind the box seats. Tickets are available online at
www.prosquash.ca; email,
tickets@prosquash.ca or by calling 416-720-0277. |
10-Jan, Qualifying Finals:
Arcucci Overcomes
Seedings in Toronto
Liz Shaughnessy reports from
toronto
Jean-Michel
Arcucci of France, who survived an 89-minute marathon first
round match on Monday against fellow Frenchman Laurent Elriani,
continued his run today by removing the second seed of the
qualifying tournament, Ben Garner of England 3/1.
Arcucci will now go through to the main draw of the PACE Savings &
Credit Union Canadian Squash Classic, presented by Dundee
Securities.
Walker Outguns Bennett
The first match of the day was a great battle. It started at high
noon at The Fitness Institute with Alister Walker of England
and Dylan Bennett of the Netherlands acting like gunslingers
who didn’t care who got hurt.
 They
played at a furious pace, cracking the ball a couple of feet above
the tin and putting in the soft drops with entertaining regularity.
They were well matched in every part of the court, but it was the
tall Dutchman who lost his nerve in the fourth and fifth game and
started giving up points on unforced errors. Walker, kept the
pressure on to win the 53 minute match and earn his place in the
main draw.
 The
fourth seeded qualifier, Borja Golan of Spain came out on top
after a contentious match against England’s Daryl Selby.
Golan has a textbook game of beautifully controlled drop shots and,
although Selby has had some good results this year, he was upset by
some of the referee’s decisions, earning two conduct warnings: one
for racquet abuse and one for profanity.
Fifth
seeded Shawn De Lierre (Montreal, Que), the last remaining
Canadian in the qualifying draw, played one good game against
Davide Bianchetti (Italy), the #1 seed in the qualifying event.
But De Lierre’s focus disintegrated rapidly in game two, committing
four errors in a row in an incredibly short 6 minute game.
The trend continued in the 7 minute game three, with DeLierre
virtually handing Bianchetti a clean pass to the main event. |
10 Jan, Qualifying:
DARYL'S DIARY FROM TORONTO
#2
 The
qualifying got underway today and there were no upsets with all top
8 seeds progressing. The closest match was between the two Frenchmen
which resulted in a Conduct Stroke being given against Laurent on
the last point of the match for pushing Arcucci, although I didn't
see it so can't elaborate.
Two matches were played at the Cambridge Club which is a Gentlemen
only club as the courts and gym are part of the changing room, so
you can be knocking up on court and guys just sitting behind naked
watching!! Different eh!
To be honest there isn't too much more to report. The weather has
warmed slightly and is a bit more moist, more like the UK. You can
tell not too much has happened so far as I'm talking about the
weather a lot, but today was just very normal. One thing I did
notice is that we are right in the middle of the Central Business
District and surrounded by skyscrapers. So I spent a lot of the walk
to the club with my head in the air staring up in awe at how high
these buildings were, and wondering how they build them.
Squash tournaments usually occur in clubs just outside cities or in
leafier suburbs, but not this one! Just a quick, random geographical
point.
Hopefully I can give you some more exciting stuff to read tomorrow,
but the matches should all be pretty close as we fight for a place
in the main draw.
Daryl Selby |
|
DARYL'S DIARY FROM TORONTO #1
Happy New Year SquashSite readers.
There's
no rest for the wicked as the rescheduled Pace Canadian Classic
starts tomorrow. The qualifying and half of the first round main
draw is going to be played at the Fitness Institute which is
on the top floor of the TD Waterhouse building in the centre of
Toronto, next to the CN Tower.
Yesterday was my first squash visit to Toronto and walking into the
lobby of the building reminded me of the Nagatomi building's lobby
from the great Die Hard movie. Even the lift was similar so by this
point I was quite excited but unfortunately John Maclain was not in
the Gym, although I wasn't disappointed too long as the view from
the 36th floor is quite spectacular.
It was snowing so was pretty cold outside and luckily I came
prepared with my thermal longjohns, thermal T-Shirt, hat, gloves,
scarf and massive jacket, and whilst I was wearing all of this I was
told by Robin Clarke (who's been kind enough to let me stay
at his place) that it was one of the warmer days, so I'm not looking
forward to going outside this morning as it's meant to be colder!
The main draw is at the John Bassett Theatre at the Metro
Convention Centre, which I haven't seen yet but I'm sure it will
look good and be packed full to see some great squash, as I'm told
John Nimick always organises superb squash events, and with
the World number 1 and 2 here there should be some fantastic
matches.
I'm off to start putting the layers on ready to walk out the front
door, so until next time ........
Daryl Selby |
the CN tower
Metro Convention Centre
On the TV
TSN will air the PACE Classic in a 60-minute program on
Sunday, Feb 12th at 11:30 a.m., hosted by the network’s
Vic Rauter with colour commentary provided by former world
ranked squash player Martin Heath of Scotland. |
|
Pace
Union Canadian Classic
15-19 Nov 2005, Toronto, Canada, $50k |
  |
|
19-Nov, Final:
[2] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt [7] Jonathon Power (Can)
9/11, 11/10(3-1), 11/6, 7/11, 11/8 (80m)
Lincou ends Power's
Canadian reign
Liz Shaughnessy reports from Toronto
Canada's
Jonathon Power came close to winning his fourth PACE
Canadian Squash Classic at the BCE Centre in Toronto, but it was
world number two, Thierry Lincou of France, who took home
the silverware, winning 3/2 after playing a cool, calculated
match.
Thierry is a muscular, tough player who likes to occupy the centre
of the court, causing his opponents to run around him. Time and
time again Power appealed to the referee that his opponent was not
clearing the ball. But the truth was that Lincou's advisers had
obviously worked out a strategy to beat the charismatic Canadian.
Lincou volleyed everything he could, worked both front corners and
did to Power what Power normally does to his opponents.
Lincou was particularly deadly in the right front and constantly
had Power in all sorts of trouble. Meanwhile Power's magic touch,
that had been thrilling the crowds all week, deserted him and he
made more errors in one night than he had throughout the entire
tournament.
Power took the first game, leveraging a tentative start by his
opponent, but started the second game with two errors in the first
three rallies and from that point Lincou led the game. Power was
suffering pain in his left foot, which Lincou had trodden on early
in the first game, but still managed to send the game into a tie
break. He was twice denied lets and Lincou took the 20-minute game
13-11.
In the third game, Power was feeling his thigh and it looked as
though the injury curse was about to rear its head. Power played
tentatively and, not surprisingly, the game was over in seven
minutes, 11-6 for Lincou. Power was given some treatment for a
pulled right quadriceps in the break.
But Jonathon Power is always full of surprises, and he started the
fourth game with some fine winners. At 2-2, Lincou was incensed
when the referee called one of his balls down. He argued at length
and virtually pushed the self-destruct button. With his
concentration gone, Lincou allowed Power to forge ahead to 6-3 and
although he pulled it back to 7-7, Power was in his stride, his
touch returned and he won the game handily, 11-7, to tie the
match.
The fifth game see-sawed back and forth: Lincou led 3-1, and then
Power led 8-7. The next rally was critical and Power gave the
point away on a backhand cross-court that hit the tin. Lincou hit
two winners to get to match ball. Power finished the match with
another error.
Bitterly disappointed at losing in front of a very packed,
partisan crowd, Power said that it was hard to lose in front of
his greatest supporters.
"I couldn't produce my form consistently tonight and Lincou played
extremely well. There's not much else to say," Power said
accepting the loser's cheque.
Lincou thought it was one of his best performances this year.
"I kept to my game plan. Keep him in the back before going short.
You can't attack too early with Power. I was waiting for him to
put me in the front of the court rather, than me put him there,"
Lincou said. Of his collapse in the fourth game Lincou claimed: "I
was sure my ball was up and I got angry. Tension was very high."
This is Lincou's first Canadian title and bodes well for his
return to the number one spot in the world rankings.
|
Liz Shaughnessy
|
Power drops Pace
Final to Frenchman
Globe and Mail
 "To
beat Jonathon in his homeland, and especially in front of
this home crowd, means something really special to me.
"When I won on Thursday, I was really up for the final to do
well, to give everything I had in front of this crowd. To
beat Jonathon, you really have to play your best squash. I
think that's what I did. Throughout the tournament, I think
my level just went up and up. It's good I had my peak in the
final."
Thierry Lincou
 "Today
was one of those days when you get to the final, you've
played too many hard games to get there, and weren't fit
enough to perform. The fitter player on the day wins."
Jonathon Power
Full report from
the Globe and Mail |
|
|
Canadian Classic 2004 |
1st Round
Mon 15th, Tue 16th |
Quarters
Wed 17th |
Semis
Thu 18th |
Final
Fri 19th |
[1]
Lee Beachill (Eng)
11/3, 11/2, 11/6 (34m)
[Q] Rodney Durbach (Rsa) |
Lee Beachill
11/4, 11/6, 11/2 (40m)
Anthony Ricketts |
Anthony Ricketts
11-10 (2-0), 11-6, 10-11 (2-0),
10-11 (4-2), 11-2 (91m)
Jonathon Power |
Jonathon Power
9/11, 11/10(3-1), 11/6, 7/11, 11/8
Thierry Lincou |
[5]
Nick Matthew (Eng)
w/o
Anthony Ricketts (Aus) |
[3]
Peter Nicol (Eng)
11/6, 11/6, 10/11(2-4), 11/3 (35m)
[Q] Jonathon Kemp (Eng) |
Peter Nicol
11/7, 11/7, 11/2 (42m)
Jonathon Power |
[7]
Jonathon Power (Can)
11/5, 11/2, 9/11, 11/4 (56m)
James Willstrop (Eng) |
[6]
Karim Darwish (Egy)
9/11, 11/8, 5/11, 11/5, 11/9
(64m)
[Q] Paul Price (Aus) |
Paul Price
11/8, 11/6, 7/0 rtd (46m)
Graham Ryding |
Graham Ryding
8-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (59m)
Thierry Lincou |
[LL]
Joey Barrington (Eng)
11/6, 10/11 (0-2), 11/4, 11/6
(62m)
Graham Ryding (Can) |
[8]
Joe Kneipp (Aus)
9/11, 11/3, 11/2, 11/7 (60m)
[Q] Peter Barker (Eng) |
Joe Kneipp
7/11, 11/10 (4/2), 5/0 rtd (39m)
Thierry Lincou |
[2]
Thierry Lincou (Fra)
11/6, 11/3, 11/10 (2-0) (41m)
Dan Jenson (Aus) |
Qualifying:
Finals (Sun 14th):
Paul Price (Aus) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) 11/6,
11/10(2-0), 6/11, 11/8
Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Joey Barrington (Eng) 9/11, 7/11, 11/5,
11/9, 11/10(6-4)
Rodney Durbach (Rsa) bt Martin Heath (Sco) 7/11, 11/9, 3/11,
11/5, 11/1
Peter Barker (Eng) bt Jan Koukal (Cze) 11/4, 11/6, 11/4
First Round:
Paul Price (Aus) bt Matthew Giuffre (Can) 11/8, 11/8, 11/8
Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt David Phillips (Can) 11/9, 11/8,
11/7
Joey Barrington (Eng) bt Shawn De Lierre (Can) 10/11(0-2),
11/6, 11/3, 7/11, 11/7
Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Shahier Razik (Can) 11/9, 8/11, 11/9,
11/3
Rodney Durbach (Rsa) bt Gavin Jones (Wal) 11/10(3-1), 11/9,
4/11, 11/3
Martin Heath (Sco) bt Aaron Francomb (Aus) 11/2, 11/7, 11/4
Peter Barker (Eng) bt Ian Power (Can) 7/11, 11/9, 11/7, 11/4
Jan Koukal (Cze) bt Simon Parke (Eng) 11/7, 11/5, 9/11, 11/3
|
18-Nov, Semi-Finals:
[7] Jonathon Power (Can) bt [10 ]Anthony Ricketts (AUS)
11-10 (2-0), 11-6, 10-11 (2-0), 10-11 (4-2), 11-2 (91m)
[2] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [12] Graham Ryding (Can)
8-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (59m)
Lincou Spoils Canadian Party
Liz Shaughnessy reports from Toronto
Canada’s Graham Ryding started off the evening in fine
form, hoping to create history with the first all-Canadian final
at a major PSA event. He showed that he could not only stay with
Thierry Lincou of France, a former world number one, but
could he could outplay him too. Lincou, now world number two, is
favoured to win the tournament now that the top seed, Lee Beachill
is out. Ryding, ranked 20 is a player with a lot of experience and
clearly did not let the ranking difference effect him.
Ryding played solidly to take the first game 11-8, giving the
partisan crowd hopes of seeing two Canadian victories in a single
evening. But as Ryding admitted later, in order to beat the
accomplished Lincou, “you have to play perfect squash”.
In the second game, Ryding was less than perfect and Lincou took
full advantage of the centre court, allowing him to dominate the
game. Ryding’s length was inconsistent and Lincou stepped in to
cut the ball short. Ryding’s cross courts were not wide enough and
Lincou stepped up the pressure. The large crowd maintained vocal
support for Ryding and gave long ovations to some of the excellent
rallies in which both players showed exceptional athleticism.
But, Lincou never relinquished his hold on the second game which
he won 11-6 and continued to dominate play, winning the third and
fourth games.
“I won the first game because I took control of the T [centre
court] where Lincou likes to be,” Ryding said later. “I felt I
played OK but he’s a tough competitor and you have to play perfect
squash to beat him and I didn’t – I made a couple of mistakes.
With Lincou, that’s a few too many.”
Lincou meets Jonathon Power (MONT/Que) for the PACE Canadian
Squash Classic Final at 7:00 p.m., tomorrow (Friday). While the
statistics favour Lincou (2nd seed) versus Power (7th seed), the
mighty Canuk has won this tournament three out of the last four
years.
|
Liz Shaughnessy
Canadian Classic
TSN will carry
tape-delayed action of the final three matches of the PACE
Canadian Squash Classic, primetime, with host Vic Rauter
joined by PSA player Martin Heath from Scotland. The
Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada was the
recipient charity for the 2004 tournament. |
|
Power
Outlasts Ricketts
In the best match of the
PACE Canadian Squash Classic so far, Canada’s Jonathon Power
outlasted Anthony Ricketts of Australia to win 3/2 in
the semi-finals, after five games of superb, skilled and
dramatic squash. By reason of age, Ricketts (the younger player)
should have walked off the court as victor after 91 minutes, but
Power clearly demonstrated that he can still put in the
necessary hard work to get the job done.
They started the first game with long patient 60 shot rallies
and Power hinted that he was prepared to do whatever was
necessary. Power led from the beginning but Ricketts stayed the
pace, never allowing Power to relax. Even with Power at game
ball, 10-8, Ricketts remained calm, forced two errors from Power
to bring on a tie break. Power took the first point on a
Ricketts error and then hit a superb cross court which had the
Australian diving in vain to get it back. After 23 hard minutes,
Power won 11-10.
Power was not pleased at having to play a hard ninety-one
minute match the day before a final, but the smile on his
face showed that he was pleased with his performance.
“That
was the best that Ricketts has played for months and I was
just happy to be able to wear him down physically. I got a
little tired in the third and went through bouts of
fatigue, but I knew he was more tired than I was. I have
never seen him not run for a ball, so I knew he was
hurting. In the fifth, I just went back to my game and
made him twist and turn.” |
Power opened up in the second
game, constantly taking Ricketts to the front and making him
work. The game was over in 13 minutes, 11-6, for Power and when
he ran to an 8-3 lead in the third game, it looked as though he
was home free.
As he did in his previous match, Power became hesitant, allowing
Ricketts back in and then made a series of unforced errors to
allow Ricketts to catch and force another tie-break. In full
flow, Ricketts won the game 11-10.
Power led the fourth game, but once more Ricketts, who was now
going short and hitting some fine drops shots, ran out the
winner 10-8. Power was looking tired, while Ricketts seemed to
gain a second wind.
But the effort required to come
back from two games down was too much for the young Australian
and Power, sensing the fatigue, played tight squash and used his
drop shots to superb effect, winning the final game 11-2 in just
eight minutes.
Ricketts had mixed feelings about his performance: “I felt in
the last three weeks that my form has returned,” he explained,
referring to his long layoff due to a knee problem. “But, I did
get tired because coming back from two games down requires a
huge amount of physical effort.”
|
17-Nov, Quarter-Finals:
Anthony Ricketts bt Lee Beachill 11/4, 11/6, 11/2
(40m)
Jonathon Power bt Peter Nicol 11/7,
11/7, 11/2 (42m)
Graham Ryding bt Paul Price
11/8, 11/6, 7/0 rtd (46m)
Thierry Lincou bt Joe Kneipp
7/11, 11/10(4/2), 5/0 rtd (39m)Two
Canadians in Classic Semis
Liz Shaughnessy reports from Toronto
 For
the first time in the five year history of the tournament, two
Canadians, Jonathon Power and Graham Ryding ,will
advance to the PACE Canadian Squash Classic semi-finals at
BCE Place in Toronto. Injuries plagued the Australians in the
quarter finals as first 8th seed Joe Kneipp and later
Paul Price fell to the injured list.
The evening had been a rare occurrence with three of the four
quarter-final outcomes decided by injuries. Following world number
one Lee Beachill’s lame finish, due to a pulled abductor muscle,
Kneipp was forced to retire in the middle of the third game
allowing Thierry Lincou, the second seed to proceed into
the semi-finals with minimum effort.
In the final match of the evening, Price also had to retire in the
third game against Canada’s Graham Ryding. He suffers from severe
back problems, an ailment that interrupted his career several
times for the last four years.
This gives Canada two players in the semi-finals for the first
time ever. Jonathon Power will play Anthony Ricketts, while
Ryding will face world number two Thierry Lincou. |
Liz Shaughnessy
|
Power's 40-minute workout
Jonathon Power was at the peak of his skill in taking a straight
games victory over his long- time rival Peter Nicol in
their quarter final match at BCE Place, in Toronto.
 Power,
ranked ninth in the world, had control of the game over world
number three Nicol from the first ball and never let up. By the
middle of the third game Nicol virtually gave up, realizing he
was not going to be able to reverse the dominance that the
Canadian had built up.
Power likes to play fast and everything was in his favour – a
fast court, a hot ball and the new scoring to eleven. He was
hitting his favourite shot – the backhand drop – with deadly
accuracy and holding his shot until the last moment, leaving
Nicol flat-footed time and time again.
The pace was fast and furious and the accuracy breathtaking. The
packed galleries were all for Power and he gave them what they
wanted, leading throughout the three games to win 11-7, 11-7,
11-2 in 42 minutes.
“I was moving well from the beginning which is always important
and I took the centre of the court away from him, which is also
key,” Power said. “Peter wasn’t reading my shots because I was
really putting holds on the ball and then snapping it past him.
And my drops were working well, so he had to cover them. My
touch game and my length game were working and it was tough for
him to cover both.”
This was their 39th meeting on the pro circuit - their first was
at the 1995 Canadian Open, ironically, in Burlington, Ontario.
Nicol still leads 21 to 18 on this, the greatest head-to-head
battle in squash since Jahanghir Khan and Jansher Khan locked
horns.
Queried about his meeting with Anthony Ricketts tomorrow
(Thursday) in the semi-final, Power said that he was not
expecting an easy game. “I have beaten him twice this year, but
he’s getting better every match. The last time it was 3/0, but
the match was very close, said Power.” |
BEACHILL LIMPS OUT
World number one Lee Beachill limped out of
the tournament when an
old abductor injury reduced his movement in his quarter-final
match against Anthony Ricketts of Australia. Beachill had
performed superbly in his first round match on Monday, but he
admitted later that Ricketts had put him under enormous pressure
with long rallies and, as the match progressed, the injury
worsened.
This is not to detract from the performance of the Australian,
presently ranked 14th in the world. From the first ball he
played inch-perfect squash leading all the way to win the first
game 11-4 and hitting six outright winners on the way. A
collision at 5-3 left Beachill with a dead leg and he had to
walk it off before continuing. From that moment on Beachill had
a hesitancy about his play and although he pushed to 6-6 in the
second game, it clear obvious that he was not operating at 100
percent capacity.
After losing the second game 11-6, Beachill claimed a three
minute injury break and received treatment to his upper right
thigh. Even though the break between the two games ran to eight
minutes, it was not enough for Beachill and he offered just
token resistance in the third game as Ricketts won 11-2 in under
six minutes. This was the second time that Ricketts benefited
from injury: his first round opponent, 5th seed Nick Matthew ,
had to withdraw with a back problem giving Ricketts a free ride
into the quarter finals. |
16-Nov, Round One:
[2] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Dan Jenson (Aus)
11/6, 11/3, 11/10 (2-0) (41m)
Graham Ryding (Can) bt [LL] Joey Barrington (Eng)
11/6, 10/11 (0-2), 11/4, 11/6 (62m)
[Q] Paul Price (Aus) bt [6] Karim Darwish (Egy
9/11, 11/8, 5/11, 11/5, 11/9 (64m)
[8] Joe Kneipp (Aus) bt [Q] Peter Barker (Eng)
9/11, 11/3, 11/2, 11/7 (60m) |
|
Ryding the Storm
Liz Shaughnessy reports from Toronto
Graham Ryding,
Canada’s second best player made his way through to the
quarter-finals of the PACE Canadian Squash Classic in Toronto last
night, but not before giving his many fans a bit of a fright.
He seemed comfortably in charge against Joey Barrington,
son of the great British squash legend Jonah, taking the first
game 11-6 and running to a 10-3 lead in the second, when the
lightning struck. Barrington stopped hitting the tin with his
forehand drives, hit a couple of winners and suddenly Ryding went
negative. There was nothing the Canadian could do about the streak
and Barrington took an amazing nine points in a row to win the
game 12-10.
Barrington is known as a runner and many of his matches go to the
full five games, something Ryding was keen to avoid in a first
round match. Ryding, a Toronto native who is ranked 20 in the
world, was not about to lose in front of his home crowd to a
player ranked 24 places below him. He came out for the third game
in a determined mood and ran Barrington off the court 11-4 in just
eight minutes. The fourth game took a little longer, but Ryding
led from the beginning and had an answer for everything that
Barrington tried, taking the game 9-5 to complete his 3/1victory
Lack of concentration, he said, was the start of his troubles in
that second game. “I must have let up a little bit and lost
concentration and once he had won a couple of points I started to
tighten up. I tried to relax and that made me play too tentative,”
he explained. “Barrington is a bit of a comeback kid. He tightens
his game up and closes you down. In the third game, I went back to
what had been working, moving the ball around the court and
playing a little quicker and that took Joey out of his rhythm.” |
Price Powers Past Darwish
Ryding
now meets Paul Price of Australia in the quarter finals, a
player that is no stranger to Ryding as Price now resides in
Toronto and is Ryding’s training partner.
Based on Price’s performance today, Ryding is going to have a
tough job getting past him. Although Price, a qualifier for the
main draw event, is ranked three places below Ryding in the world,
he is playing well above his ranking. In his first round match he
beat Egypt’s Karim Darwish, the world number eight, in a 68
minute match that see-sawed back and forth before Price took the
fifth game 11-9.
Darwish is known for his shotmaking, but last night Price showed
that he could also hit winners, a tactic that never allowed
Darwish to get a grip on a game. |
Lincou eases into
Kneipp Clash
Eighth seed Joseph Kneipp of Australia lost the first game
to qualifier Peter Barker of England, but took charge in
the second game and won the next three games to earn quarter final
meeting with second seed Thierry Lincou of France.
Lincou opened the evenings proceedings with a solid 3/0 win over
Australian Dan Jenson, winning the first two games
comfortable before clinching the match in a third game tie-break.
Lincou and Kneipp in London |
15-Nov,
Round One:
[1] Lee Beachill (Eng) bt [Q] Rodney Durbach (Rsa)
11/3, 11/2, 11/6 (34m)
Anthony Ricketts (Aus) bt [5] Nick Matthew (Eng)
w/o
[3] Peter Nicol (Eng) bt [Q] Jonathon Kemp (Eng)
11/6, 11/6, 10/11(2-4), 11/3 (35m)
[7] Jonathon Power (Can) bt James Willstrop (Eng)
11/5, 11/2, 9/11, 11/4 (56m)
Liz Shaughnessy reports from Toronto
Beachill fails to spare the
Rod
Lee
Beachill showed why he is ranked number one in the world
when he over-ran Rod Durbach, ranked 30, in a little
over 30 minutes in their first round match of the PACE
Canadian Squash Classic.
On a sparkling four-wall glass court, the lanky Englishman
played near faultless squash to keep South African Durbach
constantly under pressure. Beachill, after some frustrating
injury-prone years, is now at the peak of his powers and he
brings a ruthless accuracy to the game that few of the top
players can abide.
The first game was over in eight minutes with Beachill
dictating the play from the word go. He volleyed at every
possible opportunity and every loose reply from Durbach was
cut into the nick for a winner.
The second game was even quicker, 11-2 for Beachill in just
over six minutes and it wasn’t until the middle of third
game that Beachill made his first error as he tried to slam
the ball low for a winner and hit the tin. Durbach found a
couple of winners of his own and managed to stay on equal
terms to 6-6. Beachill dispelled any ideas about a comeback
by upping his game to run away to an 11-6 win to earn his
place in the quarter-finals.
Durbach, a very experienced player, was philosophical
afterwards.
“He was too accurate and doesn’t give you too much to hit.
His consistency of shot is hard to deal with. It’s a very
good court and Beachill has played on it often, but for me
it was the first time. I was struggling to see the ball so
that made it very hard to read which meant I was always
chasing the ball,” he said.
|
Willstrop gets the
Power treatment
Although
young James Willstrop may be the best prospect to come
out of England for decades, when faced with the experience,
skill and speed of Jonathon Power, he was only close
for a few short spells as Power took a 3/1 victory in 56
minutes.
Their first round match at the BCE Place in downtown Toronto,
pulled a capacity audience to watch Power, the enigmatic – and
charismatic – title holder.
They weren’t disappointed: Power found his touch and pace very
quickly and soon had Willstrop stretching into the back
corners and diving to the front as he desperately tried to
pick up Power’s patented backhand drop shot, the shot that has
won him more points than all his other vast array of shots put
together.
Willstrop, at 21 (ten years younger than Power) and the former
junior world champion, started a little tensely, went for
winners too quickly and paid the price with a stream of errors
which allowed Power to jog through the first two games 11-5,
11-2 in 23 minutes.
The third game took a different route as 6’4” Willstrop cut
out his errors and Power went short too quickly. The lanky
Yorkshireman led from the start and although Power tied it up
at 6-6, Willstrop went ahead with a finely controlled rally
and then ran to an 11-9 win with the help of some errors from
Power.
Power was back on track in the fourth – forcing the tiring
Willstrop into some strange shot selections. Once he had the
game firmly in his grip, Power never looked like losing was an
option and he took the fourth game 11-4 to the delight of the
full galleries.
“I found my rhythm very early in the match,” Power said,
explaining his two quick games. “But I lost my concentration
in the third and he [Willstrop] hit some good shots early on.
I also tried to go for winners too quickly and made errors.
But he didn’t run for a ball at 8-10 and I thought he was
tired. So in the fourth I made him get into some long rallies
and that’s when he started making errors,” Power said.
"They're all young these days for me," Power told the Globe
and Mail. "He's one of those guys that's going to be in the
top three or four players in the world for the next eight or
nine years," he added. "So it's good that I pile up a couple
of wins on him before I retire."
Of his recent injuries, he said he was in good shape and
moving well. “But it’s not the first matches that worry me,
it’s the later rounds where my fitness counts.
Power back to defend his title
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Nicol wins,
Matthew withdraws
The final two Monday matches were reduced to one when Nick
Matthew re-injured his back in practice earlier in the day
and had to withdraw from the tournament giving Australian
Anthony Ricketts an easy passage into Wednesday’s
quarter-finals.
Ricketts,
who has dropped from a high of four in the world due to a knee
problem, is now down to 14th, but recent performances indicate
that he will soon be up in the top five again. It had promised
to be a tough match – Matthew has risen to his best ever world
six on the back of some superb performances – as the two
players have a similar beefy, playing style.
It
was left to Peter Nicol, former world number one and
world champion, to finish the evening in style and his fast
reactions and immense experience were simply too much for
Englishman Jonathon Kemp. Left-hander Nicol won the
first two games comfortably and then found himself in the
first-tie break of the evening. When the score reached 10-10.
Kemp showed his potential – he is still only 45 in the world –
by matching Nicol all over the court and at times
wrong-footing the man who has dominated squash for the last
eight years. They played another six points and this time it
was Kemp who emerged the winner.
But, the effort had been too much and Nicol kept the pace
coming as Kemp slowly wilted under the relentless attack and
could take just three points.
Power & Nicol to
meet again ...
The quarter final on Wednesday, pitting Canadian Jonathon
Power against arch rival Peter Nicol in considered, by some,
the most significant match of the tournament. The pair have
met 38 times, with Nicol ahead by 21-17.
Nicol v Power Head to Head
Power not ready to retire yet
Globe and Mail |
14-Nov, Qualifying
Finals:
'Lucky' Joey survives Qualifying
Final qualifying for
the Canadian Classic in Toronto saw Paul Price,
Rodney Durbach, Jonathan Kemp and Peter Barker
claim places in the main draw, with Joey Barrington,
who lost a marathon match against Kemp, receiving a 'Lucky
Loser' spot following the withdrawal of fourth seed David
Palmer.
Qualifying Rewards
Australian Paul Price justified his top seeding in
the qualifying competition with a 3/1 victory over young
Dutchman 'LJ' Anjema to set up a meeting at the BCE Place
with sixth seed Karim Darwish.
Rodney Durbach won a see-saw encounter with tour
veteran Martin Heath, now a resident of Toronto, coming from
2-1 down and cantering to an 11/1 win in the fifth.
Durbach's reward is a meeting with top seed Lee Beachill in
the main draw.
England's Peter Barker won the battle of the
youngsters, as Jan Koukal was unable to repeat the form that
saw him beat Simon Parke in the first round, Barker winning
11/4, 11/6, 11/4 to set up a clash with Joe Kneipp on
Tuesday.
'Lucky' Joey
Joey Barrington
makes a habit of playing marathon qualifying matches, and it
was no different in Toronto. Having beaten local favourite
Shawn De Lierre in five in the first round, Barrington met
compatriot Jonathan Kemp in the finals, went 2-0 up
before eventually losing 16-14 in the fifth. But it wasn't
wasted effort, as Joey received the 'lucky loser' spot made
available by Palmer's withdraw, and faces another Canadian,
Graham Ryding in the main draw. More luck for Joey, in that
he now gets a day off!
Palmer Out
Earlier on Sunday, tournament director John Nimick
was contacted directly by Australian David Palmer,
(#4 in the world) who has had to pull out of the competition
due to a shoulder injury sustained during the Harris British
Open last week. The injury was further aggravated during
practise sessions earlier this week.
Junior Jam
Following the Sunday qualifiers, fourteen of the top PSA
players in the world, including 10 of the top 15,
participated in a "Junior Jam" for children at the
Mayfair Lakeshore Club. Over 125 kids, 8 - 15 years of age,
from across Ontario had the opportunity to play and learn
from the best in the sport.
"Squash is a very grassroots sport", said Jonathon Power,
defending PACE Canadian Squash Classic Champion, "and this
is a great opportunity for us to give back to our sport and
help the next generation of international players".
14-Nov:
Power Back to defend his Title
Canada's Jonathon Power will be bidding for his
fourth Canadian Classic title in Toronto, and his third in a
row, but the defending champion starts his campaign as
seventh seed following a year troubled with injuries which
have seen him slip down the rankings.
"I've had a tough go of it," Power told Gregory Strong
from the Canadian Press, "but the last month or so
I'd say, I'm feeling pretty good."
After winning last year's event Power injured his hand in
Qatar, forcing him to miss out on the Qatar Classic and the
World Open, the two richest events of the year. A leg
injury followed at the Canadian Nationals in April, and
further problems forced him to pull out of September's US
Open.
The Canadian star got back into action with a series of
events in the US, losing out in the semi-finals in Detroit,
St Louis and Cleveland, before finally getting back on the
winning track in last month's Hungarian Open.
"Hopefully it's the right time, just in time for the
tournament in Toronto and the world championships," Power
said. "It should be good."
Down
at number nine in the world, Power faces tougher than usual
draws in the major tournaments, and this week faces rising
star James Willstrop, the world number 13, in the
first round. Willstrop beat Power the last time they met, in
Kuwait this January. "It's a tough start to the week. He's
playing pretty good squash," Power said. "I'm looking
forward to it. I enjoy playing with him and he plays a nice
style."
In the Qatar World Open at the end of the month, Power has a
first-round date with Aussie Dan Jenson, who beat him
in Cleveland, and if he wins that a second round meeting
with arch-rival Peter Nicol looms.
"I'm sort of on a similar time schedule. Peter and I have
had very similar careers," Power said. "We've sort of won
everything there is to win and been No. 1 numerous times.
Really I just want to keep playing for Canada in the next
world championships and the Commonwealth Games."
Power beat Nicol to win gold at the 2002 Games in England,
four years after Nicol beat the Canadian in the final of the
1998 Games in Malaysia. So is there the possibility of a
decider in Australia in 2006?
"Yeah,
I hope so." said Power. "I mean we'll both be trying to hang
on. There are going to be lots of good players but I'd like
to see that for sure. Three in a row, that would be good."
But for now, Power is concentrating on winning his home
event, "his British Open" as he described it when playing
John White in a challenge match in London last month.
"It's a different feeling playing at home. I've always had
awesome support," said Power. "That's why I take the
tournament so seriously, maybe more than some of the other
players because I want to please the local fans. I like
playing here at home and I'm trying to promote squash in
Canada."
Original Story from The Canadian Press
Photo courtesy
www.prosquash.ca
13-Nov:
Canadians Fall in Classic
Qualifying
The first qualifying
round in the 2004 Canadian Classic was not kind to the home
players, as all five Canadians fell at the first hurdle,
held at Toronto's Fitness Institute (T.D. Centre) and the
Cambridge Club.
Price & LJ deny home hopefuls
Australia's Paul Price, the world number 23, is top
seed in qualifying and will face the Netherlands' Laurens
Jan Anjema after both enjoyed 3/0 victories over
Canadians Matthew Giuffre and David Phillips.
Koukal Shocks Simon
One qualifying place rests between two youngsters, England's
Peter Barker and Czech Jan Koukal. Barker
ended Ian Power's hopes of joining brother Jonathon in the
main draw, while Koukal provided the biggest upset of the
day, beating England's in-form Simon Parke in four games.
Fifth English Guaranteed
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Preview:
Pace Canadian Classic
Celebrates Fifth Anniversary
Celebrating its fifth anniversary, the Pace Credit Union
Canadian Classic welcomes the world's best squash
players once again to Toronto's fabulous BCE Place
from 15-19 November 2004. The $50,000 (USD) PSA Five
Star Championship will feature the world's top five players
and eight of the top ten, including new world No1 Lee
Beachill (England), current No3 Peter Nicol
(England) and perennial Canadian squash superstar and
three-time Canadian Classic Champion, Jonathon Power.
The Pace Classic is the only major squash championship held
in Canada for 2004.
Canadian
Classic Finals:
2003: Jonathon Power bt David Palmer
2002: Jonathon Power bt Peter Nicol
2001: Peter Nicol bt Stewart Boswell
2000: Jonathon Power bt Peter Nicol
New
Scoring A Hit
Recent changes in the
scoring for men's professional squash argue well for
increased competition at this year's Classic. A
groundbreaking change by the Tour's sanctioning body reduced
the point threshold for game-winning from 15 points to 11
(PAR). The result is more crisis in the course of each game
and a reduction in overall match length. The system was
utilised to resounding applause during both the
Hong Kong
Open (August) and the
US Open
(September).
According to event promoter John Nimick, who produces
the Classic along with the US Open,
British Open
and the
Tournament of Champions in New York, three of the PSA
World Tour's other major events, the scoring change is a
success: "The feedback has been tremendous," says Nimick.
"The PSA took a chance with the change as it opened them to
criticism on many sides, but the proof is in the pudding. We
experienced the best competition ever at the US Open and it
was due in large part to the intensity brought to every
stage of each match by the players. We are looking for more
of the same in Toronto. When the score gets close to 5-5,
everyone is paying attention!"
Power
aims for Home Glory
Power, ranked No9 at
the entry deadline for the Classic, remains a strong
contender on his home turf, though his first round match-up
against the highly-touted Englishman James Willstrop (No12)
may be a severe test. Beachill, Nicol, world No2 Thierry
Lincou (France) and No3 David Palmer (Australia) are
expected to threaten in the final rounds. Canadian Graham
Ryding, ranked 19, receives a wildcard slot in the main draw
of 16 and will face a tough challenge against Palmer in the
first round.
Canada's premier squash championship is held on a
transparent glass court in the middle of the Allen
Lambert Galleria in BCE Place and features more
than 450+ in surrounding seating. The Fitness Institute and
Cambridge Club present the qualifying rounds on November 13
and 14, while the Mayfair Lakeshore Club hosts the third
annual Junior Jam Clinic with the Pros on Sunday afternoon,
November 14.
Majestic
BCE Place
As Nimick sums up:
"Torontonians should prepare for a gangbusters tournament at
BCE Place. The site has always been a majestic location for
squash, perhaps not quite the equal of the Pyramids of Giza,
but certainly the Canadian equivalent of Grand Central
Station (home of the US Tournament of Champions), and the
event sits in the heart of the busiest season for the pro
tour. Under the new system any of the top players can win,
so Power will have his hands full trying to become a record
setting four time champion."
Pace Credit and Savings Union, Ontario's top ranked
member-owned bank, is the event's title sponsor. Secondary
sponsorship is provided by Dundee Wealth Management Group,
The Globe and Mail and TD Newcrest. Associate sponsors
include Dunlop Sports, LeDrew Laishley Reed LLP, Novotel
Toronto, Primus Telecommunications and Tom's Place.
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