Squash Magazine: US Tour 2004

US TOUR: Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions New York, USA Photo by Steve Line/Squashpics.com Updated February 27, 2004

Final: [3] Peter Nicol (ENG) d [2] John White (SCO) 10, 17-15, 12 (67m) Nicol Beats White, But Glory Shared Honors were arguably shared in New York when England's third seed Peter Nicol upset Scotland's No. 2 seed John White in straight games in the final of the Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions to win the USA's biggest squash championship for the third time -- but the runner-up came away certain to be crowned world No. 1 when the March Dunlop PSA World Rankings are announced next week. Defending champion Nicol got off to an impressive start in his fourth successive final at Grand Central Terminal when, in the first game, he took the immediate lead and never relinquished it. Nicol executed his pre-match strategy against the second-seeded Scot from the very first point. By moving his opponent up and back in the court Nicol was able to prevent White, the hardest-hitting player on the tour, from unleashing his trademark power. White jumped ahead in the second but Nicol quickly caught him and surged ahead to 9-6. A seesaw battle followed as White started finding his power and had Nicol moving to the corners. But White failed to capitalise on his advantage, putting several seeming volley winners into the tin. At 15-16 in the tie-break, White made yet another error after a long punishing point to let Nicol take a 2-0 lead. "I felt that I was playing the game I wanted to," said Nottingham-based White. "But Peter was returning the shots tonight that were winners in my last two matches. I had several openings, but I just clipped the tin because of the pressure from Peter." Indeed, the expectation by many in the know was that this was 30-year-old White's tournament to win. Having achieved a career high No. 2 ranking at the end of 2003, the Australian-born Scot has been playing the most consistent squash of his career while Nicol, the former Scot, seemed to still be recovering from a recurring virus that plagued him in 2003. Although the overall match record of the finalists was 7-3 in Nicol's favor, White had won the last two matches -- in the semifinals of both the World Open in December 2002 and the PSA Masters in May last year. And regardless of the outcome of this match, White would become the top-ranked player in the world in just a few days. But the competitive fire, tenacity and mental toughness that has taken Nicol to the top of the world rankings for all but 16 months out of the last four and a half years was clearly in evidence in this final. Having staved off the White charge at the end of the second game, Nicol blew out to a 12-5 lead in the third, and the match looked to be over. White was not quite ready to throw in the towel, however, and fought his way back to 12-all. The overflow crowd roared with excitement as White chipped away at the lead. But a few more untimely errors from White and it was Nicol that claimed the 10, 17-15, 12 victory in 67 minutes -- and his third Tournament of Champions title. "This one was brutal," said Nicol, after his 65th appearance in a PSA Tour final. "The entire match was played at such a fast pace that we're both completely exhausted. I'm so tired I can't even be happy yet." White replied: "I'm disappointed to lose 3-0. But getting to my first Tournament of Champions title and leaving here as the world No. 1 is not too shabby!" After having had a few minutes to collect his breath and reflect briefly on his championship win, Nicol added: "It feels a bit strange right now because I've spent my whole life solely dedicated to winning squash matches. But I am not doing that anymore. I am getting out and doing more, but I feel like I am playing better squash and I'm still winning." Asked whether he was disappointed that White had overtaken him for the No. 1 ranking, the gracious champion replied: "Not at all. I think, of all the players, John has really earned the ranking because he has won several titles in the past year." Then, with a sly grin, the 30-year-old from London, added: "But hopefully he won't be there too long." (Look for James Zug's report on the TOC in the April 2004 edition of Squash Magazine.) PREVIOUS RESULTS Semifinals: [3] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [6] Jonathon Power (CAN) 5, 11, 8 (67m) [2] John White (SCO) bt [4] Lee Beachill (ENG) 9, 13, 7 (63m) Champion Nicol To Face White In New York Final Third seed Peter Nicol, the defending champion from England, will face Scotland's No. 2 seed John White in the final of the Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions after both players achieved straight games victories in the semifinals at Grand Central Terminal in New York. Twice champion Nicol reached his fourth successive final after dismissing his great rival Jonathon Power, the four-times champion from Canada, 5, 11, 8 in 67 minutes, while White, the world-number-one-to-be who is celebrating his maiden appearance in the final, defeated England's fourth seed Lee Beachill 9, 3, 7 in 63 minutes. The packed crowd was buzzing with great anticipation as they waited for the first match of the evening between the sport's great titans Peter Nicol and Jonathon Power. The two rivals have owned the title of this championship for the last six years -- the last player to win the championship before either of them being the legendary Jansher Khan, in 1995. Nicol jumped into a big lead in the first game and Power's trademark pace and deft shot-making were missing from his game. The trouble became apparent as Power asked for an injury timeout as a result of back spasms. The Canadian returned to the court and quickly lost the game 15-5. In the second it looked as though he might be able to mount a challenge as a one or two point lead seesawed back and forth. When Nicol prevailed 15-13, there was some question as to whether Power would even get back on court. "I want to play," he said to his coach Mike Way, hoping that the spasms would release as he played. Power began to move more freely in the third game but it was too late. "By that point, my game plan was gone and my mind wasn't there," said the clearly disappointed 29-year-old from Montreal. Nicol, although happy to be in the final, was not all that pleased with his own play. "I played all right," said the world No. 2 from London. "But it was all quite a bit average and a bit anticlimactic. I did what I had to do. I was hitting the ball long, but it wasn't much fun for me to play and I don't suppose it was much fun to watch," added Nicol, competing in his first tournament since suffering from exhaustion during his semifinal match in the British National Championships earlier in the month. The result in the 37th clash between Nicol and Power takes the Englishman 20-17 ahead in their career head-to-head tally. Undeniably the hardest hitter on the tour, John White has rounded out his game to be more patient and use his power more strategically. "What I have learned as I've got older is that it is most important to always go back to the basics," said the 30-year-old from Nottingham in England. "The old Johnny White would always go for a nick or three-wall-boast to get out of a tight spot. Now I go back to the basics and try to have a two or three point cushion before I take that kind of risk." White led Beachill from start to finish in the first game, but the 26-year-old Yorkshireman made a run in the second, jumping out to a 7-3 lead. White, who beat Beachill to win the British National title for the first time ten days ago, remained steady in the face of the challenge. "I just told myself to stick to my game plan, which was to keep enough pace on the ball so he wouldn't be able to hold and flick at the front of the court. I knew that if I was working hard, he was working hard." After 29 minutes, making it the longest game of the championships, White closed out the game 15-13. Beachill folded a bit in the third and the Scotsman secured his first ever appearance in the Tournament of Champions final when he won the last game 15-7, in just eight minutes. Looking ahead to the final, White said, "I'll have a good breakfast, a good hit and treat it like another day at the office with a new client." Win or lose in the finals, White will, at end of the month, officially become the world No. 1 -- marking the first time that Scotsman will have scaled the top of the rankings. Quarterfinals: [6] Jonathon Power (CAN) d [1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) (8), 6, 6, (5), 12 (98m) [3] Peter Nicol (ENG) d [8] Nick Matthew (ENG) 8, 7, 6 (40m) [4] Lee Beachill (ENG) d [7] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) 15-14, 3, 4 (48m) [2] John White (SCO) d [13] James Willstrop (ENG) 13, (10), 6, 8 (67m) Day 1 Quarterfinals Old Rivalry Renewed Nicol, Power to Meet in TOC Semi Another chapter in the long-running squash rivalry between England's Peter Nicol and Canada's Jonathon Power will be written at Grand Central Terminal in New York on Wednesday when the pair meet for the first time this year in the semifinals of the Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions. Seventh-seeded Power earned his berth after a 98-minute, five-game upset over France's top seed, Thierry Lincou, while third-seed Nicol cruised to a straight games win in less than half the time over eighth-seeded compatriot Nick Matthew. "I'm just relieved," said Power after the quarterfinal marathon. "It was tough from the beginning. I was on the wrong side of the officiating, he was playing well and we were both fighting for a little space." In the first game Lincou looked very much like the world No. 1 that he is, using consistent rails deep in the court to keep Power playing from behind. In the second and third games, Power used his lightning quick racquet to turn the pace up a notch and this time it was the Frenchman who was scrambling in the backcourt. After winning each of those games for the loss of just six points each, the four-times champion from Montreal looked as though he would cruise into the next round. But the top seed was not done. He won the fourth by once again moving Power to the back of the court and took a five-point lead in the fifth. Power, who had become distracted earlier in the match by some refereeing calls with which he did not agree, regained his focus and consistency to start chipping away at the 27-year-old Frenchman's lead. For Lincou, the turning point in the match came when he was ahead 10-7 in the fifth. "We played a long point and he moved me around the court a lot. Even though it ended with a let, and I was up by three points, that was it!" Indeed, Power then snatched six consecutive points to go up 13-10. "When I was down 7-10, 8-10, the crowd gave me a big lift. It was like having a hometown crowd, which I don't have in very many places," said the appreciative Canadian. Lincou nabbed two more points but Power closed out the match (8), 6, 6, (5), 12 -- and the standing-room only crowd rose to its feet in appreciation of the tenacity of both players. After the match a rueful Lincou said: "Today Jonathon was takeable. But he is very strong mentally and he knows how to play the big points." Defending champion Peter Nicol needed just 40 minutes to secure his place in the semifinals as he gave his 23-year-old opponent a lesson in clinical, efficient, play. "I kept trying to sniff out chances to get back in the match," said Matthew. "But every time I thought I might have an opening, Peter slammed the door shut. I did learn a lot from Peter tonight -- mostly that I need to be as ruthless and clinical as he is." Nicol, who relinquished the lead only once during the entire match when he was down 1-3 in the third, was focused on being as efficient as possible as a result of some lingering fatigue effects from a virus that has plagued him periodically in the last year. "I'm not putting pressure on myself because I'm not feeling so well -- and as a result I am playing really good squash," said Nicol. Both Nicol and Power are looking forward to their semifinal clash -- their fifth Tournament of Champions meeting since 1996. "There is always an extra edge when we play each other," said Nicol. "There has to be -- we have been one and two for so many years that there is always more on the line than just the match we are playing." The contrasting styles of the two players have helped cement their rivalries as one of the great ones -- Power's quickness and touch against Nicol's finely honed technique and unsurpassed mental fortitude. Over 10 years and 36 encounters, Nicol has the edge 19-17 -- but so marginal is the gap between the two squash gladiators that the points tally shows 1548 to Nicol, and 1546 to Power! Day 2 of Quarterfinals White Avenges Willstrop Defeat To Clinch New World No. 1 Ranking Scotland's John White avenged his defeat by James Willstrop in last month's Kuwait Open by beating the fast-rising English squash star in the quarterfinals of the Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions at Grand Central Terminal in New York to ensure that he will become world No. 1 for the first time when the next Dunlop PSA World Rankings are published on March 1st. The second-seeded Australian-born Scot needed 67 minutes to overcome 13th seed Willstrop in four games -- and now meets Willstrop's Pontefract club-mate Lee Beachill in the semi-finals after the fourth seed swept to a straight games win over Australia's seventh seed Joseph Kneipp. White had a game plan going into the match against world junior champion James Willstrop, the hottest youngster in squash. "I wanted to go out as hard and fast as possible," said the current world No. 3, already universally regarded as the hardest hitting player on the tour. But 20-year old Willstrop didn't immediately wilt in the face of his 30-year-old opponent's power or experience. It was nip and tuck in the first game with White prevailing by a mere two points after Willstrop made what he called "a few strange errors." Displaying remarkable maturity, the young Englishman successfully slowed the pace in the second game to counter the power hitting from White and evened the match. A fast start in the third and White was off and running again with a lead he never relinquished. "I think the difference in the match was the good starts that John got in each game. John's a confidence player and once he gets ahead, he's really tough," said Willstrop in his after-match assessment. White took an early five-point lead in the fourth at 7-2, but Willstrop fought his way back to 5-7 as the crowd roared its approval. A long point, which ultimately went to White, saw each player use every shot in his arsenal and cover every corner of the court. Despite giving the serve back to Willstrop as a result of a tired looking tin, White revved up the pace at 6-8 to power the ball just past his opponent's 6" 5" reach. Willstrop, finally looking as if he was feeling the effects of his marathon second round match against David Palmer, was just a step slower to the ball than he had been throughout the tournament and was unable to stage any kind of comeback attempt. Fittingly, at match ball, White moved Willstrop up in the court and then drove a power cross court past his opponent to win the match. "It always feels good to win," White said after the match. "And this was a little extra special because James had beaten me last month." White's ranking boost follows the failure of the current world No. 1 Thierry Lincou to progress beyond the last eight in New York. The Scot is now certain to top the next world list, even if world No. 2 Peter Nicol successfully defends his Tournament of Champions title. White's opponent in the semifinal will be Englishman Lee Beachill who found himself in a hard-fought battle in the first game of his match with Australian Joe Kneipp. Once Beachill prevailed 15-14, Kneipp was inexplicably unable to make anything happen in the next two games, winning only seven points in the two games combined. "I had one of my worst days on court tonight," said Kneipp after the match. "It was just a really bad day at the office." The White-Beachill clash -- a repeat of the pair's British National Championship final earlier this month, in which the Scot prevailed -- will follow the greatly anticipated semi-final match between defending champion Peter Nicol and four-times title-holder Jonathon Power. It will be the pair's first meeting this year, but their 37th of all-time. 2nd round: [1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) d [12] Paul Price (AUS) (14-17), (6), 15-14, 8, 4 [6] Jonathon Power (CAN) d [11] Graham Ryding (CAN) 3, 11, 10 [3] Peter Nicol (ENG) d [16] Shahier Razik (CAN) 7, 8, 9 [8] Nick Matthew (ENG) d [15] Martin Heath (SCO) 10, 10, (13), 10 [7] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) d [14] Alex Gough (WAL) 9, 12, 12 [4] Lee Beachill (ENG) d [10] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 9, 15-14, 3 [13] James Willstrop (ENG) d [5] David Palmer (AUS) (13-15), (10), 6, 13, 7 [2] John White (SCO) d [9] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 7, (14-15), 10, 4 1st round: [1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) d Mike Corren (AUS) 15-14, 13, 11 [12] Paul Price (AUS) d [Q] Jean-Michel Arcucci (FRA) 12, 12, (9), 12 [6] Jonathon Power (CAN) d [Q] Viktor Berg (CAN) 8, 11, 5 [11] Graham Ryding (CAN) [Q] Yasser El Halaby (EGY) 12, 10, 12 [3] Peter Nicol (ENG) d Rodney Durbach (RSA) 8, 10, 12 [16] Shahier Razik (CAN) d Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) 11, 6, (13), 11 [8] Nick Matthew (ENG) d Moh'd Azlan Iskandar (MAS) 7, 10, (10), (16-17), 9 [15] Martin Heath (SCO) d [Q] Karim Yehia (EGY) 11, 12, (9), 11 [14] Alex Gough (WAL) d Jonathon Kemp (ENG) (12), (12), 13, 8, 8 [7] Joseph Kneipp (AUS) d [Q] Liam Kenny (IRL) 15-14, 3, 4 [10] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) d [Q] John Rooney (IRL) 2, 15-13, 8 [4] Lee Beachill (ENG) d Simon Parke (ENG) 6, 6, 4 [13] James Willstrop (ENG) d Dan Jenson (AUS) 15-14, 8, 12 [5] David Palmer (AUS) d [Q] Patrick Chifunda (ZAM) 17-16, 8, 6 [9] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) d [Q] Gavin Jones (WAL) 15-14, (5), 7-15, ret. [2] John White (SCO) d Borja Golan (ESP) 13, 12, 6

US TOUR:

Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions