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The CSFBdirect
Tournament of Champions 2001,
presented by NYSC Feb 3 - Feb 9 2001,
Grand Central Terminal, New York
Nicol Wins the 2001 Tournament of Champions
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS 2001
Martin Bronstein reporting for Squashtalk from Grand Central Terminal
Friday Feb 9, 2000. Photos © 2001 Debra Tessier
POWER LOSES THRILLING BATTLE AT TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
NICOL TOUGHS IT OUT.
Finally, I've seen a five game match between these two incredible
squash players. Indeed this is only about the third time they have gone
the full distance together. And if there were any justice in the world,
Peter Nicol would have won in three. He was getting the worst of the decisions
anyway but 
leading
13-10 in the third the appeals ref gave Jonathon Power a let when the
referee had said No Let. Had the referee's decision not been overruled
Nicol would have been at match point. But….. well let's start at the beginning.
PETER THE PERFECT
The place was packed to capacity - surely the overall attendance for the
week must have doubled over last year - and both players were giving nothing
away in their facial expression or body language.
From the start their behaviour was impeccable and Power was still John The Silent. There was little to choose between the two in the first half of the game except one salient statistic: Power made four errors while Nicol was error free. Gradually Nicol pulled away to lead 9-5 and established an edge of superiority. They both know each other's games and Nicol knows where and when Power is about to go for a winner. Time and again he pulled a point out of the fire to continue the rally. That edge and his error-free play gave Nicol the first game 15-9 in 16 minutes.
NO SIGNPOSTS
It would have been foolish to bet on the outcome at this point; there
were no cracks appearing and the two players continued to demonstrate
how well they knew each other's game. It was, as you would guess, squash
of a very high order using ever inch of the court including the height.
The gasps of delight from the spectators when a rally that seemed finished
was resurrected by an impossible get were many.
Leading five three Nicol hit a forehand smash into the tin…..his first unforced error and it came after 28 minutes of squash. That's how you become a champion. Power hit a streak and got 9-7 with the help of highly contentious over-rules from the appeals referee. Nicol showed a rare sign of frustration at the last one and shook his head in disbelief. But he didn't allow it to affect his play and hit a superb backhand drop to even the game at 11-11 all. Power was denied a let and then said to the referee…."I'm appealing everything else." All denied.
At 11-12, Nicol got three strokes and Power hit a serve into the tin to put Nicol two games up. This was now looking like another 3/0 match. But things were going to happen.
HIT SHOULDER - NOSE BLEEDS.
Power started cooking in the third and his nonchalant forehand flicks
were putting the ball into the nick to give him a comfortable 8-3 lead.
A couple of winners, a couple of errors from Power and as stroke and it
was 8-all. Then came the nose bleed. Whaaaat? Power left the court claiming
nose bleed.
"Wanna see the blood?" he asked a skeptical referee. "Yes," came the curt reply.
Power wiped his nose with his hand and held it up. Three minutes to stem the blood, announced the ref. Neil Harvey, Nicol's coach,stood up and eyed everybody suspiciously. He has seen too many antics to believe anything. Marty Clarke, the American squash champion and a qualified doctor, was soon at Power's side. Why? Marty specialises in knee injuries! Mike Way, Power's coach said Power had hit his shoulder- or did he mean Power's nose had hit Nicol's shoulder.
NICOL KEEPS COOL
Power returned before the three minutes were up and the game 
continued.
Nicol, unperturbed by the medical shenanigans took control to lead 12-10.
He hit a dream-like backhand drop from the back of the court and he was
two points from victory.
And that was when the appeals referee decided to have a mid-life crisis, hallucinations and vision problems. It was an unforgivable over-rule from which Nicol could not recover. Mind you, Power did hits some sizzlers: a dying cross court, another forehand cross-court, and two backhand drops to put him at game point 14-13. A loose shot from Nicol and another Power cross court saw Nicol not even try. The game was almost 20minutes long and too much had happened to allow Nicol to keep his concentration. And now Power was back in with a chance.
FROM SIZZLE TO FIZZLE
The fourth game was point for point, but somehow the excitement had gone;
the crowd were quiet and the drama had dried up…..perhaps it had all been
too much. Power was now relaxed and started hitting his outrageous shots
and suddenly he led 12-10. Nicol came back with a cut cross court and
a stroke to even it up but Power hit an inch perfect drop shot, then got
a stroke to get to game ball. The game ended as Nicol did a full length
dive and failed to hit the ball. 15-13 to Power and we were into a fifth
game.
ONE TOO MANY
Nicol said after the match that Power had had too easy a ride in the previous
rounds and couldn't take the pressure. He certainly faded just a bit and
that was enough for Nicol to use his greater fitness. Some tired errors
from Power when Nicol led 9-7 and the final result was inevitable. Power's
last hurrah was another perfect backhand drop to give him his eleventh
point of the game… but symbolically the next point ended with him slamming
a forehand into the tin to give Nicol the game 15-11 and the 110 minute
match.
"I don't think I played that well and I wasn't happy with my shots," said Nicol. He admitted that he should have tied it up in the third but said Jonathon started playing well. "I won because I was fitter. It was a good win for me and I will go to Antwerp next week in a very positive frame of mind."
SARAH TOO STRONG
Vanessa Atkinson played some fine, tough squash against Sarah Fitz-Gerald
in the final of this four-woman tournament and even led the super Aussie
7-1 in the third game, but was simply unable to keep up the effort and
Fitz-Gerald overtook her to win the the game 15-10 - the same score with
which she had won the first two games.
"I got tired. Sarah keeps you chasing at
the back and I had to rely on winners and finally they weren't working.
I was happy with the way I played, but she is too tough," Atkinson, the
leading Dutch player told Squashtalk. Sarah, in accepting the winner's
trophy complimented John Nimick on the venue and tournament and hinted
that she would love to come back next year with another 15 'girls' for
a 16 player draw.
FINAL
RESULTS:
Peter Nicol (Sco) def Jonathon Power (CAN) 15-9, 15-12, 13-15, 13-15,
15-11.
SEMI
FINAL RESULTS:
THURSDAY
Peter Nicol (Sco) beat Paul Price (Aus) )
15-12, 15-13, 15-9
Jonathon
Power (CAN) def David Evans (WAL) 15-10, 15-10, 15-11
