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The 2000 TOC Event

Site updated on 02/06/2001

The CSFBdirect Tournament of Champions 2001,
presented by NYSC Feb 3 - Feb 9 2001,
Grand Central Terminal, New York

Tournament of Champions round two, Monday late night!

[photogallery]    [draw]

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS 2001
Martin Bronstein reporting from Grand Central Terminal Monday Feb 5 2000.

SECOND ROUND FIRST SESSION MONDAY FEB 5

POWER A MARKED MAN
In an untidy match peppered with appeals and body contact England's Mark Chaloner made Jonathon Power work for 95 minutes before earning his quarter-final berth. Power gave his vocal chords their usual work out while Chaloner remained almost mute. No fault can be apportioned, it was just a clash of styles as Power wanted to go directly to the ball as soon as Chaloner struck it leaving Chaloner no escape route.

The big lesson learned by Power was that Chaloner lies down for no man. Even trailing the great one 6-11 in the first game Chaloner kept to the job at hand and his efforts paid off, tieing the game up at 14-all when Power was denied a let. After a lengthy explanation and analysis accompanied by melodramatic movement, Power was persuaded to make his choice of overtime. He chose set one, a rally was played, Power asked for a let, was denied and Chaloner had the first game 15-14 after 29 minutes.

During that first game Power kept shaking his leg and we wondered whether this would be another injury pull-out but in the second all seemed well, the appeals and collisions kept on coming - despite the referee's directions and instructions - and Power, making full use of that disguised backhand cross court played around the service box ( and which catches every player on the circuit a yard short) , steadily pulled ahead from 8-8 to win the game 14-11.

Chaloner's only real problem is shot selection and he gets sucked into left wall monotony instead of varying pace and direction. It cost him a lot of points and while his attacking game has improved enormously, he still has not got the arsenal of shots that Power can call on. The third game was 22 minutes and the battle was still on with Chaloner getting a little slow. Power won it 15-11 and by the fourth Chaloner's legs began to pay for the all the running he'd been doing and Power took it 15-8.

TOUGH FOR GOUGH
Graham Ryding and Alex Gough also opted for a marathon - 105 minutes - with the Welshman coming back from two games down to force a fifth - the most entertaining of them all as they played deft shots around the front of the court, Gough using his top spin action to disguise and sometimes dismay Ryding. It was a series of four errors towards the end of the game that put paid to Gough's hopes

After one he slammed the heel of his racket into the glass in anger. Ryding drew the referee's attention to the action, obviously inviting some censure of Gough's action, It was a mean gesture and one that had Gough following Ryding around the court telling him what he thought of such attempts to win penalty points. Ryding took the final game 15-8 and once more Gough must lie in his bed at night wondering how he could let so much effort be wasted by a brief lapse of concentration.

NICOL STARTS SLOWLY
Nicol lost the first game to John White but came back to lead 14-6 at which point White had given up but then Nicol made a silly error and then another and then another! And White started to play again and got to 10-14 before Nicol stopped the rot to win 15-10. White again seemed to want to get home early when he dropped the third game 15-4 but once more fought the good fight to make Nicol work before winning the fourth 15-10. Nicol seemed untidy and has yet to regain that dominating presence of last year, but knowing Nicol it is only a matter of time .

A SHORTENED SHOT FEST
Paul Price playing Amr Shabana is my idea of heaven - two of the best shotmakers playing today - their skill and audacity simply takes my breath away. Shabana gets more outrageously good with each showing and although he lost the first game 17-14 the promise of a feast was still there. But he had fallen or tripped getting to one of Price's superb drops and bent the fingers of his right hand - he's a left hander - leaving him in some pain and the reason why he had lost the lost few points of the first game.

He came back for the second, wincing most of the time, hit some great winners played two acrobatic rallies but when the pain set in for real, he could barely concentrate and the second game was over 15-5 and Shabana could only lean on his racket and offer his left hand to Price to sadly end the match and his chances of advancement.

SECOND ROUND RESULTS
Graham Ryding (Can) beat Alex Gough (Wal) 15-8,15-14, 13-15, 9-115, 15-8.
Peter Nicol (Sco) beat John White (Sco) 11-15, 15-10,15-4, 15-10. Jonathon Power (Can) beat Mark Chaloner (Eng) 14-15, 15-11, 15-ll, 15-8.
Paul Price (Aus) beat Amr Shabana (Egy) 17-14 15-5 ret.
Martin Heath (Sco) beat Stewart Boswell (Aus) 11-15 , 15-10, 15-9, 10-15, 17-15.
Simon Parke (Eng) beat Del Harris (Eng) 15-12, 13-15, 17-14, 12-15, 15-13.
David Evans (Wal) beat Ong Beng Hee (Mal) 13-15, 15-11, 15-7, 15-4.
Paul Johnson (Eng) beat Joseph Kneipp (Aus) 15-12, 12-15, 15-6, 15-2.