POWER STROLLS, NICOL CRUISES AFTER THE FIRST GAME
Martin Bronstein, Squashtalk reporter on the scene in New York City.

by Martin Bronstein, Grand Central Terminal, New York, 31 Jan 2002
All content © 2002 Squashtalk, photos: © 2002 Debra Tessier

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POWER STROLLS OVER WALKER

A bit of a let down, this semi-final between Jonathon Power and Chris Walker. I was left with the feeling that Walker never managed to get himself mentally up for the fight allowing Power to dictate almost from the beginning. England coach David Pearson was not that harsh on Walker and said that he may have been a bit heavy in the legs from his previous matches and that Power never let him into the match.

Certainly Power was at his imperious best, hitting the ball with his usual mixture of crispness, imagination and nigh-perfect weight on his drives to length. Indeed , so perfectly was Power’s world unfolding that he went the entire 47 minutes without indulging in his usual dialogues with the officials. In fact I think the nearest he got to a protest was a look of disbelief on one call, and without waiting for his appeal, the verdict was changed.

It was only towards the second game that Walker started to use his superb soaring lobs, a strategy that I felt would have helped to force Power into the back corners. But the damned man can do so much with the ball , from any angle and from any height that Walker could gain no advantage from the few lobs he did produce.

Needless to say Power won in three straight and there is little more to write about this confrontation between the present world number four and the world number 11. Walker played wonderfully well in the earlier rounds to knock out the world number two David Palmer and then do the same to Paul Price, both in five game marathons. Perhaps it was a marathon too far for the aging Walker legs. His performance here will certainly get him into the top ten come the March rankings.

With Power on this form - and injury free - tomorrow’s final could be one of the few classics between Power and Peter Nicol (possibly matching up to last year's TOC final and November's YMG final in Toronto), the former Scot, who had to face the impudent - but educated- shot making of John White, the former Aussie who is now a Scot.

WHITE STARTS WITH SIZZLING SHOTS

Mind you, there was a point in the second semi-final where there was a good chance of Power facing White in the final.

White started off in world beating form, fearlessly going for his shots and turning Nicol inside out as he dropped both sides of the court from anywhere. Time after time Nicol found himself lunging to pick up a drop and then haring to the back of the court to retrieve the subsequent White drive, only to find himself lunging down front again. White was 6-2 up and we wondered how long this unusual state of affairs would last. The inevitable Nicol revival started and then at 8-9 he hit a sublime overhead volley into the nick - it was more like a caress than a hit - to level at 9-9 and then finally take the lead on a White error when a forehand boast - a shot that had caused Nicol so much pain - hit the tin.

But White was far from folding: a forehand cross court slam was unplayable, followed by a backhand slammed straight nick and then a forehand drop put White 12-10 up. These were not short rallies but the sort of all court action and impossible retrievals that had the packed seating - it was totally sold out here tonight - roaring with both wonderment and delight.

White tried another forehand boast which hit the tin and Nicol hit one of his feather forehand drops to once more draw level at 12-12. But White could not be denied and hit three more unplayable winners on his way to winning the first game 15-12 after 19 minute of pure, unadulterated, gold-plated, king-sized top grade squash. Did I like it? You bet I did - as did the other thousand or so people who watched with similar appreciation.

IS THIS THE SAME MATCH?

Reality edged into the second game very early on; White seemed tired and started going for winners all over the place, rather than at exactly right time as he had in the first game. From 4-4 Nicol just waited for the White errors to come - and six of them did, but even more puzzling White did not even chase some of Nicol’s shots. The game was over 15-5 for Nicol in 7 ½ minutes. The third game was slightly longer, but the errors kept on coming from the once magic White racket. His shot selection was that of a player who had lost interest and after 12 minutes Nicol - now well into his stride and in full control - had the third game 15-4.

ALMOST A REVIVAL BUT NOT QUITE

White gave the crowd some hope by leading the fourth game 4-1. (They would like to have seen this sort of squash go on for five games). We wondered whether White had been taking a rest or had picked up an injury. But Nicol got back to 4-4 when he was awarded a stroke and that was the turning point. He steamed away into the lead with White still playing some fine rallies but still coming out of them on the wrong side. The result was inevitable and Nicol hit the match winning point, a forehand crosscourt slam into the nick with a finality that said “Don’t mess with me kid, I’m the world champion.”

Nicol can be beaten, but whoever does it will have to play in overdrive for five full games. Anyone can be a hero for one game - Nicol can be a hero for five games on five consecutive days.

White was neither euphoric or downhearted. I asked him what happened between the first and second and, first assuring me that he had not picked up an injury, he replied:

“I played at a different pace in the second game than I did the first. I wasn’t tired but I allowed Peter to get into his rhythm and could not get back into mine. I was a little disappointed with the final result because I’ve had a good tournament, winning my matches 3/0 and playing well. But once Peter increased the pace and played his game, I still went for my shots but they were hitting tin.”

No other player on the circuit plays with the same aplomb as John White and other players must fear his phenomenal ability to hit winners with ease. He should be a fixture in the top ten for years to come. At least I hope he is.

RESULTS SEMI-FINAL TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS THURSDAY JAN 31 2002

Jonathon Power (Can) bt Chris Walker (Eng) 15-6, 15-10, 15-4 (47 mins)
Peter Nicol (Eng) bt John white (Sco) 12-15, 15-5, 15-4, 15-6 (61 mins)