WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Virtual Spectator Bermuda PSA Masters, Hamilton, Bermuda

Semi-finals:
[6] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [12] John White (SCO) 11-5, 10-11 (3-5), 11-8, 10-11 (0-2), 11-4 (89m)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [3] Peter Nicol (ENG) 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 (47m)

Jonathon Power & Lee Beachill To Meet In Bermuda Final

Jonathon Power and Lee Beachill will meet in the final of the Virtual Spectator Bermuda PSA Masters after the sixth-seeded Canadian toppled Scotland's John White in a dramatic five-game marathon and Beachill breezed to a straight games win over England team-mate Peter Nicol in the other semi-final of the $120,000 PSA Super Series squash event, presented by Logic and hosted by Endurance, at the Jessie Vesey Sports Centre in Hamilton, Bermuda.

The Power/White encounter encapsulated all the intensity, speed and excitement of top-class squash.  The clash of the game's two most exciting stroke-players was eagerly awaited by the near capacity crowd - and right from the beginning, the quality of the squash did not fall short of such massive expectations.  Both players were coming off brutal, five-game quarter-final encounters - although both looked fresh and determined at the outset.

The gifted Canadian was first out of the blocks, however, stunning White with a number of delightful back-hand drops and clever deception to take the first game.  The trend continued for much of the second, as White's perennial inconsistency seemed to come back to haunt him following a number of unnecessary tins under little pressure.  At 4-10 down, the 31-year-old Scot was up against it, and it was only through sheer will power and a critical lapse in concentration which has undermined the Canadian throughout his entire career, that kept White in the game.

What followed was a number of jaw-dropping rallies, with both players wowing the crowd with their speed and movement.  White levelled the game at 10-10 with a rolling forehand volley nick, before claiming his first game point in the tie-break.  But a sloppy backhand error let sixth seed Power off the hook and the players swapped serves several times to leave it at 3-3 in the tie-break.  Back came White, however, stepping up the court when he had to take the ball early and work Power out of position - a tactic which paid off handsomely as he claimed the tie-break 5-3 to level the match.

Power, 30, from Montreal, won the third game as a number of close refereeing decisions threw White off his concentration.  But the 12th seed was back to his best in the fourth, taking the game 2-0 on a tiebreak with a drilled forehand drive to the back, with Power smashing his racquet angrily against the glass in frustration at having let the advantage slip.

Neither player had enjoyed a straightforward route through the tournament - White having played three successive matches each longer than an hour - and it was impossible to tell who would have enough gas in the tank for the crucial decider.  But despite being in his third five-game match in a row, Power threw himself into the last like a man possessed, dominating play from the centre of the court, and pouncing on anything remotely short from White.  Although he tried manfully, the Aussie-turned Scotsman's lunges were looking increasingly desperate and his length, particularly cross-court, began to falter.

Power ultimately took the match 11-5 10-11 11-8 10-11 11-4 in 89 minutes, punching the air in triumph as White lay prostrate on the ground in the back forehand corner, every last ounce of his energy used up.

It was Power's first PSA Tour win over White since beating him on the same court in the Bermuda Open in March last year - since when the Scot has twice had the measure of the Canadian.

In the second semi-final, Lee Beachill gave his great rival and friend Peter Nicol a lesson in precision squash - taking the match comfortably 11-9 11-6 11-8 in 47 minutes.  Rarely could Beachill have played as well as he did in the first, pushing his illustrious opponent to all parts of the court with squash which could not have been any tighter.  Nicol, as he has done for the past decade at the top level, gamely chased down every ball and continually took the pressure off with a number of wonderful high-lobs. 

But Beachill was in a world of his own, looking every inch a Masters champion in the making.  Even at the start of the second, as Nicol rallied briefly, it was clear that the rigours of the first game had sapped him of the requisite strength.

Beachill continued to be ruthless, keeping Nicol pinned behind him and forcing him to scramble around in the back corners.  In truth, the match never really caught fire and the man from Pontefract ran away with the second and third to repeat his last victory over Nicol in the US Open in September - by an almost identical straight games scoreline.

Power and Beachill will therefore face each other in the final - the Englishman now in his 13th on the PSA Tour and the Canadian celebrating his 58th.  Beachill has looked imperious throughout the week, dropping only one game so far.  Power, by contrast, his been pushed to the limit of his physical capacity in all but one round.  Whether the greatest ever North American player, believed by many to be one of the finest stroke players in the history of the game, has enough left to challenge the flying Yorkshireman remains to be seen.  Their last meeting was in the PSA Masters just a year ago in Qatar - where Beachill secured his first ever win over the former world No1.

Check out the live action on www.PSALIVE.tv