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/Heliopolis 2001

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The Nicol-Power Roadshow Lives For Another (24th) Day

By Colin McQuillan at Giza, Egypt, Sept 8 2001

The travelling roadshow between Jonathon Power and Peter Nicol is on again.

With Power dismissing Mark Chaloner 15-9 15-13 15-10 in 52 minutes in the first of tonight's Al Ahram International Championship semi-finals and Nicol following up with a 74 minute 13-15 15-11 15-8 15-11 win over the new world number one, David Palmer, we are about to see the first change in the 12-11 matches, 40-38 games and 932-920 points record between them since Nicol beat Power 15-11 in the fifth game of the Tournament of Champions final in New York last February.

Power's was the more efficient win tonight but Nicol's was the more important. Power finished with that sunk-eyed sallow look that has become a feature of his post-match presence in recent times, while Nicol finished grinning and full of enthusiasm for the game as a whole and this win in particular. Palmer had reached the last five major finals, winning the British and Hong Kon Opens, while Nicol and Power have been having their problems on the tour.

Palmer admitted tonight that he was disappointed to lose to Nicol, whom he defeated in the PSA Masters quarter-finals in Egypt last April, but had not been quite good enough on the night.

"I found the heat on court a bit much and I was tiring and slowing at the end while Peter just seemed to get stronger," Palmer said. "I had him running around the court but the more I stretched him the better he became."

Nicol notoriously enjoys the hot open air showcourts in Egypt and India. He has won two Al Ahram International tournaments and the world title under Al Ahram sponsorship on the Perspex court mounted on the desert sands beside the Great Pyramids of Giza.

"I do love playing here and I am looking forward to the world open in Bombay at the end of the year," he said "I was really shaken to be beaten in the Hong Kong first round by Thierry Lincou and I have been working hard with my coach, Neil Harvey, since to correct the balance of my game. ."That is my approach to things, you know. If something goes wrong I go back to base and work to correct the fault. This time it was the confidence that needed work."

He certainly had his confidence back in play against Palmer tonight. It was a classic Nicol performance; stretching the first game over 20 minutes and extending the rallies until opportunities arose for his understated attacking accuracy. Palmer prised the first game away from him from 12-12 with three deceptive power shots on the forehand, a volleyed passing shot to the deep right, a clipping wrong-footing boast and an overhead kill. In fact the game should have been over a rally earlier when Nicol was actually heading for the door having blocked another forehand shot until the referee, Hatan Hasan, gave a let instead of the penalty stroke everyone in the stadium expected.

"I played that game tactically but not with complete confidence," Nicol admitted. "In fact I did not really relax into the match until I stopped David's fightback from 2-7 to 9-7 in the second game with a clean little forehand drop. The work we had both done in the first game began to pay off then and, although he went to 10-8 in that game and to 6-2 in the fourth, I felt from that point on he was half a pace short covering my best attacking shots which gave me the edge "It was good but not as good as it should be. I have been improving all week and my confidence is rising again. But if Jonathon plays well tomorrow I will need to be better."

Power had no trouble dispensing with Chaloner, raising his game effortlessly in response to the Englishman's good but sporadic attacks. But he again looked drawn and black-eyed at the end of 52 minutes and, if Nicol plays the same long game tactic that worked so well tonight against the world number one, the match record between them could change in Nicol's favour.

They have not met since the Tournament of Champions in New York last February when Nicol won 15-11 in the fifth after leading 2-0. Since then has won the Irish Open in which Power did not play, the Super Series Finals in which Power lost to Palmer, and the Scottish Open in which again Power did not play. He has lost to John White in the Flanders Open semi-finals, Palmer in the PSA Masters quarter-finals, Beachill in the British Open quarter-finals and Lincou in the Hong Kong first round.

Power beat Nicol in the Toronto Classic last December but since New York took the PSA Masters, beating Palmer in the final, and the Canadian Nationals, beating Graham Ryding in the final. He went down to Del Harris in the British Open second round and to Palmer in the Super Series semi-finals, and he was on a drip in a Hong Kong hospital when Amjad Khan replaced him in the top seeded slot for the Hong Kong Open.

Semi-final Results:

Jonathon Power (Can) bt Mark Chaloner (Eng) 15-9 15-13 15-10
Peter Nicol (Eng) bt David Palmer (Aus) 13-15 15-11 15-8 15-11

[Complete results on draw page]

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