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Tournament Talk: Scuttlebutt from the Canadian Classic
By Ryan Barnett Reporting November 18, 2003, From Toronto;
© 2003 Squashtalk, all rights of reproduction reserved.

As I spent three and half-hours on a plane with nothing to do but think the one question that I couldn’t get out of my mind was: “How on earth did Peter Nicol get beaten by Omar Elborolossy?” Taking nothing away from Omar’s victory I just can’t ever remember Nicol losing in the first round before. I’m sure it’s probably happened I just can’t recall. As I never witnessed the match I decided to start asking around. I knew there had to be a reason. Sure enough there was. There were actually two.

Let’s start with the match itself. A four game victory for Elborolossy. (15-13, 15-12, 4-15, 15-13) Pretty straightforward, three of the four games were close and the third was a blowout for Nicol

Time to dig deeper..

Who better to get the story from than Jean De Lierre Canadian squash producer? When asked to describe what he witnessed his eyes got all big and a huge smile spread to his face.

De Lierre said “I have filmed many, many squash matches all over the world but last night’s Nicol/Elborolossy is quite possibly one of the best pro matches I have ever witnessed” What, one of the best of all time you say? Please go on. “Nicol started slowly as he is prone to do when facing an opponent he feels that he should beat. Omar was ON as he hit at least 12 forehand drops that nicked for winners in the first two games alone. Nicol seemed somewhat over confidant at the beginning and by the time he settled in and found his rhythm Elborolossy had the two game lead. Nicol made a lot of unforced errors and mistakes that also cost him but from the beginning Omar was making Nicol do most of the work and the pressure he was putting on Nicol caused the errors. At this level all it takes is for one player to be half a step off and then they could be in trouble which is exactly what happened.”

Half a step off..Hmmmmm. Here’s where our story twists.

John White and Peter Nicol spotted in Mamaroneck New York on Saturday evening, watching a PSA satellite event.

It appears that Nicol may have been his own worst enemy. I was told that both Nicol and World #2 John White spent the week leading up to this tournament in New York playing in a bunch of exhibitions to promote the sport. Now there’s nothing wrong with that, as both should be commended for doing the little extra.

However then trouble hit as they couldn’t get a flight and were forced to take the train. They had to endure a much longer trip and arrived in Toronto a mere 12hrs before the first round began. I heard there were a couple of red-faced players saying, “You’d think after ten years on the tour we’d be a little more organized.”

Well with someone as organized and together as Nicol I’m told that this is almost unheard of and threw off his preparation and as a result he wasn’t mentally ready. Speculation for sure but possible nonetheless.

That’s what great about Tournament Talk. You can’t believe everything you hear but it sure can make you wonder. On Wednesday I will sit down with two of the top referees in the sport of squash to discuss having salaried professional officials on both the men’s and women’s tours. Stay tuned.