Power, Beachill Move Ahead with Ease
November 15, 2004, Howard Harding (PSA); © 2004 Squashtalk, all rights of reproduction reserved.

[Bronstein's Report] ... TORONTO, November 14, 2004 --       

Toronto, Ontario - Although young James Willstrop (ENG) may be the best prospect to come out of England for decades, when faced with the experience, skill and speed of Jonathon Power (MONT/Can), he was only close for a few short spells as Power took a 3/1 victory in 56 minutes.

Their first round match in the Pace Canadian Squash Classic, at the BCE Place in downtown Toronto, pulled a capacity audience to watch Power, the enigmatic – and charismatic –title holder.

They weren’t disappointed: Power found his touch and pace very quickly and soon had Willstrop stretching into the back corners and diving to the front as he desperately tried to pick up Power’s patented backhand drop shot, the shot that has won him more points than all his other vast array of shots put together.

Willstrop, at 21(ten years younger than Power) and the former junior world champion, started a little tensely, went for winners too quickly and paid the price with a stream of errors which allowed Power to jog through the first two games 11-5, 11-2 in 23 minutes.

The third game took a different route as 6’4” Willstrop cut out his errors and Power went short too quickly. The lanky Yorkshireman led from the start and although Power tied it up at 6-6, Willstrop went ahead with a finely controlled rally and then ran to an 11-9 win with the help of some errors from Power.

Power was back on track in the fourth – forcing the tiring Willstrop into some strange shot selections. Once he had the game firmly in his grip, Power never looked like losing was an option and he took the fourth game 11-4 to the delight of the full galleries.

“I found my rhythm very early in the match,” Power said, explaining his two quick games. “But I lost my concentration in the third and he [Willstrop] hit some good shots early on. I also tried to go for winners too quickly and made errors. But he didn’t run for a ball at 8-10 and I thought he was tired. So in the fourth I made him get into some long rallies and that’s when he started making errors,” Power said.

Of his recent injuries, he said he was in good shape and moving well. “But it’s not the first matches that worry me, it’s the later rounds where my fitness counts.

BEACHILL FAILS TO SPARE THE ROD
Lee Beachill (ENG) showed why he is ranked number one in the world when he over-ran Rod Durbach (RSA), ranked 30, in a little over 30 minutes in their first round match of the PACE Canadian Squash Classic.

On a sparkling four-wall glass court, the lanky Englishman played near faultless squash to keep South African Durbach constantly under pressure. Beachill, after some frustrating injury-prone years, is now at the peak of his powers and he brings a ruthless accuracy to the game that few of the top players can abide.

The first game was over in eight minutes with Beachill dictating the play from the word go. He volleyed at every possible opportunity and every loose reply from Durbach was cut into the nick for a winner.

The second game was even quicker, 11-2 for Beachill in just over six minutes and it wasn’t until the middle of third game that Beachill made his first error as he tried to slam the ball low for a winner and hit the tin. Durbach found a couple of winners of his own and managed to stay on equal terms to 6-6. Beachill dispelled any ideas about a comeback by upping his game to run away to an 11-6 win to earn his place in the quarter-finals.

Durbach, a very experienced player was philosophical afterwards.

“He was too accurate and doesn’t give you too much to hit. His consistency of shot is hard to deal with. It’s a very good court and Beachill has played on it often, but for me it was the first time. I was struggling to see the ball so that made it very hard to read which meant I was always chasing the ball,” he said.

PACE CANADIAN CLASSIC - ROUND ONE TOP HALF, Monday 11/15 04 BCE Place Toronto:
Lee Beachill (ENG) (1) def Rodney Durbach (RSA)(Q) 11-3 11-2 11-6 (34m)
Anthony Ricketts (AUS) def Nick Maatthew (ENG) w/o (withdrew injury)
Jonathon Power (CAN)(7) def James Willstrop (ENG) 11-15 11-2 9-11 11-4 (56m)
Peter Nicol (ENG)(4) def Jonathan Kemp (ENG) (Q) 11-6 11-6 10-11 (2-4) 11-3