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Jonathon Power inteviewed by Alan Thatcher

Jonathon Power Speaks Out

By Alan Thatcher (Appeared in the Sunday Express)

Jonathon Power is the great showman of squash. Some liken his wild on-court antics to tennis legend John McEnroe. And right now Power is feeling really wild after being barred from the Irish Open.

IRISH OPEN ENTRY SAGA
Today world number one Power should be on court in Dublin, lining up in the final against his great rival Peter Nicol, but a series of administrative mix-ups and misunderstandings led to a massive bust-up involving the organisers, the sponsors, Power's fellow squash professionals and their association, the PSA.

The event had originally been scheduled for February, but was postponed because of the Foot and Mouth crisis.

Power, having reclaimed his position at the top of the world rankings from Nicol, at first decided not to enter when the new dates were announced and planned instead to focus on preparing for the British Open.

However, the controversial Canadian is still the most charismatic figure in squash and the organisers came under pressure from the sponsors to make sure he topped the bill.

Power, after all, is the game's greatest entertainer, the player who relies on breathtaking moments of racket skill to win matches rather than hours of physical toil in training. He's the guy who prefers to go for spectacular winners rather than rally the ball up and down the side walls.

Power was contacted at home in Toronto and gave a verbal commitment to play. His name was included in the draw but then other players complained that he had not submitted a written entry and he was removed - but not before the draw had been released with his name as top seed.

The fiasco did no favours to a game desperate to shake off its' "minority sport" tag. Many people in squash called it an Irish joke - but Power wasn't laughing.

So instead of an enjoyable and potentially rewarding weekend in Dublin, he is back home in Toronto gearing himself up for the forthcoming British Open, which begins in Birmingham on June 5.

He said: "All I was trying to do was to help them out. They wanted me there and I was willing to interrupt my training schedule to fly to Dublin to take part. But I guess some of the other guys felt that my taking part would reduce their chances of winning, and so they kicked up a fuss.

That's twice I have flown from Canada to Europe this year to play in the Irish Open but haven't got on court, so I'm disappointed about that. I was going to play either the Irish or the Scottish Open, and would rather have gone to Ireland, but I guess that makes up my mind for me to play in Scotland."

SCOTTISH OPEN
The new Scottish Open, staged in Perth from June 28-July 1, will provide Power with a unique feeling. He will start as top seed and the fans' favourite now that world champion Peter Nicol has switched allegiance from Scotland to England.

"It will be interesting to see what happens when Peter walks out in front of the crowd," said Power. "When I played him in the final of the 1999 British Open in Aberdeen he received a massive ovation when he came on to the court.

"They were waving huge Scottish flags and the applause lasted for two minutes. But this time they might be booing him."

MAIN RIVAL
World No.2 Nicol's form has dipped recently and Power believes it could be a psychological side-effect following his move to England's Lottery-funded World Class Performance Plan.

However, he doesn't think his great rival will be in the doldrums for long.

He said: "Peter has proved over the years that he is a real quality player. Everyone has ups and downs in their career and it's all down to confidence and motivation. Peter can turn that around in just one tournament."

June is traditionally a quiet month for squash, but no longer. New events are on the horizon and, after Birmingham, Power will be leading the Rest Of The World Team in a three-match Test series against England.

He will then be competing in the PSA Super Series finals in London before heading north of the border for the Scottish Open in Perth.

The Super Series event is a reward for the top eight players in the previous year's rankings, but it is likely to disappear next year as a new £21m World Grand Prix Series gets under way.

Power is looking forward to the challenge and the rewards of the new tournament structure being developed by London based rights company Fablon and their event management and TV production arm, the Eye Group.

THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE
"I'm pretty excited about the direction the game is heading," he said. "Squash is a fantastic sport to watch, full of attacking shots and amazing retrieving. All that boring stuff, up and down the wall, is history. Hardly any of the top guys play that way any more."

Power, despite a controversial reputation and a penchant for bad-mouthing referees, is a great student of the game and has a huge amount of respect for his rivals in a rapidly changing top ten.

He names Australian Paul Price as a particularly exciting player, and admires the style of reigning British Open champion David Evans of Wales, and Scottish pair John White and Martin Heath. They, like Power, are all great shot-makers, who prefer stunning winners to stamina.

He is also impressed by the way Malaysian Ong Beng Hee, a training partner of Nicol under coach Neil Harvey in Essex, has climbed up the rankings from 88 to eight in the past two years. He is expecting all of them to mount a formidable challenge at the British Open.

"The game is changing for the better and we now have the technology in place to show that squash comes across well on TV," he said. "I hope new people are attracted to the game and like what they see.

"Most of the top players like to attack. They are all good volleyers, who play entertaining and creative squash.

"We have a lot of new guys in the top ten, all from different countries, playing great squash. If TV can capture the drama of the game then I am sure the new series will be very successful.

" Power wanted just one more thing to improve the game - professional referees. He said: "You can't have elderly amateurs refereeing young professionals any longer. "It's got to change. It's time we had more ex-professionals in charge instead of these amateurs. The game is too fast for them to cope.

"If people are going to put money into improving the game then they have to make this a priority."

As for the Eye Group British Open, Power says: "I'm feeling fit and hitting the ball well. I'm playing as well as I ever have done and when I am injury-free then I can play my best. I love playing in Britain and I am really looking forward to it."

Nicol, and the rest of the game's top stars, have been warned.

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