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Canada rolls over Japan
by Louis Daignault Oct 23, 2001 © 2001 Squashtalk
[last update was 23-oct-01 ]

2001 SquashTalk coverage will feature regular Canada Team updates from Louis Daignault

MELBOURNE, Australia —Canada opened the men’s world team squash championships Monday with an easy 3-0 win over Japan while the Netherlands stunned fifth seeded Scotland 2-1 in the big upset of the day.

In the Canada-Japan match, world number-two Jonathon Power of Toronto defeated Kimihiko Sano 9-0, 9-0, 9-2, Shahier Razik of Toronto beat Takehidz Hota 9-2, 9-0, 9-3 and Kelly Patrick of Edmonton won 9-0, 10-9, 9-0 over Yoshihiro Watanabe. Graham Ryding of Toronto, Canada’s number-two player and ranked 20th in the world, sat out the match.

The Canadians, seeded fourth, meet Denmark Tuesday and number-nine Finland Wednesday to close round robin play. The top-two in each pool are guaranteed a berth in the playoff round. It was the Finns, 3-0 winners over Denmark Monday, who put the Canadians out of medal contention at the last world championships in 1999. Canada finished sixth in 1999 with the same foursome, however Power was injured in that tournament. In 1997, Canada posted its best ever result at the world team event placing second on a squad that included Power, Ryding and Patrick.

"Our experience is really going to be a big factor for us," said Ryding. "We also know each other well and we get along well. We’re determined to make up for our performance at the last worlds. But the Finns will be tough again this year. We can’t take them lightly. It’s important to get first spot in our pool."

Meanwhile Scotland, despite two players ranked in the top-10 in the world, lost to the unseeded Dutch. The key match was world number-26 Tommy Berden of the Netherlands defeating seventh-ranked John White 9-7, 2-9, 9-7, 10-8 in the opener. Top-seeded Australia, led by world number-one David Palmer, defeated Hong Kong 3-0, number-two Wales took Mexico 3-0 and number-three England beat Sweden 3-0. Competition continues Tuesday.