Scotland's world champion Peter Nicol asserted his status as the world's No1 squash player when he beat Canada's defending champion and world No2 Jonathon Power 15-9 15-12 13-15 13-15 15-11 in the final of the $75,000 CSFBdirect Tournament of Champions at New York's Grand Central Terminal to claim the richest US title for the first time.

The 111-minute victory in one of the few PSA Tour events he had not previously won moves the 27-year-old Scot ahead 12-11 in head-to-head career clashes with Power, though the Canadian still has the edge 4-3 on wins in North America.

Asked if winning this title was different from other tournaments, Nicol replied:  "Yes, it's relief, having won it eventually - finally!" With a standing room crowd packed in the paying seats, and spectators standing four and five deep behind the front wall where they could watch for free in the famous station's Vanderbilt Waiting Hall, there was electricity in the air before the match even started. Once play got underway, the crowd was not disappointed.  Nicol played a tight, controlled game and the opportunities for Power to demonstrate his creative shot making were few, although he hit enough to extend the match to its limit.  "Peter just didn't give me any loose balls to hit," said the Canadian.

The contest included several discussions with the referee, a few on-court dives and even a little blood.  With Nicol ahead 13-10 in the third, Power stepped off court for a few minutes to clear up a bloody nose he got after running into his opponent.  At that point, it looked as if the Scotsman was en-route to a 3-0 victory.  The crowd sensed that the match was close to being over, but Power pulled it out 15-13.  "Jonathon didn't give up at 13-10," Nicol said, "and I panicked just a bit."

Although the fourth game went to the Canadian by the identical score, Nicol knew that his opponent, who had strained a leg muscle lunging for a short ball in the third, was hurting.  After taking a 5-4 lead in the fifth, Nicol stayed ahead of Power to win the game 15-11 and take home his first Tournament of Champions title.

In the evening's first match, three-times former World Champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald of Australia demonstrated that she had returned to top form after an 18-month hiatus from the game necessitated by knee surgery when she defeated 11th ranked Vanessa Atkinson of the Netherlands 15-10 15-10 15-10 in the final of the inaugural Women's Invitational. 
 

15-12 15-9 11-15 15-6

Paul Johnson

Peter Nicol

15-12 15-13 15-9

Paul Price

Peter
 Nicol

15-9 15-12 13-15 13-15 15-11

Jonathon Power

15-14 13-15 15-9 15-7

Paul Price

17-14 15-7 15-10

Simon Parke

15-8 15-9 15-11

Jonathon Power

15-6 15-5 15-5

Jonathon Power

Qualifying final round - Fri 2nd Feb
Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Chris Walker (Eng)      15-8 15-11 15-10
Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Stephen Meads (Eng) 12-15 12-15 15-9 15-13 15-6
Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Stefan Casteleyn (Bel)   15-6,13-15,15-13,15-13
Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Shahir Razik (Can)         15-9 15-4 15-4
Rodney Durbach (Rsa) bt Matt Jenson (Aus)   15-2 15-13 15-6
Anthony Ricketts (Aus) bt Ahmed Faizy (Egy)  15-10 17-16 15-17 15-3
Davide Bianchetti (Ita) bt Tim Garner (Eng)    15-10 15-7 13-15 15-10
Mark Cairns (Eng) bt Mikkel Korsbjerg (Den)  15-11 15-8 15-5

Qualifying 1st Round - Thu 1st Feb
Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Tim Wyant (Usa)           15-7 15-9 15-9
Chris Walker (Eng) bt Jason Jewell Usa)           15-5 15-4 15-10
Adrian Grant (Eng) bt Eric Christiansen (Usa)    15-5 15-9 15-5
Stefan Casteleyn Bel) bt David McNeely (Usa)    15-4 10-15 8-15 15-9 15-9
Stephen Meads (Eng) beat Preston Quick (Usa) 15-6 15-5 15-8
Karim Darwish (Egy) bt Richard Chin (Usa)        15-7 15-8 15-11
Shahier Razik (Can) bt Friday Odeh (Nig)          15-10 15-5 15-6
Lee Beachill (Eng) beat Jago Nardelli (Eng)        15-7 15-8 15-9
Rodney Durbach (Rsa) bt Zarak Khan (Pak)       15-4 15-5 15-4
Matt Jenson (Aus) bt Segun Maku (Usa)            15-14 15-2 15-9
Ahmed Faizy (Egy) bt Eric McAlpine (Eng)          15-9 10-15 15-11 15-4
Anthony Ricketts (Aus) bt Beau River (Usa)        15-2 15-3 15-4
Tim Garner (Eng) bt Mark Lewis (Usa)              15-6 15-6 15-3
Davide Bianchetti (Ita) bt Karim Yehia (Egy)       15-7 15-8 15-5
Mikkel Korsbierg (Den) bt Jeffrey Osborne (Aus) 15-5 15-5 15-2
Mark Cairns (Eng) bt Steven Polli (Usa)             15-9 15-0 15-8

Sarah Fitz-Gerald
15-10 15-12 15-1
Vicky Botwright   

Sarah Fitz-Gerald

15-10 15-10 15-10

Vanessa Atkinson

Vanessa Atkinson
13-15 15-10 15-11 15-10
Tania Bailey