Super Series Finals
1999 |
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Peter Nicol |
Final Stages best of 5 games PAR to 15 |
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Semi-Finals | Final | Winner | |
Paul Johnson | Barada 15/13 15/8 15/11 |
Nicol 15/8 9/15 15/9 15/11 3rd/4th Johnson bt Power 12/15 15/8 15/8 |
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Ahmed Barada | |||
Peter Nicol | Nicol 15/13 15/2 15/4 |
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Jonathon Power |
Peter Nicol claimed the Super Series Finals title for the first time, beating Ahmed Barada 3-1 in the final. Nicol was in a defiant mood during this climax to the PSA Tour's leading events of 1998, determined to make amends for the loss of his world No1 title earlier this month to Canada's world champion Jonathon Power. After leading throughout the opening game, Nicol let Barada take over in the second as his touch seemed to desert him. The roles were reversed again in the third game as the Commonwealth Games gold medallist charged ahead, maintaining the pressure through to the fourth and his memorable title win in 59 minutes.
Earlier, Paul Johnson scored his second successive victory in the tournament over the new world No1, coming back from a game down to beat Power 2-1 in 49 minutes to win the play-off for third place.SEMI-FINALS
Peter Nicol and Ahmed Barada will meet in the final of the Equitable Life Super Series Finals following contrasting semi-final victories at the Broadgate Arena in the heart of the City of London.
Barada looked in impressive form against Paul Johnson, despite playing in an open-air court in a giant tent being battered by torrential rain - conditions which were a far cry from the desert setting by the pyramids near Cairo where the Egyptian won last year's richest tournament, the Al-Ahram International. Johnson matched Barada point for point in the early stages of the fiercely-contested battle in which he was urged on by the capacity crowd - but the stocky Egyptian ultimately triumphed 15/13 15/8 15/11 in exactly 60 minutes. "Ahmed just made it too difficult for me tonight, and I didn't feel I got into my stride until half way through the third game," said Johnson after the match.
The other semi-final between Nicol and world champion Jonathon Power, who has just succeeded him as world No1, failed to live up to expectations. Nicol acknowledged later that he had played well - "exactly as I had planned to do" - while a jaded Power showed few signs of the genius which has taken him to the top of the sport. Power led throughout most of the first game, but Nicol was relentless in his bid to reach the final. By the second game, Power's magic seemed to have deserted him and, despite winning all his points thereafter with nick shots, he sunk to a 15/13 15/2 15/4 defeat by Nicol in 42 minutes. "I've been doing too many exhibitions and not enough squash recently - I just wasn't ready for somebody of Peter's calibre tonight," said the Canadian after the match. "I must get home and forget all this world No1 and world champion stuff, and prepare myself for the circuit ahead."
Fleet Group |
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Player | A | B | C | D | Won | Psn | |
A | Jonathon Power | 0-2 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2 | 2nd | |
B | Paul Johnson | 2-0 | 2-1 | 2-1 | 3 | 1st | |
C | Martin Heath | 0-2 | 1-2 | w/o | 1 | 3rd | |
D | Stefan Castelayn | 0-2 | 1-2 | w/d | 0 | 4th |
Group matches are best of 3 games, PAR to 15
Harrow Group |
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Player | A | B | C | D | Won | Psn | |
A | Peter Nicol | 2-1 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 3 | 1st | |
B | Ahmed Barada | 1-2 | 2-0 | 2-0 | 2 | 2nd | |
C | Rodney Eyles | 0-2 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0 | 4th | |
D | Anthony Hill | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2-1 | 1 | 3rd |
Reports
12th May - 2nd & 3rd group matches
British champion Paul Johnson produced the first upset of the event when he dismissed Jonathon Power 15/12 15/4 in the third and final qualifying round at the Broadgate Arena. Though both Power and Johnson had already qualified for Thursday's semi-final stage, Johnson finished as unexpected winner of the 'Fleet Group' having earlier beaten Stefan Casteleyn 17/14 13/15 15/10. The Belgian suffered a back spasm during the later stages of this match, causing him to withdraw from the remainder of the tournament.
The decider in the 'Harrow Group' saw top seed Peter Nicol fight back from a game down to beat Ahmed Barada 11/15 15/10 15/7 in 37 minutes in the final match of the evening. As in the 'Fleet Group', both players had already qualified for the semi-finals. Nicol's victory set him up with a last four clash with his old adversary Jonathon Power, while the Egyptian will meet Paul Johnson.11th May - first group matches
Fleet group:
[2] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt Stefan Casteleyn (BEL) 15/10 15/7
[4] Paul Johnson (ENG) bt Martin Heath (SCO) 10/15 15/8 15/11
Harrow group:
[1] Peter Nicol (SCO) bt Anthony Hill (AUS) 15/8 15/6
[3] Ahmed Barada (EGY) bt Rodney Eyles (AUS) 15/5 15/9The world's top four players comfortably overcame first qualifying round opposition on the opening day of the event. Second seed Jonathon Power cruised to a 15/10 15/7 win in 26 minutes over Stefan Casteleyn in the first match of the day. The other match in the 'Fleet Group' featured the day's only all-British encounter - in which Paul Johnson had to fight back from a game behind before triumphing 10/15 15/8 15/11 over Martin Heath in just two minutes short of an hour.
Scotland's top seed Peter Nicol took just 16 minutes to overcome Australia's Anthony Hill 15/8 15/6 in the first match in the 'Harrow Group'. The closing match of the day saw 1997 world champion Rodney Eyles making his PSA Tour comeback after surgery to his back at the beginning of the year. World No3 Ahmed Barada showed no mercy, however, claiming a 15/5 15/9 victory over the 31-year-old Queensland veteran in 23 minutes.