Tournament of Champions 2003 -
the Finals
Men's Final:
[1] Peter Nicol (Eng) bt [6] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
15/11, 12/15, 15/10, 15/4 (67m)
Women's
Final:
[1] Carol Owens (Nzl) bt [2] Natalie Pohrer (Usa)
3/9, 5/9, 9/5, 9/3, 9/3 (60m)
Quiet
guy Nicol is the big noise
Alan Thatcher sums up the ToC
Owens turns the tables on Pohrer
Beth Rasin reports from New York
Just when it looked like Natalie Pohrer would
lay claim to the top spot in women's squash, tour veteran Carol Owens
decided that she was not about to let it slip through her fingers. At 2-4 in
the third game, down two games to love, Owens stepped up the pace and moved
to the front of the court in the final match of the Arader & O'Rourke
Women's Open at Grand Central Terminal.
"I realized that I didn't want to sit on a plane back to Australia for 18
hours and have to think about losing this match," said Owens as she
described the third game turnaround, "I heard Natalie breathing hard in that
third game and I knew that I had the opportunity to come back. I have been
in this situation before several times over the past 10 years so I knew that
I could do it."
Pohrer started the match looking fit and focused, driving the ball deep and
cutting it off at every opportunity. Pohrer, who has openly declared her
desire to be the number one player in the world, looked as though she were
ready to take on that mantle in the wake of last week's announcement by
five-time world champion and current number one Sarah Fitz-Gerald that she
had retired from the WISPA tour.
"I did start thinking in the third- world number one," said Pohrer. "And
then Carol started getting much better length." With that length, Owens was
able to keep herself in the front court and take any open ball for a winner.
By the fifth game, Owens was in complete command, jumping out to an 8-0 lead
and winning the game 9-2. As for taking ownership of the top spot in the
women's game, Owens wasn't quite prepare to stake a definitive claim. "If I
can win the next several tournaments, then I'll feel that I have earned it,"
she said.
Nicol takes 2nd ToC title,
Peter Nicol claimed his second title and ended the giant-killing streak
of France's Thierry Lincou in the finals of the Harrisdirect Tournament of
Champions at Grand Central Terminal.
The sixth seeded Lincou, who had beaten
fourth seed John White and second seed Jonathon Power en route to the finals
was not quite up to the task of trying to outlast the world number one. "I
was simply impatient," said Lincou. "But Peter forced me to take the risks
of going for shots because I know that he is so consistent."
Nicol took an early lead in the first game and never relinquished it. But he
was mindful of the fact that Lincou had lost the first game in his two
previous matches before going on to win, and indeed, despite an 8-1 lead,
lost the game 12-15. The standing room only crowd was thrilled.
"At that point I knew that I needed to make a better effort to keep the ball off of Thierry's racquet," said Nicol. "I especially tried to put some height on the ball."
As he has done all week, Nicol played an
all-court game, using a variety of shots and changes of pace to keep the
pressure on his opponent.
The third and fourth games were all Nicol - he jumped out to early leads and
didn't give his opponent any opportunity to get back in the match.
"I thought I had a really tough draw this week, so I was delighted that I
was physically up to it," said Nicol after his victory. And then he served
notice as to why he is number one in the world. "But the most exciting thing
after an event like this is that it I know I still have things to improve,
and I love that challenge."
