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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters One smooth Scot
By Nashwa Abdel-TawabScotland's Peter Nicol and New Zealand's Leilani Joyce outclassed the field to capture what has become one of the sport's most prestigious tournaments. Nicol defended his Al-Ahram International Squash Championship title for the second successive year, beating local favourite Ahmed Barada 3-1, while Joyce triumphed 3-2 over Carol Owens of Australia to take the title for the first time.
In the open air glass court in the desert in the shadows of the Great Pyramid of Giza, Nicol proved why he is the world's number one, surviving the sterner test to win the Al-Ahram crown in this, its fifth year. Barada, ranked number three in the world, sought to avenge a defeat he suffered at the hands of Nicol in the final of the tournament last year. Against the Scotsman, the task was never going to be easy; going into the game Nicol had won five consecutive tournaments and an eight-month unbeaten run has confirmed his dominance at the top of the men's game.
Barada, meanwhile, has had fitness problems, the result of a long layoff after he was stabbed in the back by an unknown assailant in March. Still, he had at least a fervent home crowd on his side. Nicol held his nerve in the daunting atmosphere to take the first set, a 30-minute-long affair, 15-14.
Barada, in the background, about to give chase as Nicol crafts a deft drop shot. A few similar strokes later and the Scotsman was displaying his prize. Right, Joyce, in white, ran Owens ragged
photos: Khaled El-Fiqi
Barada responded with a flurry of winners early in the second, establishing a game winning lead and taking it 15-9 to the delight of the crowd.
The third saw a complete reversal of roles as Nicol ran out the easy winner, 15-3. The fourth game was a tense affair, with Barada leading 12-10 before Nicol found the necessary winners to emerge as the champion once again. As was expected and feared, Barada's stamina did not hold up while Nicol surprisingly thrived in the hot, dry conditions in front of a standing room only gallery.
Earlier on Friday, in an all southern hemisphere final, Joyce, the world's number two, claimed her second major championship -- her first being the British Open last year. Joyce had raced to an 8-5 lead in the first set before Owens, number three, found her game for a 10-8 win. The Aussie run continued, taking her to 4-0 up in the second set but Joyce turned the tables, winning 9-7, then the third 9-5. Owens levelled the series at two sets all with a 9-3 win and, with momentum on her side and Joyce tiring, looked poised to finish the New Zealander off in the deciding set. But Joyce dug in one last time, managed to hit more winners than errors, and took the set 9-5.
..watched by Alieddin Hilal and Ibrahim Nafie
The women's final lasted 88 minutes. By sheer coincidence so, too, did the men's.
For Jonathon Power, it was déjà vu. Repeating last year's scenario, the world's second best player was forced to retire in the semi-finals against Barada. Power injured his knee after a collision with Barada in the third set leading 7-5. He won the first set 15-9, lost the second 10-15. It was deemed to be accidental, although Power claimed otherwise. Barada denied any contact. Video evidence seems to confirm Power's view though, and with the Canadian probably out of next week's Hong Kong Open and possibly facing a lengthy layoff, he is considering filing an official complaint against Barada.
In the other semi-final Nicol recovered from a first set loss to Simon Parke, his English threat and ranked number four, to win comfortably 12-15, 15-6, 15-5 and 15-7.
In the women's semis, Tania Bailey couldn't keep up with Joyce as the former world junior champion collected just five points in a quickfire defeat 9-2, 9-3 and 9-0. A similar fate befell England teammate Natalie Grainger, who rallied in the third game but was unable to stop Owens who won 9-2, 9-3 and 10-8.
World champion Cassie Campion was forced to retire after her first game against Grainger and flew back home following the death of her father-in-law.
Despite Barada's inability to win the championship, Egyptian spectators were treated to two promising countrymen who, in the estimation of many, stand on the threshold of stardom. Though he eventually lost 3-2 to Australia's David Palmer, world junior champion Karim Darwish came close to a quarter-final place while Amr Shabana beat world number 5 Martin Heath of Scotland before being ousted by Nicol in the quarter-finals.
Related stories:
Squash spectacular 24 - 30 August 2000
Lucky by the Pyramids 23 - 29 September 1999
'A dream come true' 8-14 October 1998
