Nicol & Power Set Up Canadian Classic Classic

Former world number ones Peter Nicol and Jonathon Power survived first round hurdles in the Pace Credit Union Canadian Classic to set up the sport's most popular 'clash of the titans' in the quarter-finals of the established PSA Tour event in Toronto, Canada, on Wednesday.

Although James Willstrop may be the best prospect to come out of England for decades, when faced with the experience, skill and speed of local hero Jonathon Power, he was only close for a few short spells as the Canadian took a 3/1 victory in 56 minutes.

Their first round match at the BCE Place, in downtown Toronto, pulled a capacity audience to watch Power, the enigmatic and charismatic title-holder.

They weren't disappointed: Seventh seed Power found his touch and pace very quickly and soon had Willstrop stretching into the back corners and diving to the front as he desperately tried to pick up Power's patented backhand drop shot, the shot that has won him more points than all his other vast array of shots put together.

Willstrop, the former junior world champion who at 21 is ten years younger than Power, started a little tensely, went for winners too quickly and paid the price with a stream of errors which allowed Power to jog through the first two games 11-5 11-2 in 23 minutes.

The third game took a different route as 6' 4" Willstrop cut out his errors and Power went short too quickly. The lanky Yorkshireman led from the start and, although Power tied it up at 6-6, Willstrop went ahead with a finely controlled rally and then ran to an 11-9 win with the help of some errors from Power.

Three-times champion Power was back on track in the fourth - forcing the tiring Willstrop into some strange shot selections. Once he had the game firmly in his grip, Power never looked like losing and took the fourth game to win the match 11-5 11-2 9-11 11-4 to the delight of the full galleries.

"I found my rhythm very early in the match," Power said, explaining his two quick games. "But I lost my concentration in the third and he [Willstrop] hit some good shots early on. I also tried to go for winners too quickly and made errors. But he didn't run for a ball at 8-10 and I thought he was tired. So in the fourth I made him get into some long rallies and that's when he started making errors," Power said.

Of his recent injuries, he said he was in good shape and moving well. "But it's not the first matches that worry me, it's the later rounds where my fitness counts."

Englishman Nicol, making his comeback after an ankle injury layoff, also needed four games to win his first round match, but it took the 2001 champion only 35 minutes to down compatriot Jonathan Kemp, a qualifier, 11-6 11-6 10-11 11-3.

The left-hander won the first two games comfortably and then found himself in the first-tie break of the evening. Kemp - still only 45 in the world - showed his potential by matching Nicol all over the court and at times wrong-footing the man who has dominated squash for the last eight years. They played another six points and this time it was Kemp who emerged the winner.

But, the effort had been too much and Nicol kept the pace coming as Kemp slowly wilted under the relentless attack - and could take just three points before the third seed celebrated his victory.

England's Lee Beachill showed why he is ranked number one in the world when he outran South African Rodney Durbach in a little over 30 minutes in their first round match.

On the sparkling four-wall glass court, the lanky Englishman played near faultless squash to keep the South African qualifier constantly under pressure, before winning 11-3 11-2 11-6.

Beachill's quarter-final opponent will be unseeded Anthony Ricketts after the Australian was handed a first round walkover when fifth seed Nick Matthew, from England, re-injured his back in practice earlier in the day and had to withdraw from the tournament.

1st round:
[1] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [Q] Rodney Durbach (RSA) 11-3, 11-2, 11-6 (38m)
Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [5] Nick Matthew (ENG) w/o
[3] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [Q] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) 11-6, 11-6, 10-11 (2-4), 11-3 (35m)
[7] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt James Willstrop (ENG) 11-5, 11-2, 9-11, 11-4 (56m)