Power Stretched To Reach Fourth Classic Final

Canada's Jonathon Power was extended for more than an hour and a half before moving into his fourth Pace Credit Union Canadian Classic final at BCE Place in Toronto - where he will face Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the world No2 who dashed hopes of an all-Canadian final when he defeated Winnipeg-born and Toronto-based Graham Ryding in the other semi-final.

Judged the best match of the event to date, Power outlasted unseeded Australian Anthony Ricketts to win 3/2 after five games of superb, skilled and dramatic squash. Despite conceding five years to the 25-year-old former world No6 from Sydney, Power clearly demonstrated that he can still put in the necessary hard work to get the job done.

They started the first game with long patient 60-shot rallies and Power hinted that he was prepared to do whatever was necessary. Power led from the beginning but Ricketts stayed the pace, never allowing Power to relax. Even with Power at game ball, Ricketts remained calm, forcing two errors from Power to bring on a tie break. Power took the first point on a Ricketts error and then hit a superb cross court which had the Australian diving in vain to get it back. After 23 hard minutes Power was one up.

The 30-year-old from Montreal opened up in the second game, constantly taking Ricketts to the front and making him work. The game was Power's in 13 minutes - and when he ran to an 8-3 lead in the third game, it looked as though he was home and dry.

As he did in his previous match, Power became hesitant, however, allowing Ricketts back in. He then made a series of unforced errors to allow Ricketts to catch and force another tie-break. In full flow, the Australian won the game to reduce the deficit.

Power led the fourth game, but once more Ricketts, who was now going short and hitting some fine drops shots, ran out the winner. Power was looking tired, while Ricketts seemed to gain a second wind.

But the effort required to come back from two games down was too much for the young Australian and Power, sensing the fatigue, played tight squash and used his drop shots to superb effect, winning the final game in just eight minutes to register an 11-10 11-6 10-11 10-11 11-2 triumph in 91 minutes.

Ricketts had mixed feelings about his performance: "I felt in the last three weeks that my form has returned," he explained, referring to his long layoff due to a knee problem. "But, I did get tired because coming back from two games down requires a huge amount of physical effort."

Power was not pleased at having to play a hard ninety-one minute match the day before a final, but the smile on his face showed that he was delighted with his performance.

"That was the best that Ricketts has played for months and I was just happy to be able to wear him down physically," said Power, now in his 56th PSA Tour final. "I got a little tired in the third and went through bouts of fatigue, but I knew he was more tired than I was. I have never seen him not run for a ball, so I knew he was hurting. In the fifth, I just went back to my game and made him twist and turn," Power said, adding that he was happy with his form and was looking to do well at the World Open in Qatar in two weeks.

In the second semi-final, Canada's Graham Ryding started off in fine form, hoping to create history by setting up the first all-Canadian final at a major PSA event. He showed that he could not only stay with second seed Thierry Lincou, a former world number one, but could he could outplay him too. Lincou, winner of the Hong Kong Open title in September, is favoured to win the tournament now that the top seed, Lee Beachill is out. Ryding, ranked 20, is a player with a lot of experience and clearly did not let the ranking difference affect him.

The 29-year-old Canadian played solidly to take the first game, giving the partisan crowd hopes of seeing two Canadian victories in a single evening. But as Ryding admitted later - in order to beat the accomplished Lincou, "you have to play perfect squash".

In the second game, Ryding was less than perfect and Lincou took full advantage of the centre court, allowing him to dominate the game. Ryding's length was inconsistent and Lincou stepped in to cut the ball short. But, Lincou never relinquished his hold on the second game which he won 11-6 and continued to dominate play, winning the third and fourth to claim an 8-11 11-6 11-7 11-6 victory in 59 minutes.

"I won the first game because I took control of the 'T' where Lincou likes to be," Ryding said later. "I felt I played OK but he's a tough competitor - I made a couple of mistakes. With Lincou, that's a few too many."

With 22 PSA finals behind him, and 11 wins against 11 losses, Lincou will be keen to tip the balance towards the wins!

Semi-finals:
[7] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt Anthony Ricketts (AUS) 11-10 (2-0), 11-6, 10-11 (0-2), 10-11 (2-4), 11-2 (91m)
[2] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Graham Ryding (CAN) 8-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (59m)