Power Controls World No1 Lincou To Reach Bermuda Semis

"Squash at its best" was how one observer described the dramatic quarter-final in the Virtual Spectator Bermuda PSA Masters between sixth seed Jonathon Power and top seed Thierry Lincou - in which the mercurial Canadian prevailed in a five-game marathon to upset the French world number one and world champion to reach an unexpected semi-final berth on the all-glass court at the Jessie Vesey Sports Centre in Hamilton, Bermuda.

In a remarkable semi-final line-up of the $120,000 PSA Super Series event presented by Logic and hosted by Endurance which features four former world number ones, Power will face Scotland's 12th seed John White, whilst second seed Lee Beachill will take on third seed Peter Nicol in an all-English affair.

The Power/Lincou clash promised to be spectacular and more than lived up to its name. The match started at a slow pace, with both players making uncharacteristic unforced errors, trying to play the tightest of shots from the outset. The first game remained close to 9-9 until Lincou rattled off two points to take a 1/0 lead.

The pace picked up in the second with Power showing his amazing array of deceptive shots which caused even the world champion to be constantly changing direction. At seven-all it was anyone's game until Power reeled off four unanswered points to level the match at one game each.

From the third game on, the quality of squash was superb - with neither player giving any quarter. Power continued to demonstrate why he is considered one of the greatest stroke players in the modern game and soon moved into a 2/1 lead. But Lincou, chasing every ball and playing superbly, seized the initiative in the fourth and won a closely-fought duel to set the scene for a fifth game thriller. If the first four games were hot, the fifth was a sizzler!

Both gave it their all and constantly fought to dominate the tee. Power had been questioning the referee's decisions from the third game, always in the belief that he can retrieve every shot, no matter how impossible - and even Lincou started to question decisions in the final game. It was clear that both badly wanted to claim victory and the game progressed absolutely evenly.

At three-all, Power was accidentally struck on the right wrist by Lincou's racket and took an injury time out - much to the consternation of his opponent. When play resumed they went straight back into the fray until seven-all. The next rally was unbelievable and had the audience on edge while each player put away irretrievable winners only to see them returned with interest. A perfect back hand drop shot by Power forced Lincou into the front left corner where he played a cross court lob, only to have Power hammer an overhead smash into the front right nick to end the rally - and raise his racket as if victory was in sight.

But the match was not quite over. During the next rally Power flinched when struck in the face by Lincou's racket but went on to win the point before claiming a second injury time out to stop the bleeding to his lip.

When they finally returned to the court, Lincou took the next point. But Power was not to be denied and he put away the last two points to take the game and the match 9-11 11-7 11-6 9-11 11-8 after a gruelling 96 minutes on court.

The last time the pair met, in the quarter-finals of the Windy City Open in January, Power beat the Frenchman to set up a semi-final meeting with John White. The Canadian will hope, however, that history will not be repeated in Hamilton - as White defeated Power in Chicago en-route to picking up the title.

Both players will clash following almost identical quarter-final workouts - as White needed a minute more than Power to see off England's Nick Matthew in the next match on the all-glass court.

Seventh seed Matthew won the first game after being given a conduct warning with the score at 3-3 when he continued to argue with the referee after what he considered to be a dubious let call. White, the 12th seed, was visibly playing himself back into form, as he has throughout the tournament, and won the next two games before Matthew, tenaciously chasing down every ball, took the fourth to force the match into a decider.

There was no telling who would triumph as they each vied for the lead, but White suddenly decided to play a series of devastating drop shots as Matthew perhaps showed slight signs of slowing down. The Scot ultimately took the fifth game to win the match 9-11 11-10 11-9 8-11 11-8 in 97 minutes.

The rigours of James Willstrop's epic 96-minute encounter the previous day against Australia's Anthony Ricketts were clearly evident as he faced fellow Englishman Peter Nicol in the next quarter-final.

Nicol, by contrast, looked sharp and fresh in the first game, pushing Willstrop from corner to corner and generally looking the more aggressive. In the second, Willstrop started to get it together - more by sheer will power than anything else - and what followed was a spectacular exhibition of athletic squash. One rally in particular - won by Willstrop, which saw both players at full stretch and included a full-length dive by Nicol at the back of the court to stay in the rally - will live long in the memory. As Willstrop clinched the tie-break game with a delicate forehand drop-shot into the nick, the enthusiastic crowd could have been forgiven for thinking they had a serious game on their hands.

But the wily Nicol had other ideas in the third, retrieving with grim determination and stubbornly refusing to concede the centre of the court. As hard as fifth seed Willstrop tried, his legs were simply not there and by the end, his shoulders slumped with sheer fatigue, it was clear Nicol had it in the bag as he eventually wore down a willing but tired-looking England team-mate 11-5 10-11 11-4 11-3.

The final match of the day was a rather flat affair between England's Lee Beachill and Karim Darwish of Egypt - with the world number two Beachill taking the game in four 7-11 11-7 11-7 11-9.

Quarter-finals:
[6] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 (96m)
[12] John White (SCO) bt [7] Nick Matthew (ENG) 9-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-9, 8-11, 11-8 (97m)
[3] Peter Nicol (ENG) bt [5] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-5, 10-11 (1-3), 11-4, 11-3 (50m)
[2] Lee Beachill (ENG) bt [8] Karim Darwish (EGY) 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9 (54m)