Power Claims Masters Hat-Trick In Bermuda

Jonathon Power confounded majority opinion in Bermuda with a straight games upset over England's Lee Beachill in the final of the Virtual Spectator Bermuda PSA Masters, presented by Logic and hosted by Endurance, to secure his third Masters title at the Jessie Vesey Sports Centre in Hamilton.

While the world No3 from Pontefract in Yorkshire had waltzed through the $120,000 PSA Super Series event dropping only one game in the process, Power had fought three five-game marathons against Gregory Gaultier, Thierry Lincou and John White - battles lasting a total of 257 minutes! And to all but the most ardent optimist, there was no doubt in anybody's mind that Beachill would be far too fresh and far too sharp for the mercurial Canadian.

From the very start, however, the rigours of the early rounds did not seem to have made a significant impact on Power's speed and movement. Indeed it was second seed Beachill who looked somewhat nervous and flat, making a number of unnecessary errors in the first and handing the initiative straight to Power, the sixth seed.

In marked contrast to his semi-final, the Canadian looked calm, assured and determined, shunning his trade-mark verbal jousts with the referee.

Yet in truth he rarely needed to, so clean and clinical was the quality of his squash. Having looked so dominant in his semi-final against compatriot Peter Nicol, Beachill was a rabbit caught in the headlights of Power's Humvee, and his usual brand of tight, conventional squash was simply not the order of the day. Playing continually up and down the walls and refusing to force the issue, Beachill was playing palpably into Power's hands.

Never able to gain a foothold in the match, the Englishman looked increasingly tetchy and began to lose his customary ice-cool temperament while Power moved in for the kill, racing to an 8-0 lead in the third game.

Beachill did try to stick in there by slowing the pace, playing deep and cutting down the errors. In the end, however, there really was only going to be one winner - and 30-year-old Power's 11-7 11-4 11-2 triumph in 48 minutes made him an enormously deserving one at that.

The win, his second PSA Tour success this year and revenge for his defeat by Beachill in the 2004 event, brings Jonathon Power's career haul to 35 titles, from 58 final appearances. It also brings him a hat-trick of PSA Masters' crowns, after winning the 2001 title in Hurghada, Egypt, and the 2002 trophy in Doha, Qatar.

Final:
[6] Jonathon Power (CAN) bt [2] Lee Beachill (ENG) 11-7, 11-4, 11-2 (48m)