Power & Jans Burke Crowned Canadian National Champions

Jonathon Power and Melanie Jans Burke won the men's and women's finals, respectively, in the 2005 Canadian Nationals in Toronto.

In the men's final, Power, the top-seed and ranked fourth in the world, defeated third-seed Shahier Razik 11-8, 11-5, 11-7. It's the sixth Canadian title in seven years for Power who withdrew from last year's tournament due to injury. He departed for London after his match to compete at the Super Series Final which starts Monday.

"I played OK, there's always a lot of pressure when you're expected to win," said Power. "I knew Shahier was coming off a tough semi-final match and I just wanted to make him work as much as possible and tire him out. I kept the rallies going and made him run to the four corners of the court."

Despite being a big international star, Power doesn't take a Canadian title for granted.

"It's tougher to win than people think," he said. "A lot of players are getting better and Shahier is a tough seasoned competitor. I'm just relieved I'd made it to the end."

Razik's semi-final defeat of No2 seed Graham Ryding dashed the title-holder's hopes of making the final for the tenth year in a row!

In the women's final, fourth seed Jans Burke defeated defending champion and third seed Alana Miller 9-2 9-7 9-6 for her fourth career national crown. Jans Burke also eliminated top-seed Runa Reta on Friday night.

"Any of us in the top-seven had a shot to win the tournament," said Jans Burke, 31. "I don't think the seeding made that much of a difference. This title is a bit more special because the competition was a lot deeper this year. I was hungrier this year to win, I trained very hard and I relied a lot on my instincts to help me through the matches."

Reta defeated Carolyn Russell 9-4 9-7 10-8 for the bronze.