Pace Canadian Squash Tournament

Amr Shabana and Jonathon Power. The Egyptian and the Canadian.

Ostensibly very different men, separated by an ocean, a continent, and hugely different cultures. Yet their similarities may explain why they find themselves side by side at the pinnacle of professional men’s squash. Ranked World Number Two and One respectively, they are the final of any tournament promoter’s dreams. The dream came true, in a sense, for John Nimick and company as the two tore through the draw towards the final at January’s Pace Canadian Squash Classic in Toronto.

Before playing Laurens Jan Anjema of the Netherlands, Shabana complimented him. “There’s nobody weak in this tournament,” he said “Laurens has beaten Nicol and Beachill.” (Ever respectful off the court, Shabana ushered Anjema out of the tournament in three straight games, 11-7, 11-3, 11-10 (3-1) (36m), later that Wednesday night.) Not willing to call his own side of the draw, the 26-year-old world number two had no such reservations about the other eight players. “Jonathon of course is the favourite. “

In his tournament opener, Power avenged the qualifying loss of fellow Canadian Shawn DeLierre when he stopped Italian Davide Bianchetti for an opening-round three-game victory. After suffering a trouncing in the first game, Bianchetti modified his play and pushed the second game to a tiebreak drama on the stage at the John Bassett Theatre, home to the tournament’s glass-courted action for the week. Power, however, played his expected role as he took the tiebreak, then announced the Italian’s curtain call 11-1, 11-10 (4-2), 11-7 (47m).

Prior to the match, Power proved as reticent as Shabana to pick favorites. “You have to watch out for everybody, even from the first round,” he said, while acknowledging Shabana as his toughest opponent these days.

Thursday evening saw Shabana's only four-game match of the tournament, while Power's came the following night. (Power’s one lost game – the longest of the entire tournament – may have made all the difference in the end.)

After ceding an early 6-2 lead, El Hindi clawed his way back from that deficit on several Shabana errors. The combatants traded sequences of fine drops and the lead. At 10-10, El Hindi suffered a no-let, and Shabana took the next two points, one on a drop winner and the other on an El Hindi tin from the back of the court.

That 20-minute game led to Shabana's taking the next in 6 minutes. In Game 3, however, El Hindi's picked up his game to impose Game 4. In the end, Shabana outlasted El Hindi 11-10 (2-0), 11-6, 8-11, 11-4 (48m).

(That Thursday was a night of pharaohs. The four players left in Shabana’s half of the draw – Mohammed Abbas, Karim Darwish, El Hindi, and Shabana – all hailed from Egypt.)

A pattern began to develop as Power took 3 minutes less than Shabana to vanquish Spaniard Borja Golan. Golan had shown Canada’s Graham Ryding the door in a first-round marathon, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 (76m). Power would have none of that as he shot to a 9-3 Game One lead, and he closed it out in 13 minutes. Game Two took two minutes less and Golan got two less points. Game Three saw Golan bear down, but after strokes against Power, he settled down to close out the match 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 (46m).

Neither winner’s wife was on hand to help celebrate Thursday’s victories, but their families help to explain the passion both men have translated into success on the court. Power’s two siblings, Ian and Courtney, have made waves on the Canadian squash scene. Back home in Egypt, Shabana’s mother was the women’s national champion until she was unseated – by her eldest daughter.

The son faced Karim Darwish Friday night in the first quarter-final. Darwish earned the berth after a marathon 70-minute win against Mohammed Abbas. Perhaps Darwish’s fate was sealed by the relative length of their matches the previous night, or maybe it was his one-for-seven record against Shabana. In any case, Darwish spent most of his time guessing where the ball would go and the rest of the match chasing it down. The occasional flash of Darwish brilliance did not ruin Shabana's dominance in a fairly workmanlike (for Shabana) 11-6, 11-3, 11-4 (31m) win.

Power’s quarter-final match followed Shabana’s, and it proved one of the most intense of the main draw. He drew Gallic Gregory Gaultier, a never-say-die competitor who wore his heart on his sleeve, and the word “France” on the back, of his shirt. Gaultier had also dispatched Canada’s Shahier Razik in Round One, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (59m), then compatriot Jean-Michel Arcucci 11-0, 11-4, 11-0 (29m). Would the pattern continue?

Both players entertained the crowd regularly, reacting to the officials’ calls and uttering comments in both of the official languages of the host country. Neither gave an inch, and Power eked out the first two games in a minute less than it took Shabana and Darwish to conclude their contest.

But the fireworks were spectacular in a tightly fought Game Three. At 29 minutes, it was the longest of the tournament, and arguably the most entertaining. Even though Gaultier gradually stopped cutting off Power’s lobs to the back right wall during the game, he won it to force Game 4.

Between games, Power visited the medic backstage. Power strode back on court with two bandages tying the ring and little fingers of his left hand together. Less visible was the braced wherewithal Power used to end the match 11-8, 11-9, 9-11, 11-4 (76m) as Gaultier ran out of steam. Along with his superb squash effort, though, Gaultier may have taken Power’s crown as tour drama queen.

The stage was thus set for Saturday’s final. Shabana’s chances didn’t look good statistically, with one win in seven matches against Power. However, this meeting of the training and exhibition partners was to be ruled by other, less-publicized statistics, namely the ones to do with Power’s back.

Preparation for both players has consisted, in part, in effecting conscious change. For his part, Power sold his share in a company he started with hockey’s Dominic Hasek to the Ottawa Senators goaltender so that he could focus on squash. “Both squash and business are full-time jobs, and both were faltering,” he said.

Having already spent 12 years on the tour, Shabana attributes his success to adopting a different style of play. “When I was coming up, I had nothing to lose. I thought I had all the time in the world, going for shots every time,” he reflects. “Now I need to win more matches, so I need to play tactical, wiser, with more consistency. All-out attack is not the best way to do it.”

Both players have given over most of the autumn to the tour. In both reflection and what later turned out to be premonition, Power noted: “We jammed five tournaments in six weeks. A lot of it is hanging on to your health.”

Before the Saturday night final, fans got a treat in a preview of a film about squash legend Hashim Khan. A favourite moment: in the film, Khan finds himself seated next to France’s Thierry Lincou, who laughingly marvels at Khan’s British open titles at (ahem) an advanced age for a squash player. The entire crowd laughed along, understanding Lincou’s amazement. Then the man himself, all 90 years of him, came to the podium, accompanied by his son and fellow squash great Sharif Khan.

Once the festivities were over, the match began promisingly. The hometown favourite throughout the tournament, Power led 6-2 early in the first game, but he favored his left hip early as well. With Shabana up 8-9 in the first game, Power took a three-minute injury time out. The crowd had reason to worry: an expletive leapt from the backstage area (where Power had disappeared) into the rest of the theatre. (As Power would later explain to the press, his leg had been numb earlier that day, and when he felt twinges on court, he “was so upset”.)

(Quick tip: if you’re going to swear during a match, do it out of sight of the referee. On court the previous night, Gregory Gaultier earned a stroke for unsportsmanlike conduct when he shouted a word best left unmentioned. The ref didn’t give Gaultier a warning before awarding a point to Power.)

Ever the sportsman, Power came back on court to finish Game 1. He stretched the second one to 12 minutes, but there was no disguising the grimaces of pain or the gettable shots he let up on. At the 37-minute mark, the game ended on a stroke, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5 (37 min), with polite applause and no on-court fanfare. The 26-year-old Shabana emerged as the 2006 Pace Canadian Classic Champion.

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