Bermuda Masters 2005

Welcome to the Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters 2005 presented by Logic hosted by Endurance

Saturday April 9th - Power Play Beats Beachill to Win Masters

It was an eagerly anticipated final of the Virtual Spectator Bermuda PSA Masters, presented by Logic and hosted by Endurance. After Jonathon Power and Lee Beachill's two contrasting routes to the final, with Power having come through a string of long, tough matches, compared to Beachill's single dropped game, a gambling man may have favoured the Yorkshireman to take the title.

But Jonathon Power played against all the odds, and it was he that looked the more spritely on court during the match. He raced off to an early advantage, taking the first game 11-7. There was very little of the traditional questioning of refereeing decisions as Power played a clean, tight, inventive game. In fact, it was Beachill who seemed more likely to lose his cool under the onslaught of Power's deft touches, and Power took the second game 11-4. The Canadian then surged to an 8-0 lead in the third game of the $120,000 PSA Super Series event, going on to take the game 11-2 - for a total match time of 48 minutes - to become Masters champion for the third time.

For the scores in full go to the Scores section.
For News on the Final go to the News Section
To view the Final draw go to the draw

Friday April 8th - Power Punishes White and Beachill blows away Nicol

The semifinals of the Virual Spectator Bermuda Masters saw two fantastic games of differing contrasts. In the first match, Jonathon Power took on John White, both players having had marathon matches in the previous round. It was a game of high skill and drama, with both players renowned for their stroke play. It did not disappoint over its 89 minute duration. Power took control to win the first game, then White came back from being well down in the second to win the tie-break. Thereafter, some refereeing decisions seemed to phase White, giving Power the upper hand, and he took the third game 11-8. White again won the fourth on a tie-break, but that seemed to take it out of him as Power eased to victory winning the final game 11-4. The final match score - Jonathon Power bt John White 11-5, 10-11 (5-3), 11-8, 10-11 (2-0), 11-4.

This sets up a final with Yorkshireman Lee Beachill, who played precision squash to beat Peter Nicol 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 in 47 minutes. Nicol never really looked like he could control the game, playing defensively to try and dissipate the pressure, and Beachill controlled from the front in emphatic style. This was almost a repeat of Beachill's victory over Nicol in the US Open last September. Beachill has only dropped one game on his way to the final, and it was in the Masters last year that he secured his first win over Power - could this be a good omen for Beachill? The only way to find out is to watch the final.

Thursday April 7th - Power Defeats World Number One

Jonathan Power overcame World Number One Thierry Lincou in session 7 of the Virual Spectator Bermuda Masters, on a day where the first session saw two epic matches whilst the victors of the second session games enjoyed relatively easy wins by comparison.
Power defeated Lincou 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8 in 96 minutes. It was a see-saw match where first one player then the other gained the upper hand. This sets up a mouth-watering semifinal match against John White, who defeated seventh seed Nick Matthew in another marathon match lasting 97 minutes. The final score was 9-11, 11-10 (2-0), 11-9, 8-11, 11-8. Matthew gained early advantage in a close game but the second game tie-breaker gave White the confidence to win another and come back to a 2-1 lead. Matthew the rallied in the fourth game, before White's deft shot play won the game.

In session 8, Peter Nicol beat James Willstrop 11-5, 10-11 (3-0), 11-4, 11-3 in a relatively short 50 minutes. Nicol was in superb form, only allowing Willstrop a tie break opportunity to win a game. In the other session 8 match, Lee Beachill, last year's Bermuda Open winner, overcame Karim Darwish 7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9. The match lasted 54 mins. This means that the number 2 seed Beachill plays the number 3 seed Nicol in what promises to be an exhilarating spectacle.

Wednesday April 6th - Crowd Enjoys Spectacle as White Beats Palmer and Lincou Continues Winning Ways

John White notched up another notable victory and a veritable surprise in session 5 of the Virual Spectator Bermuda Masters, defeating Bermuda favourite David Palmer 7-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 in 68 mins. After losing the first game, White was in unstoppable form and sets up a next round encounter with Nick Matthew. Matthew defeated Ong Beng Hee 11-8 11-9 11-9 in a tough 72 minutes.

In other matches, Thierry Lincou defeated Egyptian Amr Shabana 6-11, 11-7, 11-10 (2-0), 11-3 in 53 minutes. Lee Beachill beat Graham Ryding in 3 straight games, Jonathan Power had a tough win against Gregory Gaultier, and James Willstrop defeated Anthony Ricketts in a marathon 97 minutes. Karim Darwish defeated Finnish flyer Olli Tuominen in 3 games 11-5, 11-5, 11-7.

Tuesday April 5th - Nicol Celebrates Birthday in Fine Style

On the second day of of first round action in the Virtual Spectator Bermuda PSA Masters, birthday boy Peter Nicol (pictured in action against Nick Kyme in the Bermuda Open 2004) celebrated in style beating Egypt's Wael El Hindi in straight games 11-8 11-3 11-6. After a good start by the Egyptian, Nicol took the game by the scruff of the neck and moved on from 8-8 in the first match to win emphatically in 39 minutes.

In the other notable matches of the day, Finn Olli Tuominen, who clearly relishes the atmosphere in Bermuda aftyer his fine run in the Bermuda Open 2004, defeated Australian Joe Kneipp 11-6 11-4 11-5 in 27 minutes. This sets up a second round match with Egyptian Karim Darwish. Darwish defeated Australian Dan Jenson in 3 games, 11-6 11-10 11-3.

England's James Willstrop had a very difficult match, managing to defeat South Africa's Rodney Durbach 7-11 11-10 11-6 11-10. Willstrop lost the first match but came back strongly but the match lasted 64 minutes, and Willstrop may well suffer against his next opponent, Australian Anthony Ricketts, who had a comfortable win (11-6 11-6 11-4) against Shahier Razik of Canada.

Monday April 4th - Kyme Loses out To Rampant Lincou

It was a dramatic first day of the $120,000 PSA Super Series event which boasts the world's top 31 squash players - the biggest and best sporting event ever held in Bermuda which is being presented by Logic and hosted by Endurance.
Nick Kyme put up a valiant fight against world number one Thierry Lincou but failed in his bid to progress in the Bermuda Masters 2005. In the second session of the day, Lincou beat Bermuda number one Kyme 11-3, 11-7, 11-10 (3-1) in 34 minutes.
In the other match in the second session Egyptian Amr Shabana beat Renan Lavigne 11-7, 11-7, 11-8 in 33 minutes.
In the first session John White squeezed out a narrow 5 game victory over Welshman Alex Gough.

In the other first session match Bermuda favourite David Palmer overcame fellow Australian Paul Price without too much ado - 11-6 11-2 11-1 in 22 minutes.