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Peter Nicol
I'm terribly disappointed to have lost the final of the Mahindra World Open Final to Canada's Jonathan Power, but first would like to congratulate him on his stupendous achievement. Winning the World Open is the ultimate in any squash player's career and Power has got there before me. So, hats off to him.
I've now begun analysing my loss as yet, there will come later, but I can say that on this day he was easily the better player. There are many contributing factors, but I will make no excuses. I am a professional and being at full readiness at all times is what being a professional is all about.
For me, it probably was on tournament too many. That is always the danger a professional faces, not judging the exact amount of reserves in one's body. I know that I've been saying I always play better towards the the year-end, as by then I am in full control of my game, but this time I must admit that even I was caught unawares.
I was feeling perfectly fine before my final match and never expected to lose dueto fatigue and tiredness. In fact, before this, those words have never been association with my game. I should have caught a hint during my match against England's Paul Johnson, where I was feeling tired during the game, But I just shrugged the feeling off and said, ``Its just one of those days.'' I was not as fast as I would have liked to be against Stefan Casteleyn of Belgium in the semi-finals but though I cold patch up before the final Obviously, my body had had too much.
I was struggling all through the match. I did manage to win the first game, but that was after being down 1-6 and then 9-12 down. It was a tough game, which I was determined to win and though I managed too, it took a lot out of me. I got more tired than I though I would and Jonathan sensed it. He played very well, in fact, raised the level of his game and made it tough for me.It was very difficult to implement any king of game plan. I did have one, but Jonathan was very quick on the ball and was hitting in flat and hard. It wasimpossible for me to play the way I wanted too and I was dragged into his game plan. I just could not cope with the pace after the first game.
I had expected him to play fast and was confident of countering, because I'vs kept pace with him in the past. All the last three finals I've beaten him in have been fast-paced affairs, but I'vs managed to hold my own.
Now It is over, there is no time to mope over my defeat, but instead it's back to the practice courts. I will take a week of two off and then it starts all over again in preparation for the tournaments in January.Before signing off, it will be rude if I do not thank Mahindras, the Qatar Tennis and Squash Federation, the staff of the Doha Sheraton and the people of Qatar for making this a memorable week for me.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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