Squash: Nicol loses title to speed and subtlety of Power game

Pete Nicol, England's world No1, last night relinquished the Commonwealth title he collected four years ago for Scotland to his greatest sporting foe, Canada's Jonathon Power, the man he beat in the 1998 final.

On an evening when treason, betrayal and sporting excellence were recurring themes, the 29-year-old lost 4-9 9-4 3-9 0-9. It was the North American's superb reflex shots and deftest of drops that ultimately made the difference in a high-tempo encounter.

Defeat was a bitter disappointment for Nicol after an eventful 15 months that saw him change his sporting nationality to consolidate his world standing.

He courted considerable controversy last year when he defected south of the border. His rationale, not without merit, was that Scottish squash could not provide the quality of back-up he required.

On court, his rivalry with Power, a brash, mouthy but charismatic McEnroe-Lite, has intensified. The head-to-head statistics now stand at 16 wins apiece, with the last four going to Power.

Before the pair took to the court, the capacity 1,700-strong crowd were treated to two squash legends, one a participant in the women's singles final, the other a former great who had been invited as a medal presenter.

The first was Sarah Fitz-Gerald, voted Australia's Sports Person of the Year a few months ago ahead of such notables as Ian Thorpe and Lleyton Hewitt. The Melbourne-born, Reading-based 33-year-old beat New Zealand's Carol Owens 9-5 9-0 2-9 10-9.

It was Fitz-Gerald's 13th successive tournament victory and the 59th of an illustrious sporting life. Her countrymen admire her for salvaging a career that seemed over after two serious operations to repair cartilage damage in her left knee. She missed most of 1999 and 2000. Her comeback was all the more stunning for it.

Last night's match had added spice of multiple flavours. Until last year, Owens was an Australian. She defected to become a Kiwi amid much acrimony, claiming that the only person the Australian squash authorities cared about was their leading player. Not only that but both women were raised in the same city, and Fitz-Gerald's mother, Judith, used to coach them both. Bizarre plot-lines in Melbourne are not restricted to Neighbours.

It was apt that Jahangir Khan had been invited to present Fitz-Gerald's gold medal. As a player he so dominated squash throughout the 1980s that he effectively killed it as a game. For more than five years he was unbeaten in any event. That spell, which stretched over more than 500 matches, was not just the greatest unbeaten run in squash but in any sport.

By the time that Khan retired in 1993, another of Pakistan's Khan dynasty, Jahangir's distant cousin Jansher, was well placed to take over. By his own retirement in 1998 much of the awe generated by the pair's mastery of their art had turned to apathy. Who wants to watch a sport where you really do know who will win every event before it happens? (Not just a lot of the time, a la Tiger Woods or Michael Schumacher).

In many ways, because of those years, squash is still waiting to become again anything other than a small fringe show in British or international sport. That despite becoming much more TV-friendly and chock full of superb athletes, many of them British.

It is ironic that Jansher Khan finally realised it was time to pack up only after losing to a young Scot hoping to make a name for himself and re-ignite the interest that had waned. His name was Pete Nicol.