Squashlive.com - By Jean De lierre

Super Series Finals 2005

Complete version of the event’s best 10 matches on crisp DVD images and Surround Sound 5.1.

Captured using 4 HD broadcast cameras for the first time ever in tour events.

Fully edited using tight close-ups & multiple dramatic slow motions

DVD menu navigation from game to game & best rallies features

Alan Thatcher teamed up with Charles DeSainte-Marie throughout to provide play-by-play expert commentating and key interviews. Expect plenty of humour and a clever complicity between these two which adds to the entertainment.

Invited guests James Willstrop and tournament promoter and Harvard University head coach Satinder Bajwa also joined the team on occasion.

Never in a single major tournament will you have witnessed in such undisputable fashion how close the level of play is currently at the top of the men's game, and this even without the presence in it of other great players such as White, Gauthier and Darwish who are also realistically well within reach of any event's top honours. Until this SSF 05, the most "best matches" we ever selected from any one event was 7 (from the SSF03). Incredibly, we had no choice but to select 10 from this PSA most prized event or we most certainly would have left out valuable treasures from it. While only 4 players (Hunt, Jahangir, Jansher and Nicol) took away most titles in their respective eras from the early seventies until last year, any of the top 12 ranked players in the world can now do so at any event. What a treat for us all squash addicts!

Power Vs Palmer
J. Power, the most deceptive player there is and a racquet maestro of sort at the pinnacle of his career Vs D. Palmer, the strongest player on tour and as well one of its best tactician, both confined a to glass arena seemingly reduced in dimension for the SSF 05 occasion. Indeed, why is it that the court appears to be half its size when these two compete on it together? Is it that they read each other's game so well that their paths to and from striking zones invariably cross more often than not? Or is it a strategy that, consciously or not, they use to avoid the likely punishment they will have to endure if their opponent ever makes it cleanly to their loosely struck balls? Leaving these questions for referees to sort out and for experts to debate, this match delivers some of the best squash played on tour at the moment.
A true "Power-Palmer vintage" clash that included tackles, flaring emotions and 'vocals' everyone heard miles around London City center...all & all one great squash war you don't want to miss.
Lincou Vs Beachill
#1 Vs #2 ranked players on tour at the time of this match; they hardly come any better technically, strategically and for so much more. Rarely in any world class match will you have seen as many balls cling to side walls as they did in this one. In addition, this encounter was one of the most dramatic we've had the privilege to capture on film over the years. One's desire to win was so intensely vivid it was almost palpable. Some called what they saw at the most crucial moment of the match "desperation play", but others called it the gutsiest squash they had ever witnessed. Both players certainly deserve the highest praise for their extreme efforts but one competitor will certainly take some time to recover from a 'nightmare' in which he failed to close off a match that was his to win. Seven match balls indeed came and went his way, and all faded away in turn along with his spirit.
Awesome and inspirational to watch just prior to a competitive match of your own as there's no better reminder that the battle is never to be over until it is.
Willstrop Vs Palmer
orld Junior Champion James was in his first Super Series Finals appearance, World Open David won this event already in 2002; so while one had no fear and nothing to lose, expectations were far greater on the other. They each owned a victory over the other in pro tour encounters at the start of the match, the stage was set. Similarly to Jonathon, James constantly looks for ways to send his opponents in unexpected directions; his mind is in perpetual motion as he seeks openings that will let him express his seemingly boundless creativity. How entertaining for us, but how painful must it be for his opponents on which inflicts relentless knees and back breaking jerking attacks? David has seen his share of that style of play from Jonathon over the years so he'd surely be able to draw on his experience to neutralize the young man's onslaught. Or would he come short?
This was an absolutely extraordinary match that kept the Broadgate arena crowd hot from excitement throughout a very cold London moment.
Ricketts Vs Lincou
9th in point earnings last season, 1st player on the SSF standby list in case one from the select group of 8 would get injured; Anthony squeezed in the event as a result of Peter Nicol cutting his racquet hand while diving for a ball in his match Vs Power the night before. Winner of the Tournament of Champions 2005 where he defeated in succession Willstrop, Nicol, Shabana then world #1 Lincou in the Final, Ricketts has truly proven that he belongs here. Thierry "the surgeon" Lincou Vs Anthony "the ball hunter" Ricketts, this match wasn't a single percentage point less than 100% on the intensity scale. Case and point, there were more than 2 handfuls of match balls before heading into the deciding 5th.
Two amazing athletes at the top of their games in a breathtaking masterpiece.
Palmer Vs Beachill
It's not likely that David and Lee will be nominated to a smiling contest any time soon however, so focused they are on their career ambitions and the job at hand, you can count on them to make the short list of every squash contest there is. Lee is the most subtlety deceptive player there is, trying to guess whether he'll go short or deep in his front court attacks is virtually impossible. As a result, David would have to remain absolutely still prior to Lee's strikes, not committing one way or another or he'd risk losing precious fractions of seconds starting off the block/T that would send him in an inescapable defensive spin. If David lost this match then Lee's training partner James Willstrop would pulled through to the semis, figuratively speaking then David was fighting for his life, and what fight it was.
Best games on record between these two, enjoy their every grinding effort from start to end.
Power Vs Lincou
Power seeks to re-capture the top spot in the world this year before hanging his racquet for good, so what better measure on his chances to make it then to beat the man who holds that position now? But don't count on Thierry to have any consideration for JP or his goal as he is on a mission of his own, that of remaining the uninterrupted leader of the pack for the years to come. This was the opening match of the event, and as it turned out it was also the longest. It had been fairly cold all day in London so the air inside the Broadgate Marquis had not yet been warmed up sufficiently by the crowd by the time the match started. As a result, the ball was too cold for Jonathon to use his trademark deception flicks with any efficiency, so he then had to fall back on his game plan B (i.e. full strokes tight and straight.) However, Jonathon knew only too well that this just happens to be Thierry's own plan A, and favourite game, ouch!
But true champions are the greatest adapting to all conditions, and Jonathon did just that in a match that ended up being one of their best to date close behind their Canadian Classic 04 final encounter.
Matthew Vs Willstrop
Having played one another throughout their junior years in the UK, Nick and James know each other's game inside out. They are evenly matched and are at one victory a piece in PSA tour encounters. Along with J. White, Nick is one of the hardest hitting players in the world; he has beaten top players such as Nicol, Palmer, Power, Shabana and Lincou in recent times. His good nature and friendly personality makes him one of the most pleasant guys to be around off the court; but watch out once he gets on it as he's a true force to be reckoned with. James also is one the nicest young man you can meet at any event; warm, generous of his time and low keyed off as well as on court. Let's just say that if he is Jonathon's heir apparent in terms of creative skills, James is certainly viewed as heir to Peter Nicol as squash's next best ambassador. Enough with the flowers now and back to the description of this match in a nutshell; it was so relentlessly offensive, and the retrieving by both players was so extraordinary that it takes the SSF 05 palm in those two areas. No sooner did an incredible rally ended that another even better followed right after; all to the crowd's delight.
Extraordinarily entertaining 5 star match that gets a solid two thumbs up review.
Shabana Vs Lincou
Amr is one of the most naturally talented players on tour; his brilliance has rarely been expressed more evidently than it was in the first 2 games of this match. He was striking balls further up the T than anyone can imagine possible, and volleying them in dead nicks or in the deepest part of the court through a seemingly identical motion. Thierry appeared baffled and helpless; no one could possibly to that to the world #1, but he's not known to fold easily in moments of adversity as he rather thrives on them. Ask the few top players against whom he staged major comebacks in recent times, they'll either tell you the stories or they'll hit you just for reminding them, so be prepared.
Considering that Amr knew how tough Thierry is when cornered then he would only have to stay absolutely focused for just another 10 minutes before heading to the locker room victory in hand.
Beachill Vs Matthew
This was a match that went the limit during which both players traded shots for shots and points for points for the best part of an hour. Nick and Lee played to their strengths in relentless fashion, Lee using deception and the tightest lengths and Nick his trademark power strikes to the court's extremities. The English crowd was cheering for both their players alternately, although the applauses may have been slightly louder when the underdog won his points.
Nick clearly had the momentum on his side heading in the final game tiebreaker. and only by replaying the match a few times will you be able to sort out exactly what happened next.
Nicol Vs Shabana
This match being ranked 10th is by no mean an indication that it was anything less than awesome for the most part. Event opening match for the players, both understood how important it was to start the week with a victory just to have a small chance to make it out of their select pool and into the high profile/paying semis. But they'd also have to contend with Power & Lincou who had their eyes on the same objective. They came out firing up on all cylinders for a good 40 minutes of the highest intensity; the Egyptian magician Shabana made balls disappear almost at will, and Nicol hanging by the seat of his pants retrieved the few that Amr would let out of the hat. The court was cold and the rallies were short and brutal as dictated by the mercurial Shabana, as a result the ball hardly ever warmed up enough throughout making it even more difficult for players to get it behind them. Consequently, and to our delight from the spectacle standpoint, this forced more play to the front part of the court where the most exciting and offensive squash is generated from.
Sadly, this was Nicol's only completed match of the SSF 05 as he injured himself the next day in his opening game Vs Power which caused him to withdraw.
No one know for certain whether Peter will make it back next year for his 4th SSF title given the late stage of his illustrious career, so if this was to be his Super Series Finals swan song, then what an impressive way to go.

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