Shabana and Peter a level above

So, my prediction that Gaultier would win did not really materialise in the end and he was beaten by Peter Nicol in the semis rather convincingly, to say the least. Not many semi-finals finish with a five, eight, five scoreline and despite lasting 54 minutes I must say I am somewhat surprised. Reading the reports on squashsite.co.uk it seemed as if Nicol played more attacking than usual and seems to have done very well therewith. Obviously Nicol is one of the greatest players to have graced squash courts all over the world but all in all he is more known for his retrieving ability than his shot-making capability. I have the feeling that this can of course win him a match against most people, but there were and still are of course certain players who can exploit an all-too defensive game which consists of retrieving rather than attacking, obvious examples are of course Power, Gaultier, Beachill and of course Shabana. Despite relying on other people's observations one can see what a difference it can make if you add an extra element to your game.
So what Bermuda proved was that Shabana is still the man to beat at the moment and has once and for all proven to be a far more consistent player than people thought he ever could become. Bermuda also showed that everyone is going to miss Peter Nicol and it is nice that he is producing some wonderful results to finish off his truely marvelous career.
On the other hand Nicol's great form is bad news for all the other top ten players, as I am sure many of them are hoping to beat Nicol one last time before he retires. Chances are not looking too good for many of them.