Jonathon Power

Jonathon Power
Full name Jonathon Tyler Power
Nickname(s) The Magician
Country  Canada
Residence Toronto, Canada
Born (1974-08-09) August 9, 1974
Comox, British Columbia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 82 kilograms (181 lb)
Turned Pro 1991
Retired 2006
Plays Right handed
Coached by Mike Way
Racquet used Harrow, Dunlop
Website
Men's singles
Highest ranking No. 1 (May, 1999)
Title(s) 36
Tour final(s) 58
World Open W (1998)
Last updated on: September 19, 2010.

Jonathon Tyler Power (born 9 August 1974, in Comox, British Columbia, Canada) is a retired professional squash player from Canada. In 1999, he became the first North American squash player to reach the World No. 1 ranking. He won 36 top-level squash events during his career, including the World Open in 1998, and the British Open in 1999.

Career overview

Power began playing squash at the age of seven and turned professional at age 16. After joining the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour in May 1991, he went on to win 36 PSA tournaments, and appeared in 58 finals. Career highlights included winning the World Open (1998), the British Open (1999), the Super Series Finals (2003 & 2005), the PSA Masters (2001, 2002 & 2005), the Tournament of Champions (1996, 1999, 2000 & 2002), and the men's singles Gold Medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

Power is considered to be one of the greatest shotmakers in the history of the game, having perfected a wide range of drop shots and deception shots. He was often a crowd favourite, partly because of his emotional outbursts and verbal exchanges with referees, which sometimes led to him being compared with John McEnroe. Power's rivalry with Scotland's Peter Nicol was one of the most famous and extended in the history of the game.

In January 2006, Power returned to the World No. 1 ranking, four-and-a-half years after the previous time he was ranked in the top spot (marking the longest gap between periods of holding the World No. 1 ranking of any player in history). He lost the No. 1 ranking in February 2006 to David Palmer, but regained it again on 1 March 2006. One day later, on 2 March, Power announced his retirement from professional squash. His wife, Sita, gave birth to their daughter named "Parker."

Power played for Canada at the 2007 and 2009 World Team Championships. He defeated several highly ranked players and showed he is still competitive at the world level. He also won the 2008 Canadian Championships, defeating Shahier Razik in the final. Currently he is running the Power Squash Academy, a squash training facility in Toronto, Canada.

World Open final appearances

Wins (1)
Year Opponent in final Score in final
1998 Peter Nicol 15–11, 15–12, 15–12

British Open final appearances

Wins (1)
Year Opponent in final Score in final
1999 Peter Nicol 15–17, 15–12 (retired)

Commonwealth Games final appearances

Wins (1)
Year Opponent in final Score in final
2002 Peter Nicol 9–4, 4–9, 9–3, 9–0
Runners-up (1)
Year Opponent in final Score in final
1998 Peter Nicol 3–9, 9–2, 9–1, 2–9, 9–2

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Peter Nicol
Peter Nicol
Peter Nicol
Thierry Lincou
David Palmer
World No. 1
May 1999 - September 1999
November 1999 - January 2000
April 2001 - July 2001
January 2006
March 2006
Succeeded by
Peter Nicol
Peter Nicol
Peter Nicol
David Palmer
Amr Shabana
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, February 12, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.