Shahier Razik retains men's title at BC Honda 2010 Canadian Squash Championships;Waterloo's Miranda Ranieri takes women's crown

VANCOUVER— Shahier Razik of Toronto won the BC Honda 2010 Canadian Squash Championships and retained his national title when challenger Jonathon Power suffered a leg injury and withdrew midway through the final match Saturday at Jericho Tennis Club in Vancouver.

On the women’s side, number two seed, Miranda Ranieri of Waterloo, Ontario, knocked off number one seed and three-time national champion Alana Miller of Winnipeg, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-4.

“You never want to win that way,” Razik said of his victory afterwards in the men’s final. “It’s unfortunate Jonathon couldn’t continue. I really wanted to play, so this isn’t a win I’ll be jumping up and down about.”

Although Razik is ranked number one in Canada and was the tournament’s top seed, the 35-year-old Power, a former world number one and arguably Canada’s best-ever squash player, still carries a certain mystique and on-court swagger.

Power, also of Toronto, won game one in the match 11-7, with Razik taking game two 11-4. Game three had Power leading 4-3 when he made the decision to withdraw and forfeit the match, citing a pulled leg muscle suffered earlier in the match.

“I let him control the pace in the first game but in the second I picked things up, made the game a little quicker and put more pressure on him,” Razik said of the changes between game one and two.

The win gives Razik his fourth national title in five years. The only year he didn’t win, 2008, the title was won by Power.

Ranieri wins women’s title

Down one game to none and trailing the second game 3-9 Ranieri decided to get aggressive and start taking some chances and earned  her first ever national championship.

“I decided I had to start attacking for the rest of the game and it just worked out for me. Being down like I was, I thought if it didn’t work, I’d just move on to the next game. But I also got a bit lucky and hit a few winners,” Ranieri said after her victory.

“I was a bit nervous in the first game and when I’m nervous, I get really tentative.”

The win capped off a strong week in Vancouver for Ranieri who earlier won the Canadian circuit championships, also over Miller.

The BC Honda 2010 Canadian Squash Championships included more than 300 participants from across Canada.

Updated scores are available at http://www.squash.ca/canadianchampionships/2010.

The 2010 Canadian Squash Championships are made possible through the generous sponsorship of the BC Honda Dealers Association.