Peter Nicol - Lessons Learned (Part 1)

BBC Sport - 14 Jan 2008

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ALWAYS LOOK YOUR OPPONENT IN THE EYES

You don't have to do this in an aggressive or confrontational way - just have a look in there to see what's going on.

In the 1996 World Open in Pakistan, Ahmed Barada was beating me badly. I remember thinking, I've got to do something to change this.

One thing I did know was that, because of the way he played, he annoyed people, and the other players didn't like him. He was quite a lonely character.

So after each point, I'd just stop and look at him. I'd just stare at him for a bit and see what was going on with him.

After the fifth or sixth time I did it, he stopped and said, "What? What? What are you looking at?"

And I knew at that point that I had him. It sounds cruel now, but that's sport - it's a battle.

He did many things that weren't so nice to win matches. One time, playing in Cairo, he scissor-kicked me across the back of the legs and got away with it.

It was by looking at him, by showing myself and also seeing what he had to offer, that I beat him. He retired soon after that.


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