How it unfolded
Held September 10 to 17 in Giza, this tournament was the first to properly show what squash could become outside its white box. The tournament, carrying a $170,000 prize pool, set up a portable all-glass court directly on the desert sand in front of the Great Pyramid, and Egyptian crowds turned out in force to see the country's first global star, Ahmed Barada. With top seed Jonathon Power and fifth seed Martin Heath both eliminated in the semifinals, Scotland's Peter Nicol, world number one since 1998, reached the final. Nicol led throughout all three games, and though Barada closed the gap to 15-13 in game two and 15-11 in game three, he never took a single game. It was Nicol's only world title, and Barada never did win a World Championship; he switched allegiance to England in 2001.
Why it still matters
This was a preview of Egypt becoming the sport's next owner, since the nation that lost this final took the next 20 years. It also established the landmark-glass-court box-office formula seen here, one that later carried on to Grand Central Terminal, Hong Kong's harbor, and Giza's now-annual Platinum event. This court on the sand was where squash became a broadcastable sport.