MARCH | 2010
INTERNATIONAL
UK £3.00 | € 4.50 | USA $ 5.50
MAGAZINE
INTERNATIONAL SQUASH MAGAZINE isportgroup.com/InternationalSquashMagazine
CONTENTS
CONTENTS RAMY ASHOUR CROWNED WORLD NO.1 04 EGYPT’S RAMY ASHOUR WAS CROWNED WORLD NO.1 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE NEW YEAR MEN’S WORLD RANKINGS, ENDING THE REIGN OF HIS COMPATRIOT KARIM DARWISH WHO WAS RANKED NO.1 FOR ELEVEN OUT OF TWELVE MONTHS IN 2009
BRITISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – MANCHESTER 2010 Front Cover Nick Matthew, British National Champion 2010
INTERNATIONAL SQUASH MAGAZINE is published by internationalSPORTgroup™ Limited No.4 The Spinney, Chester Road, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1HB England www.isportgroup.com Editor: Paul Walters Editorial: Rachel Pullan Telephone: +44 (0)7973 544719 e-mail: rachel.pullan@isportgroup.com internationalSPORTgroup™ Limited No.4 The Spinney, Chester Road, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1HB England www.isportgroup.com Senior Squash Correspondent: Dominic Bliss Richard Eaton Coaching Correspondents: Nick Matthew World No.4, Two time British Open Champion & Reigning British National Champion Advertising: Dean Finegold Telephone: +44 (0)7967 362589 e-mail: dean.finegold@isportgroup.com internationalSPORTgroup™ Limited No.4 The Spinney, Chester Road, Poynton, Cheshire SK12 1HB England www.isportgroup.com Photography: www.squashfan.com www.squashpics.com www.squashinternational.com Proofreading: Heather Ormsby Acknowledgements: Howard Harding World Squash Media Director Steve Perrins Director, energysports.co.uk internationalSPORTgroup™ Limited makes every effort to ensure that editorial is factually correct at the time of going to press, but cannot accept responsibility for any subsequent errors. internationalSPORTgroup™ Limited is not responsible for unsolicited material. Copyright internationalSPORTgroup™ Limited. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers. Views expressed and products appearing in International Squash Magazine are not necessarily endorsed by internationalSPORTgroup™ Limited.
07 NICK MATTHEW WON HIS THIRD TITLE AND ALISON WATERS HER SECOND AT THE BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS STAGED IN MANCHESTER
CASE SWEDISH OPEN 09 ENGLAND’S TOP SEED NICK MATTHEW RETAINED HIS CASE SWEDISH OPEN TITLE IN LINKÖPING. HOWEVER THE ALL-ENGLISH FINAL, THE SECOND IN THREE YEARS, WAS NOT THE MATCH THAT THE CAPACITY CROWD HAD HOPED FOR
NICOL DAVID 11 RICHARD EATON REVEALS WHY NICOL DAVID’S TOUGHEST OPPONENT IS THE EVER-TIGHTENING PRESSURE OF EXPECTATIONS
JP MORGAN TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS 15 ENGLAND’S JAMES WILLSTROP DEFEATED NEWLY CROWNED WORLD NO.1 RAMY ASHOUR IN THE FINAL OF THE JP MORGAN TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS TO WIN THE FIRST PSA WORLD TOUR SUPER SERIES EVENT OF 2010 AT GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL IN NEW YORK
COACHING & INSTRUCTION 18 WORLD NO.2 AND BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION NICK MATTHEW EXPLAINS HOW SQUASH HAS COME A LONG WAY SINCE THE DAYS WHEN POUNDING YOUR BODY AGAIN AND AGAIN AROUND A 400 METRES TRACK WAS SEEN AS THE KEY TO BEING A FIT AND SUCCESSFUL PLAYER
DAME SUSAN DEVOY 18 DAME SUSAN DEVOY, ACKNOWLEDGED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST PLAYERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT TALKS TO INTERNATIONAL SQUASH MAGAZINE
BUSINESS MATTERS 25 VICTORSQUASH.CO.UK IS DEDICATED TO SUPPLYING QUALITY VICTOR PRODUCTS DIRECT TO SQUASH PLAYERS – ALL AT THE BEST PRICES POSSIBLE
WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR REVIEW 27 ENGLISH NO.1 JENNY DUNCALF MADE A SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH TO TOP LEVEL SQUASH IN 2009 AND HOPEFULLY HER RECENT ADVANCE AND POTENTIAL RIVALRY WITH NICOL DAVID WILL PROMOTE GREATER DEPTH, COMPETITION, INTEREST AND CHARISMA IN THE WOMEN’S GAME
2010 AT A GLANCE 29 RICHARD EATON PROVIDES A VITAL GUIDE TO THE MAJOR WORLD TOUR EVENTS OF 2010 INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE March 2010 | 03 www.isportgroup.com/InternationalSquashMagazine
MEN’S WORLD TOUR REVIEW
RAMYASHOUR CROWNEDWORLDNO.1 Egypt’s Ramy Ashour was crowned World No.1 for the first time in the New Year Men’s World Rankings, ending the reign of his compatriot Karim Darwish, who was ranked No.1 for eleven out of twelve months in 2009. final Super Series events of the year, the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters in India and the Saudi International. Furthermore, he reached the final of the US Open and semi-finals of the Tournament of Champions, Sky Open and Qatar Classic. There had been hints throughout the year that Ashour might steal some of the thunder of his illustrious compatriots Karim Darwish and Amr Shabana, and it was the former two time World Junior Champion’s victory in the Saudi International, in which he scored his second successive win over England’s Nick Matthew, which clinched the worldranking breakthrough. Ashour followed up his sensational 11-6 9-11 11-9 11-9 victory over Matthew in the final of the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters, staged at the Bombay Gymkhana in Mumbai, with an even more dramatic 110-minute 11-7 7-11 11-9 9-11 11-8 victory in the Saudi International to provide the ultimate climax to arguably the most exciting and eagerly contested twelve months in the history of the men’s World Tour. The match was not only Ashour’s longest match of the tournament, also his longest ever on the World Tour by almost 20 minutes.
The 22-year-old is the fifteenth player in history to top the men’s world list, the third Egyptian World No.1 in the past fourteen months and the youngest since the legendary Pakistanis Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan in the eighties.
He lifted the trophy at the first World Tour event in which he participated, the Athens Open in Greece, and was crowned World Open champion in 2008 in only his third appearance at the sport’s most prestigious tournament.
After becoming the youngest ever Men’s World Junior (U19) Champion in August 2004 at the age of just sixteen, Ashour went on to become the first to successfully retain the title two years later and the teenager’s impact on the senior circuit has been no less dramatic.
In 2009, after starting the year ranked World No.3, Ashour reached six major finals, including the World Open in Kuwait. Wins at the Davenport North American Open and Hurghada International in the early part of year were followed by successes in the two
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“I think we both played well, and to be honest, this is probably the toughest match I ever played,” conceded the new champion after clinching the honours at the Sunset Beach resort in Al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia. “And I think it’s good that Nick and I are pushing each other that hard, because we’ll keep playing for a long time. “It could have been anybody’s, it was the most amazing match ever!” concluded the new World No.1. Despite missing out on the top spot, Matthew had the consolation of rising to a career-high World No.2 in the New Year list with his confidence at an all-time high.
MEN’S WORLD TOUR REVIEW
On making a courageous comeback in the latter part of 2008, following surgery to repair his damaged shoulder cartilage, the 29-year-old Englishman overcome the effects of nine depressing months on the sidelines to return to the international stage mentally, physically and tactically stronger. In addition to winning his second British National title and the World Games Gold Medal, Matthew notched up eight World Tour final appearances, in all but one case against expectations, securing his first Swedish Open and Qatar Classic crowns and his second British Open trophy. Matthew’s new ranking is all the more stunning considering that he was ranked outside the top ten at the beginning of 2009, and the determined Englishman is sure to again challenge for the sport’s highest honours, setting the scene for a rivalry with Ashour which could materialise into one of the most exciting in the sport in decades. Whilst none of their peers could match the level of consistency of Ashour and Matthew, culminating in the pair collecting seven international titles between them in the calendar year, many have urged the Professional Squash Association (PSA), the men's tour body, to conduct a proper schedule for 2010 after Darwish, Shabana and Gregory Gaultier all suffered injuries which resulted in their withdrawal from major events as the season neared completion. The PSA recognise that greater resting time and a more balanced calendar are required if the current momentum is to be maintained, and the tour is due to be overhauled in 2010 with eight, as yet unannounced, Super Series events spread across the year. Many areas need to be addressed: a more stable World Tour, a better ordered calendar, and stronger commercial support. The vision is for the circuit to flow from Europe to the US, to Asia and then back to the Middle East so that the year does not finish with exhausted and injured players. 2010 could be a defining year for Karim Darwish, who topped the world rankings for all but one month in 2009; former World No.1 and reigning World Champion Amr Shabana; and Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, who topped the rankings for the first and only time in November.
high-paced game, when he retired from the British Open with a sprained ankle and was forced to withdraw from the PSA Masters in Mumbai and Saudi International because of a back injury. Shabana has already guaranteed his status as one of the all-time greats, and after relinquishing the World No.1 ranking which he held for thirty-three months, a recurring knee injury has seen the gifted left-hander become less consistent, leading many to question whether he has the capacity or drive at the age of thirty to add to his considerable achievements. Having often looked the best in the world, particularly during the opening months of the season, Gaultier eventually became only the second Frenchman to top the world rankings in November. Despite the disappointment of injury thwarting his challenges in recent events, the 27-year-old is fitter and better prepared than at any time in his career and may never have a better chance than now to claim a consistent place amongst the game’s elite. The three former World No.1’s occupy the positions behind Ashour and Matthew, and whilst it is hard to look beyond this distinguished list for a winner of 2010’s major titles, Peter Barker, David Palmer, James Willstrop, Adrian Grant and Thierry Lincou are all capable of stopping a big name and adding even more interest, thrill and excitement. Englishman Peter Barker has much to look forward to, having recently clinched the thirteenth World Tour title of his career at the Santiago Open in Spain, but, more pertinently, having achieved unexpected semi-final berths in the end-of-the-year Qatar Classic and PSA Masters. His England teammates James Willstrop and Adrian Grant also have reason for optimism. Willstrop will hope to be able to discover a resolve that will enable him to close out matches that his gifted shot play present, whilst Grant, for so long in the shadow of many of his compatriots, stands at a career high World No.10 after celebrating his first Super Series semifinal appearance, at his forty-eighth attempt, in the Saudi International.
David Palmer is a double World Champion and four time British Open Champion and remains the most successful player in the two most prestigious tournaments in more than a decade and the best Australian since the great Geoff Hunt left Darwish, long recognised as one of the most talented and entertaining players on the World Tour a quarter of a century ago. Notable for the great courage he the professional circuit, leaped to the adds to a solid all-round game and a summit of the men’s game in January 2009. However, injury cruelly robbed the smothering volley, his strength of character means that few would rule out, stylish Egyptian from reaping the even now, success at the Commonwealth benefits of his aesthetically pleasing and
Games in Delhi, or a repeat of his two previous World Open successes in Saudi Arabia, where he is anticipated to announce his retirement. Time may now also be short for Thierry Lincou, but that should focus his mind and make his intelligent game even more of an area to beware. With the players providing some of the best entertainment in the sport’s history and a new event blue print about to be rolled out to ensure their longevity, as well as maximise the games commercial appeal, the scene is set to ensure the World Tour’s continuing popularity. Perfect for this gladiatorial sport.
PROFESSIONAL SQUASH ASSOCIATION (PSA) MEN’S WORLD RANKINGS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
World Tour titles: 14 Highest World Ranking: 1
RAMY ASHOUR World Tour titles: 11 Highest World Ranking: 2
NICK MATTHEW World Tour titles: 26 Highest World Ranking: 1
AMR SHABANA World Tour titles: 17 Highest World Ranking: 1
KARIM DARWISH World Tour titles: 16 Highest World Ranking: 1
GREGORY GAULTIER World Tour titles: 12 Highest World Ranking: 2
JAMES WILLSTROP World Tour titles: 13 Highest World Ranking: 6
PETER BARKER World Tour titles: 26 Highest World Ranking: 1
DAVID PALMER World Tour titles: 22 Highest World Ranking: 1
THIERRY LINCOU World Tour titles: 16 Highest World Ranking: 9
ADRIAN GRANT
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BRITISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS MANCHESTER 2010
NICKMATTHEW&ALISONWATERS
CROWNEDBRITISHCHAMPIONS Nick Matthew and Alison Waters were crowned British National Champions after contrasting victories in their respective finals staged at the National Squash Centre in Manchester, England – Matthew retaining his men’s title after beating compatriot and arch rival James Willstrop in straight games and Waters twice coming from behind to defeat top seed Jenny Duncalf in a closely contested five-game women’s final. World No.2 Nick Matthew demonstrated why he is Britain’s leading player when he beat Willstrop, ranked four places lower, 11-5 11-6 11-6 to win the men’s title for the third time since 2006. It was a repeat of the controversial clash on the same court last September when the two England team-mates contested the British Open final, with Matthew saving a match ball before winning a fivegame 122-minute marathon. Variations of the same joke had been doing the rounds for hours before their latest meeting on Valentine’s Day: “There won’t be much love lost between those two”, they said. But they were not entirely right. After Matthew had completed his 15th successive victory in the championships and extended his unbeaten run against Willstrop to nine wins since 2007 to claim his third national title, he took the opportunity to pay tribute to the opponent with whom such bitter words had recently been exchanged. “He did incredibly well this week because his preparation was not ideal,” Matthew said, referring to the shoulder injury which hampered Willstrop's preparations. “He was labouring a couple of times. And maybe this was one match too many for him. You know what he is like: he wasn't quite himself. He is such a great player.” So too is Matthew and there was rarely any doubt that he would retain his title. Subtle improvements in his ability to create and take openings and further development in his movement have made him unquestionably Britain's best player. The speed with which he dispatched Willstrop in their 49-minute final was stunning, and his England team-mate hinted at this, admitting that Matthew
was “just too good” and returning the Valentine's Day compliments: “He made me feel uncomfortable, his physicality was so strong, his squash was better than mine,” Willstrop said - a generous remark considering he had beaten three top four players en route to winning the Tournament of Champions in New York less than two weeks previously. Although Matthew needed fully 70 minutes to get past Adrian Grant in the semis and had to come back from 8-9 in the fourth game against Alister Walker in the quarter-finals, he recovered well from these battles. By contrast Willstrop appeared to have lost some of the spring in his legs after getting past Daryl Selby 9-11 11-6 11-2 11-5 in the semi-finals. It was Selby who caused the tournament's biggest upset by beating Peter Barker, the second seed, 14-12 11-5 6-11 11-6 in the quarter-finals. In the Women’s Championship, Alison Waters celebrated her fifth appearance in the women’s final in six years by prevailing in an epic match over favourite Jenny Duncalf, the World No.3. Duncalf, the defending champion, twice led her close friend and England teammate, but Waters battled back to force a fifth game decider. Again Duncalf moved ahead, leading 6-1 and 9-5 before reaching match ball at 10-9. Waters defended bravely to regain the serve and eventually converted her first match ball to win 10-12 11-7 4-11 11-7 12-10 in 65 minutes. “I think that was the best match we’ve ever played - I kept telling myself to keep down the errors,” said the 25-year-old World No.5 after the pair’s third final showdown since 2007.
British National Championships, National Squash Centre, Manchester, England Men’s Final: [1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [3] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 Women’s Final: [2] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [1] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 10-12, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10
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CASE SWEDISH OPEN
NICKMATTHEW RETAINSCASESWEDISHOPEN England’s World No.2 and top seed Nick Matthew retained his Case Swedish Open title in Linköping. However the all-English final, the second in three years, was not the match that the capacity crowd had hoped for when Matthew’s opponent and compatriot James Willstrop, the 2008 champion, suffered an injury to his right shoulder and was forced to withdraw midway through the third game. Matthew dictated the opening, high tempo exchanges and whilst leading 9-3 his rival sustained the injury which required a three minute break to receive treatment. A brave and determined show of resistance saw Willstrop recover some of the lost initiative upon his return to court before eventually losing the opening game 11-9. The recovery however proved only temporary and after losing the second game and trailing 2-6 in the third, Willstrop was unable to continue further and offered his hand to his arch-rival. “It’s never fun to win a tournament or even a game like this,” said 29-year-old Matthew afterwards. “But I have played very well in the recent months and I think I deserved the victory here in Linköping.” The Swedish Open, Matthew’s eleventh World Tour title since first competing on the professional circuit in 1997, continued a sensational run for the English No.1 and marked the fourth final in his last five events propelling him to a career high World No.2 ranking. En route to the final, Matthew had progressed relatively untroubled with victories over Saurav Ghosal and Stewart Boswell in the first round and quarterfinals respectively, before encountering surprise semi-finalist Cameron Pilley. The unseeded Australian had reached the last four after overcoming Egypt's World Junior Champion and seventh seed Mohamed El Shorbagy in the first round and recovering from a game down to record his first ever win over Gregory
Gaultier, the combustible Frenchman who briefly topped the world rankings last year. After being overwhelmed by Matthew in the first game of their semi-final, the World No.17 dug deep to extend his higher-ranked opponent to a second game tie-break. But the Englishman resisted the Aussie's fightback to win the game and cruise through the third to claim an impressive 47-minute 11-3 14-12 11-2 victory to reach his 31st World Tour final and third appearance in the Swedish Open final since 2004. In the women’s championship, top seed Vanessa Atkinson defeated compatriot Annelize Naude in an all-Dutch final. The former World Champion reached the final without dropping a game, but longtime rival Naude, the second seed from Amsterdam, took the opening game in their first meeting since contesting the Dutch National Championship twelve months previously. Atkinson, the World No.10 and ranked more than thirty places higher than her fellow countrywoman, upped her game to close out a 30-minute 9-11 11-8 11-5 11-6 victory to claim her 22nd World Tour title, but her first for more than a year. At the prize ceremony, Tournament Director Fredrik Johnson announced that Case had agreed to extend its title sponsorship for the 2011 Swedish Open, ensuring that the championships would continue as Northern Europe’s largest World Tour event.
Case Swedish Open, Linköping, Sweden Men’s Final: [1] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [4] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-9, 11-6, 6-2 ret. Women’s Final: [1] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [2] Annelize Naude (NED) 9-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6
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NICOL DAVID
NICOLDAVID Apparently Nicol David had a 2009 which was “poor by her high standards.” Well, according to the Malaysian national news agency Bernama she did. We all know David’s toughest opponent. It is the ever-tightening pressure of expectations.
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NICOL DAVID
“
Pressure keeps mounting whether you like it or not, for me, positive thinking is the best way to avoid pressure, but I know pretty well that avoiding pressure is not easy
”
It is worth reminding them all that all this relentless hassle is one of the reasons for David's decision to base herself five thousand miles away. There’s nothing new in this, except that there are no signs of it easing. Instead the pressure continues to mount. If David were to break down one day – as may well have briefly happened at the British, and may have only narrowly been avoided at the World Open, no-one should be surprised. We‘re all familiar with those who fantasise about being friends of the famous, or even about influencing them in some way. There is one guy, the National Sports Council (NSC) DirectorGeneral Datuk Zolkples Embong no less, who seemed to imagine he was with Nicol David when she went on court. This amazing verdict was imposed upon David in a year in which she extended her hold on the World No.1 ranking to a 41st consecutive month, who captured her fourth consecutive World Open title and who became Women’s World Player of the Year for a fourth time. That same censorious tract also described David's loss to Madeline Perry in the British Open as “shocking”. One hopes it only used this harshly pejorative adjective through ignorance of how differently it resonates to describe the result as a shock. Even Jenny Duncalf, who has every reason to want to extract maximum value from her two successive wins over David at the end of the season, volunteered that the pressure upon the Malaysian “from the national government and the press is ridiculous”. David is also getting more pressure from opponents who have improved while trying to close the gap on her. Perry is possibly one and Natalie Grinham was certainly another, while Natalie Grainger still is, and two English players Duncalf and Alison Waters may be in the process of doing the same. But most of the pressure comes from off court, by people who use David in a variety of ways for their own ends. There are writers wanting a story, of course: in this case a mere four defeats throughout an entire year was apparently enough to make one. There are also hangers-on basking in the glow of petty contact with celebrity, politicians linking themselves with the headline-maker to enhance their profiles, and patriots and ideologues making her a vehicle for their triumphalist vision of nation building. 12 | March 2010 INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE www.isportgroup.com/InternationalSquashMagazine
“We have so many people behind us, waiting for an opportunity to beat us,” Embong said whilst explaining to the press how David could have ended the year with two losses to Duncalf. Even if we speculate that this was only some kind of royal plural, or a figurative use of the word “us”, it still made a bizarre impression which emphasised the scale of David's mental task each time she prepares for must-win matches. The psychological stakes were cranked up even higher in October when the Malaysian National Squash Centre, with its spectacularly flexible ten singles/eight doubles courts and its huge alpha-numeric scoreboard which, located amidst the aromatica trees of Bukit Jalal, had been one of the high spots of the 1998 Commonwealth Games, was suddenly renamed the Arena Nicol David. “I was shocked because I had never dreamed of such a possibility, but the announcement by the government was both meaningful and significant to me,” David said, her eyes full of tears. One wondered what conflicting emotions those tears expressed. Celebrity happened so quickly after her first World Open title in 2005; she soon rose to superstar status, before being elevated to such a model of perfection in the minds of many that for a naturally modest person it may well be painful to live up to. David became the first recipient of the Order of Merit, an award established as far back as 1975 and limited to only ten recipients who make significant contributions in arts, science and humanities. Shortly afterwards she was awarded a Datukship, roughly the equivalent of a Dame in the United Kingdom, at the age of just twenty-four, making her the youngest ever to have such an august title.
NICOL DAVID PRINCE 03 SPEEDPORT BLACK
And now the renamed Arena Nicol David was re-opened by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery after the cabinet had approved the ministry's idea to use this sporting venue to immortalise her. “Pressure keeps mounting whether you like it or not,” David said, as though she might be trying discreetly to warn about the consequences. “For me, positive thinking is the best way to avoid pressure, but I know pretty well that avoiding pressure is not easy,” she said. But not many people notice. The abiding images of 2009 were just how far down she got in the World Open final against Natalie Grinham, a game and a few points, before two or three matchchanging errors from the Australian let David in, and then her nearby parents watching anxiously as she was interviewed immediately after winning, and how her tongue tied up as she spoke. The depth of the ordeal was suddenly apparent. As the heroine of all Asia sat down and began to unravel her thoughts, her sentences collapsed and her words deteriorated into random syllables, causing her to hang out her tongue in a gesture of defeat. “Ugh, I don’t know what I'm saying,” she said. Minutes later, as she publicly thanked her parents, her lips trembled, tears welled up, and the voice quavered, before she recovered – rather as she had after that worrying opening fifteen minutes of what was eventually to be an excellent final. Along with Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Korea, Malaysia regards itself as one of the world’s countries which will profoundly influence the future of the planet, and it sees David not only as its highest profile athlete but as a propaganda tool in its destiny. But it needs to heed these signs of stress in its heroine who is an exceptional person, but who has maybe not yet, in quite a moderate era still awaiting a World No.1 of the standard of Sarah Fitz-Gerald, become a truly great squash player. David has beautiful, fluent and exhilarating movement, still-developing skills, an admirable sense of duty, and great spiritual strength. But even someone as strong as her has a breaking point.
O3SPEEDPORT BLACK Nicol David recently completed her fourth unbroken year as World No.1 using the O3 Speedport Black, the ‘flagship’ and most popular model of the Prince racket range and the ultimate in World Tour inspired construction. The O3 Speedport Black provides players with increased power and control through an extremely aerodynamic 135g lightweight frame, allowing them to execute precise shots from all areas of the court. Speed: Wind tunnel testing proves Prince O3 Speedport frames move through the air up to 24% faster than traditional rackets, allowing players to hit their best shots more often, even faster. Sweet Spot: Laboratory testing proves that the patented O3 Speedport design strengthens and stabilises the frame for up to a 59% bigger sweet spot, creating a sweetzone. Greater Stability: O3 engineered rackets are created through a one step fusion process that utilises the strongest structure known to man, the Arch, creating the frame’s O-Ports. These O-Ports stabilise the racket to provide more control on off-centre shots. Prince O3 Speedport rackets provide the largest sweet spot for perfect control, ultimate speed, more power and unmatched stability for pinpoint accuracy.
Frame Weight:
135 grams
Headsize:
470sqcm
Balance:
37.5cm
Cross Section:
17mm-18mm-22.5mm
String Pattern:
16 x 16
String:
Super Synthetic Gut 17
Grip:
MicroZorb Indoor
For more information visit: www.princesquash.com, www.sportdiscount.com or www.isportgroup.com/Prince
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JP MORGAN TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
JAMESWILLSTROP WINSJPMORGANTOURNAMENTOFCHAMPIONS England's James Willstrop defeated World No.1 Ramy Ashour in the final of the JP Morgan Tournament of Champions to win the first PSA World Tour Super Series event of 2010 at Grand Central Terminal in New York. hugged the glass wall and shots to the front that were deft and feathery. Willstrop also varied the pace: floating lobs and then snapping power drives kept Ashour scrambling to keep the ball in play. As much artist as athlete on court, Ashour was frustrated by the lack of opportunity to unleash his creativity, allowing Willstrop to take the game and extend his lead. Trailing by two games, Ashour kept himself alive in the match and brought the standing room only crowd to their feet when, at nine-all, he hit two breath-taking winners after long rallies to win the third game and so become the first player to take a game off Willstrop throughout the tournament. In the fourth game it was all Willstrop, who raced to a 7-1 lead before clinching the match to claim his maiden Tournament of Champions title. “I would have been really mad if I lost 3/0,” a disappointed Ashour said after the match. “He just played better than me – he was more in the zone.” Alluding to the fact that he had played defending champion Gregory Gaultier in the quarter-finals and World No.2 Nick Matthew in the semi-finals, the 2008 title-holder concluded: “I started thinking in between points that I have been doing this for three nights and it was just too much – it was like playing three finals in a row.” The 26-year-old Englishman claimed the prestigious title for the first time having beaten three Egyptian World No.1’s in successive rounds. Willstrop defeated Amr Shabana 11-5 11-7 11-4 and Karim Darwish 11-6 11-5 11-8 in the quarter-finals and semifinals respectively, before taking the title with an equally impressive four game victory over Ramy Ashour. “Ramy’s pace and racket speed are unlike any other player,” said Willstrop after his 12-10 11-5 9-11 11-3 triumph. “You’ve got to stop Ramy from having any chances to shoot because even when he has half a chance he can do so much with the ball.” The champion’s strategy was to “withstand and contain”, which he did by hitting impossibly tight shots; maintaining a medium pace that blunted his opponent’s preference for power; and seizing the first opportunity to take the ball to the front of the court. The first game saw both players test each other with a variety of shots and pace. Ashour led throughout, but Willstrop, staying calm and focused, and playing with discipline and intelligent squash, eventually prevailed 12-10. Unlike in the first game, Willstrop led from start to finish in the second as he contained the passionate Egyptian with balls that
At the trophy presentation under the majestic chandelier hanging over the glittering glass court in Grand Central Terminal, the champion seized the moment to recognise all those who had helped him reach what he hoped would prove to be a career-defining victory. “I have got here with lots of hard work and a great support team - and this championship would not be possible without them,” said Willstrop. When asked how this championship week compared against his other squash-playing experiences, the delighted champion replied: “I would have to say this has been the best week of squash for me ever. I beat three outstanding No.1 players in four days and won the Tournament of Champions. “It is not the biggest money event, but it is the most exciting and it is the tournament that every player wants to win.”
JP Morgan Tournament of Champions, New York, USA Final: [6] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [5] Ramy Ashour (EGY) 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3 INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE March 2010 | 15 www.isportgroup.com/InternationalSquashMagazine
COACHING & INSTRUCTION
GETTINGFITFOR THEMODERNGAME By Nick Matthew World No.2, Two time British Open Champion and Reigning British National Champion
Squash has come a long way since the days when pounding your body again and again around a 400 metres track was seen as the key to being a fit and successful player. Developments in the modern day game such as the lower tin, new racket and string technology, shorter scoring systems and the glass court have led to a faster, more dynamic game. And training methods have had to change with the times as a result. 400m… the stuff of legends When I was younger, track training, and 400m running in particular, was seen as the ideal way to replicate a hard game of squash. In fact, I’d go as far as saying, at one stage it was seen as the only way to get you fit enough to reach the higher echelons of the professional game. Not only did brutal track sessions establish a solid base fitness at a young age, they also toughened you up mentally; more so than any session I have ever done. And in this sense I would still recommend them to any young player today - just perhaps not to the extremities seen in the past. In preparation for this article, I spoke to John Williams, a former top twenty player, who during his career developed a reputation for pushing his body to the absolute limits. Speaking to John, it was clear that if it was good enough for squash legends such as Geoff Hunt and Jonah Barrington, it was good enough for him. So, he embarked on what can only be described as a murderous programme of track training, involving such sessions as 32 x 400m in less than 75 seconds with 45 seconds rest!! So, in deference to such legends of the past, pound the track I did. And it certainly paid off. I was fitter, and stronger. But at what cost? Well, first of all, there’s the effect this constant pounding has on your body. Squash is a hard enough game on your
body on its own. There are examples of many ex-players who have had to retire early because of chronic knee, hip and back problems, some of whom are still plagued by such problems in later life. Nowadays, with increased awareness in areas of sports science, a lot of professionals substitute track work for non-impact workouts such as swimming, biking or rowing, without affecting the training gains involved. There are also examples of more healthrelated problems such as chronic fatigue syndrome, which ultimately led to the early retirement of such obsessive trainers as Peter Marshall and John Williams himself. Secondly, there’s the question of whether your training could be more specific to the challenges of the modern game. The Modern Game As stated above, the game of squash has undergone major changes in recent years. A match is on average shorter than in days gone by, but certainly more attacking, and as a result faster and more explosive. So, how has this affected training methods? Personally speaking, over the last few years, my training has certainly shifted from having more of an aerobic emphasis to a heavy focus on strength, power and local muscular endurance. Gone are the track sessions, being replaced with circuit training, power
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based weights or plyometrics and repetitive speed sessions. Circuit Training Circuit training, or ‘Rumbles’ as it has become known in our gym in Sheffield are one of the most specific forms of training for modern day squash. It is incredibly hard, but enjoyable at the same time due to the variety of different exercises involved. ‘Rumbles’ are a full body work-out, lasting anything up to an hour, an average length of a game of squash, and consisting of literally any exercise you can think of. For example, a set of press-ups might be followed by 10 x 100m on the rower, followed by 100 lunges, followed by some core, followed by some boxing, followed by a sprint round the building, followed by a rope climb and some chin-ups, up and down some stairs, then 5km on the bike as fast as you can etc. etc. The idea is that you never stop and work all the muscle groups, with the only rest involving moving from one station to the next, therefore replicating one hard rally after another in a game of squash. ‘Rumbles’ are particularly effective in between tournaments, when the emphasis is certainly on quality of training rather than quantity. Repetitive Speed Sessions These sessions are brutally hard and replicate the same sense of trepidation beforehand that a 400m session used to.
COACHING & INSTRUCTION
A repetitive speed session is basically a session involving multiple shuttle sprints with very little rest in between each set of sprints. Each sprint is started on a certain time, so if you are running 10 x 50m on 20 seconds and you finish each sprint after 13 seconds, you would get 7 seconds’ rest each time. A typical session is as follows: 10 x 75m on 30 seconds, 2 minutes’ rest, 10 x 50m on 20 seconds, 2 minutes’ rest, 5 x 100m on 40 seconds, 2 minutes’ rest, 15 x 25m on 10 seconds. Each sprint is over 25 metres, so a 100m sprint would involve 3 turns, again, so it is more specific to squash. These types of sessions are designed to improve local muscular endurance, but during the season you can shorten the sprints and increase the rest to make it more of a speed session. Ghosting Ghosting will always remain the most specific form of squash training without actually hitting the ball. When I have had a period of time off or am a few weeks away from a tournament, I will do longer, more aerobic ghosting, for example sets of 10 sets of 1 min on at 75% max, with 30 seconds off, to establish movement patterns and good technical quality. Then in the build-up to a tournament I will shorten these to sets of 10 sets of 15 seconds on flat out to increase speed and sharpness. If you want to do this as a hard session, it is wise to do sets of 15 seconds on, 15 seconds off, but if you want to focus on speed then 15 seconds on, 30 or 45 seconds off may be more appropriate. Every ghosting session should be done with a specific goal in mind: whether it’s to improve your speed from the ‘T’, balance on the ball, or overall squash specific fitness. Although these changes have undoubtedly improved me as a player, and helped me adapt to the demands of the modern game, they have not happened overnight and improvements have been the result of many years’ concerted effort. I feel it’s also important to emphasise that these changes have come on the back of an aerobic base which I developed as a young player. And for the positive reasons stated above I would still advocate track training for any aspiring young player. Just perhaps not to the John Williams extreme!
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Q&A: SUSAN DEVOY
Q&A DAMESUSANDEVOY Dame Susan Devoy, acknowledged as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, talks to International Squash Magazine.
Country: New Zealand Date of Birth: 4 January 1964 Place of Birth: Rotorua, New Zealand Place of Residence: New Zealand Marital Status: Married Highest World Ranking: 1 (April 1984) World Tour Titles: 53 World Tour Finals: 56
Dame Susan Devoy turned professional at the age of 17 and dominated the women’s professional game between 1984 and 1992; winning four World Open titles and the coveted British Open eight times, a statistic only bettered by Heather McKay in the 1960s/70s and by Janet Morgan in the 1950s. Born in Rotorua in New Zealand, Susan was awarded the MBE in 1986 which was followed by a CBE in 1993. In 1998, she became a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, the youngest New Zealander since Sir Edmund Hillary to receivethis honour. Earliest sporting memory: Playing in my first squash tournament. I was nine years old and I got beaten 9-0 9-0 9-0. I cried and my father gave me a bollocking and the other girl got a bollocking from her dad too for being so mean. Sports watched: Just about everything except motor racing. Sports played: Tennis, golf, running – I’ll give anything a go. Why a life in sport, or if it hadn’t happened, what would you have done instead? I would probably have gone to university. I was quite keen on being a dentist but if I had the choice, I would have liked to have worked for UNICEF in some impoverished country.
Toughest part of your sporting life: The ups and downs of touring, especially when you’re trying to break through at the beginning and you are so far from home.
And to miss: Any Formula 1.
Most memorable sporting moment: Beating Lisa Opie in the final of the 1984 British Open to win my first British Open title and winning the World Open in Vancouver in 1992 against Michelle Martin when I retired.
And the answer: No.
Worst sporting moment: Losing the British Open in 1991 after seven consecutive titles. I lost in the quarterfinals to Sue Wright. An annus horribilis year all round. Sporting heroes: Used to be Tiger Woods, but not now. So, I would say Martina Navratilova, Seb Coe and Steve Redgrave. Favourite venue and why: Wembley because it was the introduction of the first glass court and the crowds were amazing.
Question asked most often by the public: Do you still play squash?
Greatest change you would like to see in the running of your sport: One day getting the ignorant IOC to put squash in the Olympic Games. How well is your sport covered in the media? Not well. Squash continues to be a minority sport which is a shame, but until the game gets real exposure the general public will never appreciate it. I believe Doubles has taken some of squash’s credibility away. Sporting motto: The harder you work the luckier you get. Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? Was Tiger Woods, but will go with Barack Obama or Brad Pitt for obvious reasons!
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Wimbledon and US Golf Masters.
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BUSINESS MATTERS: VICTOR
BUSINESSMATTERS Steve Perrins, Director of victorsquash.co.uk talks to International Squash Magazine. What is the history behind Victor? Victor was formed back in 1968 but the current business, Victor International based in Germany, has been the brand owners and supplier of Victor squash, badminton and tennis products worldwide since 1978. Victor International has a comprehensive network of distributors in the majority of countries, including the UK. Victor International has developed significantly over the years with support from its parent company in China, which distributes within the Far East and which also has its own manufacturing facilities. This close relationship has enabled Victor International to continually develop its original range of badminton products and now introduce extensive ranges for squash and tennis. How many products are there in the Victor Squash range? For 2010 Victor has produced a range of ten squash rackets, two ranges of bags, nine different models of indoor shoe, a new and exciting range of textiles and accessories for both men and women. Can you tell us a little about your range and the technology behind it? We have split our racket range into four distinct series. The Pro series uses Quaver technology and these rackets have a smaller headsize for advanced players wanting more control and manoeuvrability. Victor Pro series rackets also incorporate Quaver Bedding Curve Technology (QBC) which stiffens and reduces vibration in the shaft.
What is the current best selling product and why? The best selling squash product in the UK is the Quaver Pro, and signature frame of Chris Simpson. The association with Chris, one of the UK’s leading up-andcoming players, has been instrumental in achieving very strong sales, The Quaver Pro is not only an outstanding racket but also offers exceptional value, retailing at £80, and comes strung with Ashaway SuperNick string for optimum performance. What are the timescales for a new product to go from concept to retail? We are continuously working on new ideas and concepts throughout the year and have a very dynamic team in our headquarters in Germany who work with our manufacturing partners in the Far East on product design. Typically we usually look at a six month period to get a finished design into production and into our warehouse for distribution. How much input do your consumers and professional athletes have in the R&D for new technologies and product design? Product design would never be complete without feedback from our professional athletes, so much so that we incorporate a special section within our contracts which ensures players give us product feedback throughout the year. Any feedback from customers is always well received through individual distributors which is then fed back to our head office in Germany.
professional players, ensuring that Victor’s products and brand awareness go from strength to strength. Do you notice a marked increase in sales when players using your products win major events? Without question, especially in Europe where our players have had good success. Having a player in a final of a tournament gets your product and brand noticed and adds to your credibility. We follow our athletes’ performances worldwide and ensure our customers get to know about their success. How much more development is there going to be in 2010? We are always developing and 2010 will be no exception. Specifically for squash, we are looking at new technology and enhancing our squash range further by looking at the use of different strings within specific models to enhance their performance. What are the long and short term performance benefits of Victor squash products? We like to keep successful products in the range for a minimum of two years, enabling players to keep the same frame and so allow long term consistency in their game. Having Ashaway strings in all of our premium squash rackets gives our customers an instant short term benefit in performance as well as their pocket. Do you have a product which would suit every squash player?
Absolutely and we pride ourselves on producing a range of products suitable What does having professional players for players of every ability and across all using your products mean to the brand price points. We will be working further to The Tour series comes with a larger and its identity? enhance our products in 2011, extending headsize and sweet spot and uses Pontos The real benefit to the brand is credibility. our Performance range whilst technology which offers ultimate stiffness As a relatively new brand in the UK, it maintaining a solid offering in the other throughout the frame. was one of Victor’s main priorities and key areas. Rackets within the Magan series have when a professional player like Chris How does a potential buyer go about open throats and typically weigh between Simpson was able to pick up one of our purchasing products? 120-135 grams, making them ideal for the rackets and be instantly comfortable with Our main retail outlet is our website active club player. it, you know you have got it right. Players www.victorsquash.co.uk where The final series is our beginner/hire worldwide can now associate the Victor customers can purchase direct, with all racket range which is a mix of fused brand and a range of products not only products held and distributed from our graphite, aluminium and with a PSA top 50 player but also a fulfilment centre in the UK. carbon/aluminium combination, solid, low number of other top European cost rackets. INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE March 2010 | 25 www.isportgroup.com/InternationalSquashMagazine
WOMEN’S WORLD TOUR REVIEW
JENNYDUNCALFFACINGACAREER-DEFININGYEAR Since back surgery enforced the premature retirement of Cassie Jackman and injury first started to restrict Tania Bailey’s participation at major events, a leading English player and title challenger has been sorely missed on the Women’s World Tour. English No.1 Jenny Duncalf made a significant breakthrough to top level squash in 2009 and hopefully her recent advance and potential rivalry with Nicol David will promote greater depth, competition, interest and charisma in the women’s game. Following a highly successful junior career in which she achieved a No.1 British ranking in all age groups, the former European Junior Champion has shown onlookers the awesome strengths of her game, but all too often frustrated her growing band of admirers with a lack of consistency that has led many to question whether she would ever challenge for the game’s highest honours. In her formative years, Duncalf’s squash regularly veered between the sublime and the careless, as she either despatched attempted winners with contempt or sent them astray. Her attacking shots often seemed attracted to the tin as if they were magnetised, with her seemingly imperious technique losing shape and her accuracy all sense of direction. Years on from her formative and often frustrating years on the international circuit, Duncalf’s confidence visibly increased when she won her second national title in Manchester in February last year, enabling her to discover a resolve that has enabled her to close out her matches and reach a career high World No.2 ranking. Following the golden years in which Australians Sarah Fitz-Gerald and Michelle Martin dominated a women’s game containing so many notable challengers, including Sue Wright and Cassie Jackman from England and Leilani Joyce and Carol Omens of New Zealand, the stage has often looked a little empty. The Grinham sisters have been less consistent of late, with only sporadic and inspired performances keeping the domination of Nicol David in check. The 26-year-old Malaysian is now in her fifth year as the world’s leading female, having begun her current uninterrupted
occupation as World No.1 in August 2006, and the women’s game desperately needs a powerful personality at the top to challenge her dominance. Duncalf has the potential to give considerable pleasure to both the sport’s purists and more casual observers and the game will be enriched in every sense by her continued emergence. In the Qatar Classic Final in December, she followed up her second upset in two weeks over the Malaysian World No.1, having already defeated her in the semi-finals of the US Open, by crushing Australian No.1 and reigning British Open champion Rachael Grinham 11-5 11-3 11-3 in just 23 minutes. The stunning victory brought her tally of World Tour wins in the month to three, following her Soho Square Championship success in Egypt and her triumph in New York just seven days earlier. By reaching at least the quarter-finals in the last sixteen events that she has entered, the English No.1 has enjoyed her most consistent run on the World Tour. However, whether the 27-year-old will be able to attain the heights that her lavish talent richly deserves remains to be seen. The inconsistencies that have often seen her flounder will hopefully vanish with greater experience in the latter stages of leading events, but one suspects that she may remain an unknown quantity for some time yet. Despite suffering four shock defeats in 2009, Nicol David secured seven World Tour titles, as well as her second World Games gold medal. In September, she retained her World Open title, not only notching up the 40th World Tour title of her career, but also becoming only the third player in history to win the sport's premier title four times. Despite technical faults, despite the pressure and despite recent disappointments, something very special will be required to interrupt David’s supremacy and tenure of the top spot.
WOMEN’S WORLD RANKINGS
1 2 3 4 5
World Tour titles: 41 Highest World Ranking: 1
NICOL DAVID World Tour titles: 14 Highest World Ranking: 2
NATALIE GRINHAM World Tour titles: 7 Highest World Ranking: 2
JENNY DUNCALF World Tour titles: 30 Highest World Ranking: 2
RACHAEL GRINHAM World Tour titles: 4 Highest World Ranking: 5
ALISON WATERS
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2010 AT A GLANCE
2010ATAGLANCE Perhaps Nicol David might consider marriage as a career move. The one great gap in her collection of titles is the Commonwealth Games, which she was prevented from filling last time by an opponent apparently inspired by marital bliss. How Natalie Grinham won three gold medals whilst on honeymoon in Melbourne in 2006 is one of the great squash tales, but the obverse of Grinham’s joy is David’s trauma. She will be desperate to erase that memory at the XIX Games to be staged in New Delhi from the 3rd to 14th October. The Malaysian’s loss helped transform her life, because pejorative remarks from compatriots became a reminder that living thousands of miles from her home was now an inevitable sacrifice. Pressure caused David’s downfall then, and pressure is her greatest obstacle now. In Delhi though there may be no Natalie Grinham, who will have become a mum, whilst sister Rachael Grinham has turned 33, and the improved Englishwomen Jenny Duncalf and Alison Waters may still be a step behind. Another fine story might be David Palmer’s last effort to win gold, after
missing it in Melbourne despite a heroic struggle against Peter Nicol and the after-effects of illness. The Aussie's main rivals now are two other Britons, Nick Matthew and James Willstrop. Another pressure event for Nicol David will be the World Open in Egypt, which has moved a couple of days later to September 15th-22nd, to help Muslim players, notably the Egyptians, with Ramadan.
support whilst snatching the year-end World No.1 ranking in the Saudi International final against Matthew. The Englishman nevertheless still believes he too can make the top in 2010, though that may require a successful title defence of his British Open crown.
The Professional Squash Association’s (PSA) plans for a sleeker, slicker Super Series have brought delay, unsurprisingly. Can those Egyptians claim the Women's Just ten tournaments have been World Team title? They created a announced: the JP Morgan Tournament of sensation by defeating England in the Champions in New York, the North 2008 final in Cairo, but defending it at American Open in Virginia, the Sky Open Palmerston North in New Zealand may be in Cairo, the Australian Open at Canberra much harder. - a significant addition, with $147,550 prize money, the Cathay Pacific Hong And will Greg Gaultier ever win the Men’s Kong Open, the British Open in England, World Open? Twice a finalist, and World the Kuwait Open, the Qatar Classic in No.1 for a while recently, the Frenchman Doha, and the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters in will have another of his now dwindling Mumbai. The flagship event, the ATCO opportunities late in 2010 in Saudi Arabia. PSA Super Series Finals, should happen in However, conditions there will favour the same year as the lead-in tournaments Ramy Ashour, who enjoyed partisan for the first time, a great boon. Kuwait Open, Green Island
Hong Kong Harbour
Tournament of Champions, Grand Central Station
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