AUDIO: Willstrop and Matthew set to meet again

WORLD No 2 Nick Matthew is hoping to right some past wrongs by winning his first Canary Wharf Classic title – but he'll probably have to find a way past three-time winner and Yorkshire rival James Willstrop to do it.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Mar 2010, 13:16 BST
Updated 22nd Mar 2010, 00:10 BST

Although top seed at the East Wintergarden venue, 29-year-old Matthew, from Sheffield, has never won the PSA Super Series event before and, if the draw goes according to seedings, he can expect to meet Willstrop at the semi-final stage.

Listen to James Willstrop outline his hopes for 2010 by clicking the green PLAY button.

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The pair have produced some memorable exchanges in recent months, most notably the epic British Open final in Manchester last September which saw Matthew lift the trophy for a second time after a mammoth two hours of play.

This year has seen Matthew repeat that success over Willstrop in the finals of the Swedish Open and the British Nationals as well as in the semi-finals at the North American Open.

But 26-year-old Willstrop, from Leeds, showed he has fully recovered from last year's four-month injury lay-off by lifting the first big trophy of 2010 at the Tournament of Champions in New York.

Listen to James Willstrop outline his hopes for 2010 by clicking the green PLAY button.

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Willstrop will begin his quest for glory by facing Pontefract team-mate Saurav Ghosal, from India, in today's first round openers, while Matthew takes on qualifier Chris Ryder, from Leamington Spa.

The big threat from the bottom of the draw will come from former world No 1 and second seed Gregory Gaultier, from France, who will meet qualifier Nicholas Muller, from Switzerland, in tomorrow.

For Matthew, winning at Canary Wharf will boost his aim of closing the narrow gap on current world No 1 Ramy Ashour, who is not competing at the event having won the KL Open in Malaysia on Saturday.

"I have seriously under-performed at Canary Wharf in the past," said Matthew. "I will be looking to put that right.

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"James always does well at Canary Wharf and he obviously enjoys playing there. He has some great memories of victories there down the years and he will be looking to keep that momentum going."

Elsewhere in the first round, Leeds-based Alister Walker, seeded seventh and ranked 13th in the world, will face fellow Englishman Tom Richards tomorrow.

Listen to James Willstrop outline his hopes for 2010 by clicking the green PLAY button.

Related topics:Yorkshire