Desire to be leading man in Manchester drives Matthew

NICK Matthew begins his bid to lift the British Grand Prix title today looking to prove that his status as world No 1 is justified.

The 31-year-old, from Sheffield, takes on German wild card entrant Jens Schoor in today’s first round in a tie which should provide little trouble, leading him in theory to a semi-final showdown with fellow Yorkshireman James Willstrop, who begins his campaign against qualifier Borja Golan from Spain.

Based on seedings for the tournament, next Sunday’s final should see Matthew face world No2 Ramy Ashour at Manchester’s National Squash Centre, the two great rivals having held the top spot between them for the last 20 months, with the Yorkshireman’s latest run at the top lasting since January this year.

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Recently, Ashour has had the upper-hand, however, beating his British rival in last month’s Australian Open final as well as in the final of the World Team Championships in Germany, where Egypt defeated England 2-1.

Home advantage at the event – which in the continued and puzzling absence of the British Open is now the biggest in Europe - may give Matthew, Willstrop and other British players the edge but, as ever, there are potential pitfalls along the way.

“I’ve got to make sure I respect Jens (Schoor) and certainly won’t be taking anything for granted,” said Matthew. “He’s got a wild card entry so he’ll be looking to prove he deserved it.

“At the moment, on form, you have to say that Ramy is the best player in the world. Obviously I’ll be hoping to do something about that but, after Australia and the world teams, he’ll be coming here full of confidence.”

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For Willstrop, this week represents an opportunity to go one better than last year, where he fell to Ashour in the final.

The 28-year-old admits playing in Manchester should be an advantage, with training facilities and the use of support staff all-too familiar to him and his fellow British players.

“Any event in Manchester I always look forward to,” said Willstrop. “It’s a very comfortable environment for the British guys.

“If you’re making it to finals in major events, like I did there last year, then you are not doing too much wrong.

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“Obviously I would have preferred to have won last year, but if I reach the final again this year then I’ve still got to be happy with that – it beats going out in the first or second round.

“I think it’s the usual suspects in terms of who might win it, but the quality outside the main draw is really high.

The preparation has gone really well and I need to be ready because those guys having to qualify for the main event are young, very talented and they will be eager to prove a point.”

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