Wild card Charles Sharpes is a Tottenham Hotspur fan. He loves the idea of being called the Gareth Bale of squash.

If he is to live up to his hero’s name, he might have to a bit of giant-killing at Canary Wharf.

What’s to stop him? Well, he’s drawn James Willstrop in the first round, for the second time in three years.

BY ALAN THATCHER

1: Charles, you've drawn former world number one James Willstrop in the first round. How do you feel about taking on such a great player?

I'm so excited to be playing James. He's obviously an amazing player and someone I have looked up to throughout my career, so to get a chance to play him again really excites me.

2: You met him at the same stage two years ago. What did you learn from that match to take into this one?

Yes, I met James when I qualified for the main draw in 2011 and that was a great experience. It really showed me how tough these top boys were to play on the glass court but I think I gave a really good account of myself that day and definitely learned a lot from the whole experience. Hopefully this time I'll be more equipped for the match.

3: How would you say your game has developed in the past 12 months?

I think my game has been developed a lot in the last year, I've been working hard to add some different variations into my game mainly the defensive side, which wasn't easy at first but I feel like I'm really starting to see signs of it clicking together now and feel like things are moving in the right direction for sure.

4: Please list a few of your best results in that time.

A: My best two wins of the year were probably against Mohamed Nafizwan Adnan (3-2 in Calgary) and Shahier Razik (3-0 in Sudbury) these were two good wins for me against experienced PSA players in the top 30 in world and hopefully I can back that up with some more big wins.

5: I see you had a superb win over Olivier Pett in the PSL. That must have been a great match.

A: Yes, that was a good win for me and it was a really good match. It's never going to be easy against a player of Ollie's class but I was really happy with my performance and happy to get the win.

6: Please tell us a little of your training programme.

A: Well I'm based over at Potters Bar with my coach Paul Carter, so I'm over there most days with the rest of the Potters Bar boys, but still see Phil Rushworth back at my home club in Wimbledon. He will always be there to help me and the combination I have between him and Carts works brilliantly for me (also helps that they get on really well, too). I also get a lot of help from the EIS and see my strength and conditioning coach Rhys Ingram two times a week. He's been brilliant for me since I started working with him six months ago and along with Gary Nesbit, who gives me one speed session/plyometrics a week, I really feel I'm starting to get a lot stronger and seeing the benefit . As you can see I have got a nice team around me.

7: What are your favourite tournaments so far, and why

A: My favourite tournaments are usually the ones I do well at !!! But my favourite has to be the one in Vancouver at the Jericho club. The club is out of this world, the city was incredible and I just loved everything about that tournament. I loved my experience at Canary Wharf two years ago. The atmosphere was amazing. You couldn't get a better experience than playing in your home-town, so I cannot wait to get back on the glass court there this year.

8: What are your professional targets for the next two years, and who helps you to draw them up?

A: Well, I obviously sit down with England Squash at the end of every season and we evaluate how the season has gone and we also plan for the next one, with ranking targets and other personal things. From my point of view, I just want to keep working on the right things with my coach and just striving to be as good as I can be and hopefully I’ll carry on moving up the rankings.

9: What sponsors do you have at the moment?

Rackets: Prince
Kit: Salming
Nutrition: Optimum Nutrition
Also, an online sport shop called Racketnation, who advertise on my shirts.

So grateful to the support all these give me and without them I couldn't do what I do.

10: With many of the leading English players in their late 20s and early 30s, some great opportunities lie ahead for the young players coming through. How much inspiration do you draw from fellow London boy Tom Richards now being up to 12 in the world?

It’s been amazing to see Tom’s jump up through the rankings and he really deserves to be where he is at the moment. It gives me a lot of inspiration to see it can be done. I've been training with Tom from the age of 10, so now I just need to follow in his footsteps and hopefully we will both be at the top of the game in the future.

11: Regarding the Olympic bid, you will be at your peak in 2020 if squash gets in. What are your thoughts on the Bid?

A: It’s a really exciting time for squash at the moment and it seems like the media is getting more involved, which is brilliant. The bid looks very positive and I hope this is the year we finally get to where we deserve to be, and you’re right, I will be in my prime in 2020, so fingers crossed for me and our sport.