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WHO WILL
RAISE THE TROPHY?
By Robert Edwards - The Voice of Squash
Next month at the fabulous Sunset Beach Resort in Saudi
Arabia someone will raise the Trophy and be declared the
WORLD CHAMPION.
The big question is WHO?
I have looked at the draw and tried to gauge the strengths of
the most likely candidates. Here is my appraisal of those most
favoured to have their name engraved on the most prestigious
trophy in the game. The ATCO SAUDI WORLD OPEN is a unique
tournament that is offering the highest prize money in the
history of the game. |
Seeded 1 & 2 respectively are Nick Matthew and Ramy
Ashour.
 You
could not have more contrasting personalities and styles. Ramy
is a squash genius – when he is in the zone he can make magic
like no other player but he will have to win six matches to
breast the tape.
Will his body survive this gruelling test, when his side of the
draw contains the likes of Karim Darwish & James Willstrop,
players who have targeted this title themselves. Both have the
talent and the strength to go the distance.
If Ramy fends off these challengers the question is how much
will he still have in the tank come finals day? It begs the
questions - will the brilliance be dulled & blunted? Will he
still have the strength to play his game at the fast pace that
he favours and is so destructive?
Remember that he pulled out of the recent Qatar
Classic after his injury at El Gouna - but
that meant Ramy will have had extra time in his favourite place
– at home with his family – in his comfort zone where he will
enjoy mum's cooking and familiar surroundings.
 Sure
to arrive in the right condition and frame of mind, deadly when
he is at his best, Nick is seeded one - quite rightly so, after
an amazing year of high performance.
He targeted the Commonwealth Games and the World Open for 2010.
Winning two Gold Medals at the Games, puts him right on target
for a clean sweep & with it he would surely regain the PSA World
No.1 ranking.
There were signs that it might be a step too far when he lost to
an ever improving Daryl Selby in Kuwait. At the Qatar
Classic he strode through his half of the draw and led Darwish
by 2/0 in the semi final. Suddenly the wheels came off and Karim
ran out the winner.
Nick has some home time now to sharpen those skills and repair
the body. When I said goodbye to him in Doha he struck me as a
man who would judge his run, to taking the World crown, to
perfection. Nobody has a stronger mind set – a true Gladiator.
Deserves his number one seeding.
 Amr
Shabana has proven his quality many times and can boast the
best record of anybody playing today in this tournament. Four
World Open titles are already on his CV.
At the Qatar Classic he was quite majestic on times but his semi
final against Greg Gaultier drained him before his final with
Karim. A third round match against either Gaultier or Palmer
could prove damaging. If he gets past them he will still be
looking at a semi final against Nick Matthew.
Of all the likely candidates for the title I think that Amr will
suffer the most with this being a 64 draw. With a split first,
second and third round it does mean that he will have rest days
& this could prove to be his saviour.
The Prince of Cairo is a gem of a player who has the style and
the pedigree to sneak a fifth World Open title!
 The
Saudi International was where Karim Darwish first
exploded through the squash ice cap to take the title and with
it the world no. 1 spot. Karim is strong – well prepared and has
a bag fill of shots to add to his self belief.
He won El Gouna, beating Ramy in the final, the Qatar Classic
after beating Nick Matthew in a hard semi final, before
outlasting Amr in the final. Karim is a solid performer who is
mentally strong & would dearly love to be the Egyptian power
player in Saudi.
Two Europeans are lurking in the shadows to highjack this title.
Nobody deserves it more than Greg Gaultier, who has lost
in two amazing finals, once against David Palmer in Cairo and
then against Amr Shabana, in Bermuda.
 Greg
has it all. Strength - superb fitness & every shot in the bag.
One of the fastest players I have ever seen. If his mindset
matches his speed & physical fitness we could have our second
French title holder after Thierry Lincou. His mindset is key.
Then there is the pride of England, James Willstrop.
James like Greg has suffered damaging losses in two finals of
the British Open against both David Palmer and Nick Matthew.
These occasions were so close and so brutal that you wanted two
winners to be announced.
 James
surely has the talent together with the physical and mental
strength to go the distance. His likely third round match
against Ramy could be a classic. It would be a tragedy if James
were to end his glittering career without a World Open and a
British Open title. Is this where it starts?
A romantic choice for me would be to see David Palmer and
Thierry Lincou doing well in what is likely to be their
last World Open.
Fantastic adverts for our game they still have the strength and
the game to do some serious damage. Nobody has more experience
than them and the thought that this is possibly their last
serious chance will drive them to their limits.
So professional, they will arrive in the condition of their
lives and the self belief that has helped them to scale the very
summit of the game.
That leaves a clutch of young guns who are hungry and good
enough to write their names into squash history. Look out for
some big performances from Peter Barker, Daryl Selby
and Adrian Grant. Maybe not ready yet but surely a future
champion is Mohammed El Shorbagy. Oh - and yes, Ali
Walker is due a run.
So after all the shouting is over and I make my customary walk
around the venue when players have flown and the crowds have
long dispersed – who will have taken the title?
The answer is I simply do not know.
 This
is one of the most open World Opens ever. But I can tell you
that I will be in Heaven watching the best of the best shooting
it out for the biggest title in the game .........”WORLD
CHAMPION”.
Ziad Al Turki will have proudly presented the trophy and
kept the promise he made when I first met him. He said then that
he was prepared to raise the bar for the PSA players!
I was thinking of the high jump but he was obviously thinking of
the pole vault!!! Congratulations Zi – it’s been a magical
journey.
Tournament Director |
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