Hey Adz, you passion for the game is obvious.

I agree with your top 3, I am not sure about the rest.

Before Ramy came along I was sure Greg was going to #1. He was the top player (IMO) in the latter part of 2006, should have probably won the World Open and had Shabana's measure. But then he had a dip in form then injury. I certainly think he has the game to beat Ramy (in the same way he deals with Shabana). In the Super series Ramy had easier  group matches (can you actually say that when someone plays Palmer, Lincou and Darwish?) and so was a lot fresher for the final.

Do you believe James Willstrop lacks fitness or could be fitter? I would have thought carrying his 6'5" frame around the court would mean he would tire quicker than other players.

I disagree with El Hindi's position and I hope he doesn't get there. Every match he is involved in turns into let, let, let and isn't good to watch. His movement is obviously a problem.

And I wouldn't right off Lincou, I would put this weeks performance down to the arrival of his second child. Lets see how he goes once the season starts in earnest.

All things considered it is a very exciting time for the PSA tour. I just wish I had the opportunity to see some matches live. Perhaps when I am back in the UK I may be able to sneak off to the British Open but I can't see the wife allowing

My top 10 at the end of this season 2008 (just for the hell of it)
1. Ramy Ashour
2. Greg Gaultier
3. Amr Shabana
4. David Palmer
5. Nick Matthew
6. James Willstrop
7. Anthony RIcketts
8. Thierry Lincou
9. Karim Darwish
10. John White

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Well based on what I saw, I'll go out on a limb and predict the following for 2008....

1. Ramy
2. Greg
3. Amr
4. Nick/James
5. James/Nick
6. Palmer
7. Ricketts (if he can stay injury free)
8. El Hindi
9. Darwish
10. Lincou

As much as I'd like to see Greg get the no1 spot, I think we all know it's going to Ramy (although the leg injury that worried him could be a factor in the coming months). Amr is beginning to have some decent competition for the number 1 spot from both Greg and Ramy, but I don't think anyone else is consistent enough to come close at the moment. With a touch more youth on their side, and them both only getting better by the day, I expect Ramy and Greg to overtake him by around Feb / Mar.

Nick and James are on the verge of something awesome for British squash (well English, but no-one else in Britain is anywhere near them! JW's too old as is LB). Nick needs to get his consistency sorted and he'll have everything, James needs a bit more match play and fitness and he'll be pushing the top three. If both improve in the right areas then a top 5 place is destined, but the major worry is that Nick will pick up another injury, and that James can't be bothered to put in the extra fitness work (like I said, he looked painfully tired after the Matthew match).

David sadly is on his way down the rankings. I don't think he can consistently beat players like Ramy, Amr and Greg in tournaments, especially not two of the three in succession. He may stand a chance of holding his place by playing the select, high scoring tournaments well, but the way to take the top spot is to continually pick up points from the top and medium scoring tournaments (like Ramy did over the past 18 months). Only by doing that can you sky-rocket up the rankings. I just don't think David is fit enough to do that anymore on a regular basis.

Ricketts will be in the same boat. Plagued by injury last season I'd expect another big push this year, but there could be more injury worries in the future. He's been there and done it, but I serious doubt he has what it takes to push for higher rankings without getting injured.

El Hindi is a definite contender for a top spot in the future. He's already shown what he can do against big name players, but I fear he just lacks the consistent match-play ability. He has the flair and the skills to impress an audience and beat the best, but I just don't see him troubling the big guns in the latter stages of tournaments.

Despite a phenominal super-series display, Darwish is going to struggle with some of the better players on the tour. He might have beaten an out of sorts Palmer and Lincou, but Ramy took him apart, as would Greg and an on-form Amr! He had an easy run against a completely mis-firing Lincou, and nothing of difficulty against a tired David or Amr, but look at the games that they had first! Amr had two VERY difficult 3-2's and a mentally tough 3-1 over the previous 3 days, against players that I've tipped for top 5 places. But not taking anything away from him, Darwish is a solid player, with moments of brilliance. I just don't think those moments are enough to take him higher into the top 10.

Sadly I feel that for now we must write off Lincou. One of the most solid and gritty players of recent years, he can be forgiven for losing a little focus due to his new baby (congrats by the way if you're reading this!). I have to say I thought he looked like he'd lost loads of weight, but perhaps too much. With the exception of the third game against Darwish, I saw no flashes of speed that made his retrieval game so great. His solid match-play seemed a shadow of its former self, and I fear that he'll need a few months to really get back up to speed. With big changes happening just above him and just below him in the current rankings, I'd expect him to make a small fall in the order, but then come back up to around 6 by mid-2008.

 

So, that in a nut-shell is my predictions and justifications for the early 2008 rankings. If any of the professional players do read this, then apologies if I've offended anyone, but that's just the unbiased opinion of a huge squash fan that is completely in love with the game! I'd love some players to prove me wrong, but at this moment I just can't see it happening.

Adz

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Thanks Adz - well done.
You will have everyone jealous with those matches first hand.
These guys are really pushing each other to the limit by the sound of it after being in full training.  The coming season should see some fine adjustments in rankings by the sound of it.
Thanks again.

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Shame no one took you up on the tickets adz, if I could have got the time off work, I would have gone again myself!

I don't know about you mate, but having watched Ramy for the first time in the flesh, I can't help but think he is possibly the best squash player ever. I've never seen anyone move so fast and his racket skill is just out of this world. He is so exciting to watch too. The game of squash needs exciting players like Ramy to make the sport awe-inspiring to the masses

I know what you mean about all the players looking thin -  they all looked like they were carved out of wood!

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I would add....... "Quite a few upsets"

Despite what the world ranking say, I picked the 3 of the 4 winners (Darwish upset my predictions).

For some reason I knew Nick would beat James, but hoped to be wrong.

Darwish beating Lincou surprised the hell out of me, and the way he did it (attacking and 3-0) was even more impressive!

Greg beating Amr was my sneaky prediction. After the last match that I saw them in together, I always thought that Greg has the answer to Amr's game, and even thought Amr seemed tired in this match, I still think that these two players are fantastic (but give the edge to Greg!).

Ramy was always going to beat David today. Usually in an experience vs youth match-up, the youthful player doesn't have the necessary skills to compete and usually have to rely on out-running the opponent as opposed to out-playing them. Ramy has better fitness and better shot selection than David does at this moment, but whether he has the mental toughness to do it week after week is yet to be seen!

 

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Match 4 - David Palmer vs Ramy Ashour

After just loosing the ENTIRE report that I wrote I'm struggling to find the patience to re-write everything again!!! So a summary is all you're going to get on this one!

First game saw Ramy destroy David, to the point where I would have taken a bet halfway through for an 11-0 to Ramy. David just couldn't do anything and would have been greatful for the few points he got after he tried to come back at the end of the game. I think David needed someone to give him directions to the front right hand corner as he just couldn't get the hang of spotting Ramy's drop-shots to that area.

Second game was more like the David of old that we all know and love. A gritty performance and some awesome rallies saw David grind out the game to level the match at 1-1. I would say that Ramy had a bit of a lapse of concentration in the middle of the game, mainly due to a few obvious strokes that weren't given. Palmer wasn't clearing the ball quick enough off the forehand drives, and Ramy was just stopping the ball behind him which should have been a stroke every time!

Third game and David was once again off the pace. Ramy upped the speed and the shots began to flow. Some really bad bounces for David (off some apparently bad court construction), saw some colourful language come from David (once again no conduct warnings!). I had to have sympathy for him, because he read some of those shots perfectly, but the court foiled his returns.

Fourth game was always going Ramy's way. David seemed sluggish and loose and Ramy's finish turned clinical. Some more strokes given away by David and some breath-taking shots from Ramy paved the way to him winning what was a rather easy game for him.

The question remains...... During this match, was I witness to the start of a legend, or the end of one?

 

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Match 3 - Greg Gaultier vs Amr Shabana

If there was one match I really REALLY wanted to see, it was this one. Greg has amazed me everytime I see him on the court, and with all the talk of Ashour being the next big thing, I really hope that this is the man to step up and give as good as he gets.

The first game started slow (unlike the previous shot-firing from Darwish). There were a few breath-taking shots from Shabana that had the crowd cheering. I remember one decision going against him followed by a re-assuring rolling nick off the return of serve! It was the shots that made the difference in the first game, and Greg clearly was worse off to start. The difference in scores were all rolling nicks from Amr!

The second game came as a bit of a shock. Greg returned to the court with the bit between his teeth. He began to retrieve everything whilst making Amr twist and turn all over the court. His width increased and his mid-court play and controlling of the pace shone through. At the same time Amr looked sluggish compared to the first game, and the extra width and retrieval from Greg eliminated the winners from Amr. This game was easy for Greg and Amr certainly didn't look like his WR1 suggests.

Third game couldn't have been closer Once again there were some really bad refereeing decisions (one in particular where the entire crowd applauded when Greg protested against a really awful out-of-court call). I'm also convinced that I saw a sneaky middle finger raised at the referees at one point. Interesting to see no conduct warnings going out for Greg's htting his racquet on the floor / walls or even when Amr threw his racquet into the roof lighting and tried to kick it behind his back as it landed! Despite the theatrics of the players and the poor refereeing, the level of squash was awesome. The rallies became electric and the technicality increased. For a fan of the technique, I was not disappointed as the game became very intense and the shot play was only matched by the spectacular retrieving from both players. With Amr taking the tie-break it set up an interesting 4th.

Fourth game and Amr looked tired again. Greg seemed like he was ready to run a marathon to win this game, and in the closing stages it really showed through with some long grinding rallies ending in Greg's favour. This one was always going to be Greg's game from the first few rallies, and I knew it was going to be a decider heading our way.

Final game was a bit of a disappointment, but not for the crowd! The look on Amr's face was almost pained, and it was clear that the previous day's match had taken its toll at this point. Greg got a second wind at just the right time, and he took a quick lead after some unforced errors from Amr. There was only going to be one winner from the word go in the fifth, and a deserved winner he was. One day I really do hope to see Greg as the world number one. He deserves no less! (oh and some trivia for you....... Greg once lost 27-0 to Nick Matthew! Anyone think Matthew could do that again?)

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Match 2 - Thierry Lincou vs Karim Darwish

I really was expecting a boring match here after the excitement of the first match. The warm-up saw Lincou wearing what we thought were tights under 3/4 length track-suit bottoms. It turned out that they were knee-high socks. I would say that having see Lincou play in the flesh before, he looked MUCH thinner in this match. As did all of the players. It must have been the extra training throughout the summer, but they all looked extremely toned - although Lincou actually looked a little too thin!

I'm used to seeing Lincou start slow and finish strong, and it was no surprise to see him lose the first game (to about 3 points if memory serves). Darwish played a very positive game, opting to attack from anywhere of the court, and some mistakes from Lincou allowed an easy first game win.

Second game was exactly what I expected. Lincou was much more consistent and upped the intensity. Darwish matched him point for point and eventually took the game, altought not before some very strange refereeing decisions had Lincou with a quizzical look on his face on more than one occasion. Darwish won it with a tie-break and it was certainly hard-fought.

I could have scripted the start of the third game without any difficulty at all. Lincou flew out of the blocks on this one and his pace was visably quicker, with much faster movement around the court. Once again Darwish held firm despite a few long rallies and some awful refereeing decisions going against him. The win brought shock to the crowd, but it was only going to be one result from the way that Darwish played. A very impressive performance from an under-rated player.

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Match 1 - Willstrop Vs Matthew

Match kicked off a little late, but the crowd were well up for the two home soil players. Some slow, testing rallies to start and some unforced errors (including a few mis-hits from Nick), led to James taking an early lead in the first game. James' game style was very attacking with low hard cross-courts stretching Nick in both directions. James takes the first.

Second game started very similar to how I would have told James to play (If I was in the coach's seat), up and down the wall to start, get a rhythm and then attack the loose ball and make Nick move. It started well, but Nick by now had got into his groove and soaked up the inconsistent attacking play from James. The crowd were well into the match at this point, and I really wanted James to take this one. Some tactical arguements from Nick held the game up long enough to break up the play everytime James began to gain advantage. After a tense few tie-break points, Nick took the game.

Third game and you could tell that James was begining to suffer. A few easy points for Nick in this one from short attacking shots. A few mistakes from James and his game has become looser at this point. A close game again, but this one was always going to be Nick's game for a 2-1 lead.

At this point my sister arrived and I had to leave to get the tickets to her, thus missing the rest of the match. I did see a few points from the side-wall position, but wasn't following it closely.

James looked completely exhausted and a bit annoyed after the match, but credit to Nick on coming back from a game down to take what turned out to be a fantastic match.

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Well no-one took me up on the extra tickets, and I was rather annoyed that people kept trying to steal our seats between matches!

My mate and I arrived about 5ish, ready for the 6pm kick off. With my sister and her bloke due to arrive soon (they eventually made it between the 3rd and 4th game of Wilstrop vs Matthew!).

So I'll start with the venue..... great layout as ever, both sides of the arena had the usual promotional stands (basically Sportdiscount.com!), with sections for Asics, Hi-Tec, Prince, Sportdiscount.com and the bar on the left hand side and Wison, Dunlop, Slazenger, Oliver, Sportdiscount.com and a small snap bar on the right of the court.

I also had backwall premium tickets and on the left hand side was a VIP area and some tables on the right hand side (mixture of players and spectators everywhere adding to a great atmosphere).

Match reports will be in separate posts (as I seem to tim out with longer posts!)

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Adz - you must have witnessed some great matches.
There were quite a few upsets with Ramy the only seed to come through.

Tell us the highlights.

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Well I went last night and can honestly say that this year is the highest quality squash I have ever seen. I had backwall premium tickets and the view and venue were excellent. Someone should really not pass this up!

From what I saw last night Ramy ashour is definitely the best player in the world, and will be number one this year no doubt. He was absolutely outstanding against Karim Darwish who also played well. Some interesting sponsor change aswell with James willstrop using a prince o3 black racket, and Ramy using a mysterious prince racket painted all black with no stencil! obviously he couldn't get on with the head metallix after all! Also despite the new aerogel rackets been courtside on the dunlop stand, both gaultier and shabana were using the ice custom elite.

one interesting thing aswell, after the shabana match he hit the ball up into the crowd and I caught it! what's interesting is it's a dunlop single yellow dot! Is this to compensate for the slower all glass court maybe?

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Ahh, I wish I was in the UK, I would snap them up straight away.

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Can't help you myself mate as I'm already going on the thursday, but I'll post the info on my club notice board tonight if you don't mind, it'd be a shame to see them go to waste.

sparty

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