THE ALL TIME GREAT CROSS COURT VOLLEY NICK: by JONATHON POWER

This is a rare good resolution compilation from 2004 showcasing seven world number ones. If you have time, watch the whole video, every single rally is worth it. If you are in a hurry wind forward to 9:08, and you might see probably the shot of the century, but for sure a serious contender next to David Palmer's nonchalant magic shot from the 2011 TOC. 

Just like Palmer's drop, Jonathon Power's over-the-head-cross-court-backhand-volley-nick was played from behind the body, hence extremely difficult to control. I also thoroughly like Power's expression after receiving Peter Nicol's compliments (a 'conduct code' that I love in squash and another proof of  the mutual respect between these two greats). 

Not bad either the following rally, showcasing the famous Jonathon Power forehand top spin drop shot. The opponent, Nick Matthew was left almost in a shock there.

Another one to observe here should be Lee Beachill, a former world #1 we have not yet had the opportunity to present in the blog. What a shame though! Beachill has had a stellar rise  in his carrier; however, as quick as his ascension has been, as quick was his decline. Up and coming he finished 2003 as world #9, six months later in June 2004 he was already #2, another three months later #1. A year later he he dropped back to #5, and in 2006 to #10, and retired at the end of 2008. Compared to such squash mammoths as Palmer, Lincou and Nicol, it can be said that Beachill's carrier peak has had a modest span. 

Nevertheless it must be pointed out that he has reached the top in a period when a high number of established top world stars mingled with a bunch of up-and-coming future stars. As a matter of fact, in December 2004, when Beachill held for the last time the world #1 spot, all names in the top10 were either future or former world number ones, and none of them at a decline stage of their carriers. 

Technically Beachill has been one of the cleanest strikers ever in my eyes. Instead of simply hitting the ball he was kind of caressing it. As strange as it might sound, he didn't use his racket as a hammer, neither as a knife, but rather as a spoon. This is why all of his shots had a kind of double slice, making the ball always escape from his opponents and fade towards the side-wall. In addition he disposed of a stupendous deception (watch that fake head-turn at 2:32 against Amr Shabana) and he's never been shy to go for all kinds shot (attacking boasts, volley nicks).

Beachill was probably not the physical beast that some of his peer's have been, but you can tell that - beyond being naturally gifted - he must have been a diligent analyser, deconstructing and putting together the best of the different squash schools and styles. Exactly because he is not too physical,  basing his game more on skill and understanding - he is one to watch for us, club-players, who will never dispose of the power of a Palmer or a Lincou, or the speed of a Gaultier or a Nicol.

Unfortunately the video we were originally embedding has been withdrawn in the meantime by youtube due to a copyright claim. This is why we had to look for another version of Jonathon Powers's extraordinary shot, that can be seen from 0:55 onwards in the below video:

this is the original video that has been withdrawn unfortunately:

WEEKEND BAGATELLE XVI.: LET THE GOOD OLD TIMES ROLL - 2003 TOC HIGHLIGHTS

Probably many of you have already seen this video, as it has over 135.000 views on youtube. But TOC videos are always fun and there are a few things to observe. The first three rallies feature three great Australian players and it is interesting to observe the differences in their movement; John White has always been famous for hardly bending his bust, and not even much his knees when hitting the ball. In opposition, observe the extreme asymmetric bending that Anthony Ricketts is investing in almost all of his shots (and savor that beautifully ponded deep forehand dying volley that made him win the rally against Peter Nicol at 1:47). Bending-wise in between the previous two is David Palmer, who prefers keeping a relatively upright bust position countering it with well bended knees as he hits the ball. Jonathon Power is again someone who does not bend much the upper body if not necessary whilst Thierry Lincou engages his upper body almost as much as Ricketts. Lincou's seemingly rigid, square composure comes best to light in the last rally against Peter Nicol, who is more fluid and bouncy (and who generates hilarious racket-head speed due to an interesting extra-squeeze in his backswing). It's a great contrast to watch. And I also loved how Alan Thatcher, the commentator, expresses sincere amazement after the end of the last rally. Great rally also between the two ladies. To cut it short, great little compilation for the weekend.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SPLIT STEP: RAMY ASHOUR and PETER NICOL

I might exaggerate, but I am almost convinced that within movement one of the most important things is how you master the split step. It is your very first reaction before starting to go towards the ball and it will determine the explosiveness of your movement. 

The split step is simple and complex at the same time. Simple, as you just need to jump up slightly with both feet before heading off towards the ball. Complex, as it needs delicate timing in order to avoid to land too early or too late.

What is the main point about the split step? It will allow you to put the weight as quickly as possible on the relevant foot before making your first step. You jump off with both feet from the ordinary parallel position as you wait on the 'T', but you will land with one or the other foot in front of the other, depending where the ball was hit by your opponent. 

Let's put it in order: 1) you have to jump just before your opponent hits the ball - this is the most delicate thing, to time the detachment from the ground well. 2) you want to be with both feet still in the air when you perceive/understand where your opponent has hit the ball. 3) depending on where the ball goes, you will land with your feet and weight accordingly.  

Peter Nicol has always been extremely agile, but nobody employs the split step more intensively than Ramy Ashour; combined with his phenomenal reading of the game, this is what makes him so damn quick. After having watched the below video, you might want to have a further look on this one, showing Ramy in extreme slow motion with another legend, Jonathon Power.

NOSTALGIA I.: PETER NICOL vs. JONATHON POWER, LET or NO LET?

I've reposted a few days ago probably the greatest rally ever, featuring Peter Nicol and Gregory Gaultier. This here is another famous rally with Peter Nicol, this time against Jonathon Power.

However, I am not aware of the squash community's position in regard of the 'No Let!' decision that generated Power's extremely furious reactions. I might cause some discussion, but in my eyes this one was an excellent decision. Let me tell you why: 

1) Nicol hit a loose but deep straight forehand volley. It was not a great volley, but with the deception sufficiently good to make sure that Power could not have volleyed the ball.

2) JP was anticipating and going in the wrong way, he moved forward, expecting probably a volley drop. 

3) realizing he had to change direction, JP slipped and instead of making any effort to go towards the ball, he just opened his racket to demonstrate he was ready to hit the ball (the volley that he had wished, hadn't he gone the wrong way and hadn't he slipped), but in reality the ball has already passed him at that moment and he was not making a single step backwards to prove that he could have gotten to the ball after its rebounce off the backwall. 

4) JP has created the interference himself by going the wrong way and was not originally obstructed by his opponent. He didn't make any effort to show he could have still made it. Opening the racket in this situation was rather a desperate act of 'fishing' (even though understandable - from a fan point of view - in the heat of the situation).

These are my points why I would have come to the same No Let! decision as the referee. 

I can of course understand Power's reaction, it was a crucial rally and he was dominating it mostly. However, these are unfortunately not circumstances that a referee shall take into account. This is why I wonder why Martin Heath - who I consider a very good commentator - did not notice a single of the points above (notwithstanding his co-commentator Alan Thatcher tried to analyze the situation objectively). It's even more strange as Heath even says that "in principle the referee is actually right, he is interpreting the rulebook by the word..." I think, Martin was as excited by the rally as Power and had slightly too much sympathy for JP. 

Me too, I love all that JP brought to the world of squash, but this does not deflect me from trying to keep a cool analytic eye on the game. Well, you are welcome to through stones at me if you want;)

HONG KONG OPEN: THE EASIEST WAY TO WATCH LIVE SQUASH ONLINE

One of the greatest squash events of the year, the Hong Kong Open approaches. If you wish to follow the actions live, there are two options; either you subscribe at psasquashtv for £50 (or $80) or you can open an account at the long established UK based sports betting page Bet365, deposit a couple of euros (or quids) and there you are, you can watch the same coverage with the same commentary as on psasquashtv.

Remember, you only have to deposit the minimum (I think 5 euros), as long as there is money on your account you're free to watch all the live streamed events at Bet365 - and not only squash, also tennis, soccer, etc. Of course, if you feel like betting, nobody forbids it, but you do not have to. When you are on the Bet365 page, click on 'Live Streaming' and select 'squash' in the 'events' field. The schedule for the Hong Kong Squash Open 2010 coverage on Bet365 is the following (times are 'Central European Time', for the UK deduct one hour):

1st round: Wednesday, 25.08.2010, from 06:30 am
2nd round: Thursday, 26.08.2010, from 09:00 am
Quarter finals: Friday, 27.08.2010, from 07:00 am
Semi finals: Saturday, 28.08.2010, from 09:00 am
Final: Sunday, 29.08.2010, from 11:00 am

The Hong Kong Open is a pretty special event on the PSA tour: first of all, it is quoted with a $147k prize money which for squash standards is high. Secondly, from the semi-finals onwards the matches take place in a shopping mall, so lots of people get to see the event and you can also watch it from the galleries of the mall. In addition it is also a women's event (covered online from the semi-finals), so there is a lot of squash going on. Finally, it has been won by all the squash greats, from Jansher Khan to Jonathon Power, with Amr Shabana winning the last five editions! So let's give the genius a quick tribute with this truly amazing rally, ending in a 'let', against the great Peter Nicol:

GREATEST RALLIES EVER I.: GAULTIER - NICOL TOC 2006 QUARTER FINAL

There's not much one can add to this rally I guess. Just briefly, I've counted it: there were 15 quality attacking attempts to go short (drops, counter-drops, volley drops, attacking boasts) and they were all retrieved, end at the end it was a good long straight volley that allowed Nicol to win the point, a shot that Gaultier normally would retrieve even in his sleep, but after 95 seconds of furious attacking and retrieving, having run back and forth the diagonal of the court a handful of times with all the speed and braking required, it was just one shot too much. Gregory Gaultier at the time of this match was ranked only world number 11! and Peter Nicol was just about to retire a few month later. It's also interesting listening to Amr Shabana as a co-commentator: it's rare that a genius at the same time is a really normal and nice guy too.

THE JOHN WHITE DIVE

NO LET! is a new squash video blog with a selection of great squash rallies featuring the world's best squash players.

Let's start this blog with a classic: the greatest dive ever on a squash court. It might not be the best ever rally (a couple of too many loose shots here and there), but the dive is out of this world, and then the fact that John White managed to hit a relatively tight straight lob in these circumstances and then clear and escape with a 'let' is just the cream on the strawberry. I don't think Peter Nicol stopped in search for a 'stroke', he seems just to be amazed himself or just wanted to stop to immortalise his mate's effort and let the crowd celebrate straight away. YES LET!