THE HEAD-TURNING DECEPTION A LA FRANCAISE - by GREGORY GAULTIER AND RAMY ASHOUR

This is a round-up video of the two semi-final matches of the 2013 Netsuit Open in San Francisco. It's worth to watch every second of it but I would like to point out two shots that demonstrate a type of deception that all advanced/pro players use to a certain extent, but nobody more expressively as Gregory Gaultier (and in previous times, the other great French player, Thierry Lincou): 

it's the head-turning deception, when you, simultaneously to hitting the ball, turn your head in the opposite direction of where you in fact are going to hit the ball. In the below video, Gaultier does it on the volley at 0:14. There is also an almost totally identical version of this shot at 4:54 by Ramy (against James Willstrop). And if you prefer seeing how this deception looks like when played not on a volley, but on a drive, then go to 3:58 (even if James, this time, was not confused by it).

So which is the right time/situation to use this type of deception? 

I think you need two things coming together in front of the court. 1) your opponent's shot must be loose off the sidewall to make the deception of a straight shot really threatening. 2) you shouldn't be on an extreme stretch as you need some extra hold/delay on your shot to send your opponent towards the direction your are turning your head to. Oh, and finally, strong neck muscles are an advantage as well.

HUNTING HIGH AND LOW: RAMY ASHOUR vs. CAMERON PILLEY

Obviously when Ramy Ashour is involved in a rally where he has to chase the ball it's always hilarious: such is his agility, speed and most of all, his extraterrestrial interception. 

But even when it's that entertaining, there are also lessons to note: when you watch the rally for the second time, observe to what extent they use the very low (just above the tin) and the higher parts of the frontwall. 

Common players hit mostly the mid range of the wall, Ramy and Pilley play in average at least every second ball either just above the tin or over the service line. Good squash - or as I like to call it: beautiful squash - always requires not only to use all four corners of the court, but also the full range of the frontwall, and pretty often the extremities of it. 

RETRIEVING MEANS COUNTER-ATTACKING: RAMY ASHOUR vs. TAREK MOMEN

Probably the two most exciting players to watch on the tour, Ramy Ashour and Tarek Momen give us a pretty good example of how the Egyptians conceive the idea of "retrieving". In their eyes, retrieving is not always just getting out of trouble, it is also opportunity to counter-attack in unattended fashion. 

In general Egyptian squash is labelled as attacking, and it is exactly the attacking mentality that teaches them also, as a logical consequence, the retrieving skills. At the end of the day, Ramy wins as many points with inch-perfect width and length as he does with his more fancy solutions, the volley-nicks and cross-drops. 

Concerning Tarek Momen, this rally demonstrates that he is very near or equal to Ramy when it comes to attacking; but he doesn't really master yet the notion of "squeezing a point out of the opponent", he mostly wins (and loses) his points either with a straight winner or a tin. As soon as he learns just a bit from Ramy how to vary more the factors of pace and heights, he will knock straight away on the door of the top5, in my opinion.

RAMY ASHOUR + JAMES WILLSTROP + USA = MASTERPIECES FOR THE AGES

Well, if there had been only that extraordinary triple-fake by James Willstrop at 6:10, matchball down in the fourth game, this match would already feature in the history books. But just two rallies earlier, at 03:49 in the below video, there was the sauciest nonchalant shot ever, by Ramy Ashour of course. And about a dozen of another incredibly skilful solutions executed with casual ease. James and Ramy have a long story together, and for some reason they almost always take squash to an extraterrestrial level when they play in the USA. You know the 2011 masterpiece at the TOC in New York, or even some of their earlier TOC matches, but I consider a masterpiece even last year's North American Final where James Willstrop demonstrated that IT IS possible to contain Ramy Ashour, it is just god-dam rare as you probably need to consult the gods to achieve it the night before the match.

THE EXTRAORDINARY TRIPLE FAKE by JAMES WILLSTROP

Even though considering the whole match, Ramy Ashour created another masterpiece against James Willstrop in the semi-final of the 2013 North American Open, finally it's Willstrop's turn to drive Ramy crazy and make him feel what it means to get a massive "taxi". In some way, James can praise himself of revenging virtually also the majestic double fake that Amr Shabana inflected to him a few months ago at the Queens club in London. All in all, I think it's just fair that for once, and even if for just a couple of seconds, James Willstrop produces more flair than Ramy. He deserves it as he deserves the standing ovation.

ROCK AND ROLL SQUASH: RAMY ASHOUR vs. GREGORY GAULTIER IN THE 2013 TOC FINAL

Before this year's event, Nick Matthew said that the TOC is the only tournament where the squash players feel like Rock stars. Well, here you have it, Gregory Gaultier on the drums, Ramy Ashour on the guitar. Super Mario stuff.

BACK FROM THE BRINK OF DEATH - 2013 TOC FINAL: RAMY ASHOUR vs. GREGORY GAULTIER

Okay, we've said it thousands of times already, you get each time the very best of squash for your money at the Tournaments of Champions in New York City / Grand Central Terminal. 

If you follow us on facebook or twitter you also know that my money was on Gaultier for this one. And I was not that far off the truth. But Ramy Ashour is the best player ever, even if he would chose to retire tomorrow. When did he lose the last time? In May at the British Open. That's 8 months being unbeaten in an era where the general level of the field and competitiveness is way higher than back in the times of the other two greatest palyers ever, Jahangir and Jansher Khan.

JUST THE USUAL TOC MAGIC: JAMES WILLSTROP vs. RAMY ASHOUR

You know this blog now for a while, we always try to capture some interesting technical or tactical details based on a rally or two. But sometimes it's just so nice just to keep the mouth open and stare and say a big thank you to the players. Mr. Willstrop, Mr. Ashour, will you please accept the expression of our deep respect.

A NEW CONTENDER FOR THE GREATEST RALLY EVER: MOHAMED EL SHORBAGY vs. RAMY ASHOUR

This is alien stuff. But if we even consider that this rally has been played at 9:9 in the 4th game of the World Championships final, after having played five matches each of them previously, both of them having had 90 minutes 5-gamer semi-finals the day before, and have put their heart and soul on the court for 60 minutes at this stage of the match, then we'll have to consider this even out of this world, out of the universe, beyond aliens, beyond the borders of imagination. My English is weak, but wouldn't be able to express my respect in any language anyway.
By the way, that deep drop shot between the legs at 1:04 by El Shorbagy, it's not the first time he is doing it. He has hit even a straight forward winner like this against James Willstrop at the 2012 British Open. If you haven't seen it yet, or don't remember, don't miss it, you can watch it here.

WALLBANGERS MOVIE: "...I DON'T KEEP RUNNER-UP CUPS"

We all love squash, and the best show is the one that Ramy Ashour and co. produce on the court. This time however we have a documentary movie, in production phase, that shows us the stars behind the scene. So far we could only see a few trailers, like the one below, but according to them, it's clear that the producer/director knows his stuff. 

It's a well known fact that in Egypt nine year old kids and world number ones mingle in the same clubs on a day in day out basis. Thanks to this movie we can now also see exactly how the good ambience helps to produce a context where current and former world champions are raised almost in a chain production.
Of course, the director is Egyptian himself, Omar S. Khodeir, a former promising junior squash player himself, this also explains why the set is predominantly in Cairo, which is anyway the world capital of squash right now.
But the aim of the movie is to become as international as the world of squash itself, there are already pieces under production with Nick Matthew for example, and the aim is to get to as many places as possible (main tournaments, main training centers). In order to get to most places outside Egypt the production needs the squash world's support. If you want to help the production with a few quids or more, you can do it by clicking on this crowd funding initiative site, where you can also read all the additional information you might want to know. If you know anyone who might be interested in properly sponsoring the production, you might contact Omar directly through the Wallbangers facebook or twitter page. He will be more than happy to listen to you and we will be even happier to see the movie as a finished product some time in the near future. By the way, the movie could also turn out to be another brick in the World Squash Federation's 2020 Olympic Bid due to its presumable high quality and its social involvements.

HOW NOT TO SERVE TO THE BODY: DARYL SELBY vs. RAMY ASHOUR

The best possible serve is the one that finds the sidewall high with a mid pace so that your opponent has to scrape his return off the wall as otherwise the next bounce on the floor would die around the backwall nick. If you can do this with a high reliability percentage, your opponent will take a position more and more towards the sidewall whist waiting for your serve; this is when you can start to serve occasionally to his body as well. 

Serving to the body requires a slightly higher pace, first bounce should be just a few inches above the service line and you should aim to find your opponent's body around hip heights. It is very difficult to aim for a dying ball in the backwall nick as for that the ball would be slow enough to allow your opponent to get out of the way and play a reverse angle shot (forehand from the backhand side and vice-versa) - unless he is tired/lazy (for example after a long rally that you have won) to do so. 

Anyway, you have to make sure one thing with the 'to-the-body-serve': don't hit it above your opponent's head, as Daryl Selby is doing it in the below rally. Guys with quick hands will punish you straight away as Ramy Ashour demonstrates it here, whereas slower-handed guys will get an opportunity to step away and wait for the rebounce off the backwall. 

If you have a subscription with squashtv, then go for some Nick Matthew match replays and observe how and when he is employing this type of serve; he is by far the most efficient with it (James coming second in my opinion, whereas in former times John White was a frequent and efficient user of it).

SHOTS THAT DON'T EXIST II.: RAMY ASHOUR vs. DARYL SELBY

We had a top spin backhand drop shot last week, the first of the 'Shots that don't exist' series. Here is now another one from the same match, Ramy Ashour vs. Daryl Selby, first round of the 2012 British Open.

In fact, it's not true that these shots don't exist, they are just not very common. Whilst the top spin drop shot from last week is rather just a flashy thing, I deeply believe that the cross-court kill-nick that Ramy is displaying in the below video is really efficient - notwithstanding being way too underrated, under-considered and under-trained.

To go for this cross-court kill-nick, you will have to wait for a semi-loose ball from your opponent around the back of the service box (similarly as for the attacking boast). If the ball is too tight, you can't swing freely to go for it, whereas if the ball is too loose towards the middle of the court the angle is reducing and it is tougher to find the nick (and there are also other better shot-options in this case). However, if you play it from the right angle, then it doesn't even have to find the nick perfectly; it might not become a winner, but it will make your opponent stretch and scrap it off the floor just before the second bounce. Another important factor is the heights of the ball: you can only go for this shot if it bounces at least around hip-heights. And you have to make sure to find the side-wall first and not the floor (in case you miss the perfect nick); if the ball bounces first on the floor and then on the sidewall, it will decelerate it and make it bounce high whereas if you find the sidewall first it will result in a quick and short double bounce on the floor (unless you fail it completely by hitting it way too high). Anyway, you will have to practise this shot before employing it reliably in matches, and I suggest you start on the forehand side (most of the non-professionals - the writer of these lines included - will never be capable to play it on the backhand side),

By the way, I think Ramy has learned this shot from Amr Shabana, the only other player to use it on a regular basis over the years. And this is a story for itself: the more you are a 'genius' the less you are shy to learn from the others. Both Ramy and Shabana are assiduous watchers/learners (as you can also hear it in this lovely video).

SHOTS THAT DON'T EXIST I.: RAMY ASHOUR vs. DARYL SELBY

I feel Ramy Ashour's racket technique is sometimes slightly mystified. I think it's not as unorthodox as that, he just reads his opponents so much quicker than anybody else that he gets his racket back into position without any rush and that makes some commentators think that he's got no backswing. It is this extremely early racket preparation that allows him then to go for shots that others (even other professionals) can only dream about. 

The below video is, however, contradicting my thesis. This crazy back-foot top-spin drop is indeed a shot that doesn't exist (unfortunately the rally has been recorded a bit far from the court. You can push the 'fullscreen' button on the bottom right of the video player to see it better).
Playing a drop-shot on the back-foot is anyway forbidden according to conventional coaching textbooks. Sure enough, as in so many aspects, the Egyptians have slightly modified this thesis.
Wael El Hindi was the first one to go for drop shots on the back-foot on a constant basis (you probably remember the most outrageous one), and currently, besides Ramy Ashour, Tarek Momen is confident and talented enough to employ it with succes. And it might make sense on this (pro) level as it is a position where the ball is hidden from your opponent's eye-sight; add to this that he can also only see your back, so at the end of the day he can't really read/anticipate your intentions.
But it's not something for everybody as it requires extreme strength all around: leg, hip and wrist. Club-players just better lift the ball in similar situations, or assume an approx. one-to-ten success-ratio by going for it; the choice is yours.

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME: RAMY ASHOUR vs. JAMES WILLSTROP - BRITISH OPEN 2012

Basically this blog was born out of two things: 1) watching and observing pros playing 2) trying to adapt those points that are possible to adapt on a club player level. Well, throughout the two-year existence of the blog, we have pointed out a few things that we club players can aim to copy and to stick to whilst we train or play. But there are also things that we shall not try to copy, because it would require the amount of training and the physical strength level that only a pro might have. So we always have to understand what we can and what we can't copy from the greats. But in certain cases, we don't have to think at all. Things are simply too surrealistic, and we understand with grace and gratitude that the players and the game that we witness are from another planet. Like this one here between Ramy Ashour and James Willstrop at the semi final of the 2012 British Open:

THE GENEALOGY OF THE RAMY ASHOUR BACKHAND VOLLEY NICK

First of all it has to be noted that no shot is based on itself. For example take Tarek Momen and his famous attacking boasts - they wouldn't be as efficient as they are if his length game wouldn't be as solid and powerful as it is. Due to the latter, his opponents stand further back on the 'T', and this is why he can go more often than other players for the attacking boast option. Of course, another question is how Tarek executes his attacking boasts technically, but be assured that the fact that he knows that his opponents stand further back and in addition can't really read his intentions allow him to go for this shot in a mentally relaxed manner. And being relaxed - whilst being committed and concentrated of course - is a key factor in order to chose the right shot and execute it in the right way.

The same applies to Ramy Ashour's famous backhand volley nick. Of course, Ramy has spent hours and hours practising this shot in order to memorize the possible geometries of it, but observe how often he plays - instead of the volley nick - a powerful and deep cross-court (0:39) or straight (0:44) backhand volley. Again he goes for these options to create uncertainty in his opponent's mind. In the case of the straight deep volley at 0:44, Willstrop basically expects the redoubtable volley nick attempt and goes therefore the wrong way; but instead of the cross-court nick the ball was sent this time straight deep; okay, Ramy finds the nick even when he hits straight as this ball was just perfectly dying first in the sidewall then in the backwall nick, there was nothing James could have done, but even with a less perfect shot, James would have been late to react as he went the wrong way - not to mention that in the future he will be even more uncertain what to expect from Ramy in that position when the ball comes shoulder height around the service box: the nick attempt or the deep straight version.

Having said all that, I would also like to say that what Ramy is doing with the volley-nick is neither non-sense nor magic. It's a logical shot, deeply rooted in the nature, in the geometrics of the game, that I believe, in the near future, will be considered almost a basic shot, just like the straight drive. Ramy was the first in the history of squash to take this shot option seriously and to apply it systematically first into his training regime from early junior age and then as a next step into his game; as such he really deserves to be considered revolutionary. From now onwards, I think, no coach in the world can afford not to integrate diverse volley-nick routines into their juniors training program. As a minimum, five to ten minutes at the end of every training session, get your opponent to feed you and then return the favour. Believe me, you train this shot and it will come; maybe not as often and as well as for Ramy, because he has been busy with this for a decade and a half, but within a month or two you will see the difference.

RAMY ASHOUR vs. DARYL SELBY - THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING

I was there live at this match, and the very first thing that struck me was the number of viewers, hardly any - okay it was first round, but it was the British Open, it was in London, in the O2 stadium, and the world #4 (for many the best player of all time) played against another top10 player - with a different draw that could have been a semi or a final.

The second thing that struck me was how lightly Ramy Ashour was taking this match. It wasn't disrespect, just the usual lightness that Ramy feels when he plays opponents outside the top6. He is playing cat and mouse stuff - and that's hilarious considered what a strong, solid and intelligent player Daryl Selby is. Nobody else could afford to go on court with such a mindset against him.

The only other top player who visibly takes lower ranked opponents easy is Gregory Gaultier. But whilst Ramy has no problems to switch to 'serious' mode, Gaultier at times struggles to make this mental transition from one round to another.

HOT SHOTS: BORJA GOLAN vs. RAMY ASHOUR

We have had two amateur filmings so far on the blog of this intriguing match between Ramy Ashour and Borja Golan, second round at the 2012 British Open. Ramy has been asked by someone on Twitter what he thought when he was totally outplayed in the first two games. He replied simply that "Borja was on fire". That's totally true, but as you might know, I also think that Ramy was playing club-squash, and swapped to pro-squash only in the very last minute at 6:8 down in third, as it can be seen in this video. Nevertheless, let's enjoy now some of Borja's hot shots as registered by squashtv. It is an extra pleasure to see these delicate shots coming off someone who has got a very particular, slightly square racket preparation and movement. Just another proof that there are no dogmas in terms of technique in squash. You have to find your own ways how to combine precision and accuracy with economy of space and time.

ATTACKING AT THE WRONG MOMENT: RAMY ASHOUR vs. BORJA GOLAN

I have published recently the rally that has swivelled this match between Ramy Ashour and Borja Golan at the 2012 British Open, the rally where Ramy has switched to 'Pro' mode, where every shot was a pressure shot without risking too much, without knowing in advance which will be the winning one, taking it step by step, but each time a more severe step. 

The below rally is to demonstrate the opposite: how you get in trouble if you attack in the wrong time. At 0:11 Borja Golan plays a tricky semi-lob from behind his body on the backhand side, which takes Ramy by surprise; the shot is deep and soft enough to force Ramy to play the ball before its bounces on the backwall. At this moment, at 0:13, Ramy decides to go for a kill, but the ball hits the sidewall straight after the frontwall, it hence comes off loose in the middle and Borja can chose form a few options, he goes for the trickle boast, Ramy dives, scraps it off, just, offering Borja to conclude easily with a drop. 

I think that Ramy's kill-attempt is an excellent example to demonstrate a wrongly chosen attacking shot. It was not only badly hit, but also in the wrong moment. From so far back, with so little space for a decent powerful backswing, going for a kill is really risky - unless it perfectly fades towards the sidewall, it will just take away time from yourself and allow your opponent to pick it up with plenty of options. 

Ramy is a master of the lifted shots from the back - just check out this beautiful and classic example - and this time it should have been just another occasion to play a basic shot, high and deep enough, possibly also tight, to allow himself to get back to the 'T' and see what kind of options he gets from his opponent's next shot.

I know on a certain level you have to be able to turn defence into offence, but it doesn't mean you can do it in any time, in any situation.  

RAMY ASHOUR vs. AMR SHABANA - THE DEEP LOB

I am sure a lot else could be said - for example about movement - but I would like to point out only two shots in this rally. The first really perfect shot is played at 0:30 by Ramy, a basic backhand drive that is fading slowly towards the sidewall, bouncing deep, almost in the sidewall nick, with the ball hardly rebouncing off the backwall - this is what you are training for, to hit the backhand like this.

For the opponent, there was no space for backswing, hence a boast would have been tough - and probably also suicidal - to play. Playing straight would have been possible, but Ramy was anticipating it, and at the slightest looseness Shabana knew that Ramy would have gone for the cross-court backhand volley into the nick - and he rarely misses it when the opponent is stuck so far back behind him.

Given all these calculations, Shabana chose to shorten his grip - stop the video at 0:32 to see how high he holds the racket - and played a beautiful cross-court lob; it wasn't a winner, it didn't even create him an opening, but it gave him plenty of time to recuperate to the 'T', and under the circumstances you couldn't have asked for more. 

AMR SHABANA vs. RAMY ASHOUR - THREE CORNER SQUASH ULTIMATE EGYPTIAN VERSION

I promised you some interesting footage from the 2012 British Open at O2 Arena. First of all, many thanks to the PSA for having permitted to record at these matches. Having such a nice close-up view allows you to catch a lots of technical details, but you can also still follow, enjoy and understand the whole structure of the rallies. But let's start with some fun stuff and not much analysis. 

The Ramy Ashour vs. Amr Shabana quarter final match had a few crazy swivel points; first game to Ramy; in the second Shabana was up 10:6, but it went again to Ramy 12:10. In the third Ramy was up 3:1, but ended up losing it 5:11. The fourth was all about Shabana: 11:1. The fifth went toe to toe until 4:4, from then on it was all Ramy again, and Shabana even ended up breaking his racket and playing the ultimate point with  it!

This rally probably is a good synthesis of the whole match, it's as crazy if not crazier as the match itself was. It's from that span when Shabana won 22 points against only 3 from Ramy; hence Ramy was a bit demoralized at this stage and in order to invent something to come out of that whole, he chose the playful way instead of the steady one.

By the way, did you count how many times Ramy touched (bumped into) the glass wall with his non-playing arm/hand? Six times. I quiet much like when players use all four corners of the court, but in this one the deep right corner was totally omitted. Let's call hence this rally 'three corner squash' from the 'Egyptian squash at its funniest' series. Mr.Ashour, Mr.Shabana, you are legends and we are grateful that you exist.