PROBABLY THE MOST STUNNING SHOT OF ALL TIMES: by MIGUEL ANGEL RODRIGUEZ

Holy moly! I only believe my eyes because I've seen from Miguel Angel Rodriguez a similar attempt last year at the 2010 London Open. Well, the man who likes to go the wrong way as we called him last time, or if you prefer, the quickest man on earth on 5 meters likes not only dancing on the court but also has shots that only a Zen Buddhist Karate Matrix Magician - who has the power of slowing down the time and even foresee the future - should be capable of. Rodriguez, of course, went again the wrong way, then turned 180 degrees to hit this volley out of the blue and am afraid I called David Palmer's famous shot at the 2011 TOC in New York a bit prematurely the shot of the century. (By the way, Palmer and Rodriguez train these days together, let's hope that will enable this funny genius to go less often the wrong way and strengthen also the "boring structure part" of his game in order to get into the top10 - which would be just great for squash in general). Back to the current video, it is pretty funny how the commentators reacted: long seconds of silence before Joey Barrington started to employ various superlatives ("outrageous shot", "that's ridiculous", "who plays a shot like that?"). It's a shame this rally did not happen in front of a larger crowd, like Palmer's at the TOC, and that the referees did not see at first that the ball has passed Lincou by far by the time he raised his racket to appeal for a Let. But this time I don't really blame them, I guess they were as amazed as anyone else in the audience, facing a never seen, an almost religious-like revelation situation, kind of Jesus walking on water. Luckily science - video review - allowed to award this shot with what it deserved, a clear No Let! and point! Thank you Mr.Rodriguez for existing.

WEEKEND BAGATELLE IX.: ANOTHER CLASSIC NO-LET: DAVID PALMER vs. GREGORY GAULTIER

This is a perfect example of a tough but still evident No-Let! situation; at first sight it might look as a stroke, as David Palmer's ball was loose and Gregory Gaultier managed to stop it. But! Palmer's ball was so fast that Gaultier could only stop it behind his body, therefore the question weather the frontwall was open or not does not apply. Gaultier could have only played a boast or in the best but unlikely case a straight drive and there was room to make both shots. Because there was no way of hitting a cross-court, the safety consideration is also not applicable, therefore Gaultier should have played the ball. As he hasn't, the decision should have been clearly a No Let! And Gaultier knew it best himself, just look at the expression on his face after the stopping.

HEAVY METAL STUFF II.: RAMY ASHOUR vs. NICK MATTHEW AT THE ROWE BRITISH OPEN 2011

If the Nick Matthew-James Willstrop pairing is considered as the ultimate heavy-weight encounter (from a physicality point of view) then close next to it follows the pairing that has determined the top of the rankings in the last two years: Nick Matthew vs. Ramy Ashour. Let's don't be mislead by the fact that Ramy is a crazy genious, he is nevertheless very much conscious of Matthews' exceptional combination of strength, speed and fitness, and therefore pays huge respect to his gutsiness and retrieval abilities. A part from Darwish and Gaultier, Nick is the only player against who Ramy does not allow himself to go short any time from anywhere (he does it even against Shabana as I think they consider their matches as a kind of showcase of Egyptian squash flair). The below rally states it as well, Ramy, when he has to, is ready to construct the rally as patiently and accurately as it takes to tire the "robot" (as Joey Barrington calls NM at times). 

HEAVY METAL STUFF: NICK MATTHEW vs. JAMES WILLSTROP AT THE 2011 US OPEN

In the past 130 posts of this blog I've been citing a few great pairings on the tour, such as Willstrop-Ramy, El Hindi-Darwish, Ramy-Gaultier or again Willstrop-Shabana; pairings that bring out the best from each other, players who inspire each other. But let's do not forget a hard core pairing: Nick Matthew vs. James Willstrop. These two have quiet some history with each other and they are the protagonists of probably the greatest squash match ever. The below rally is reminiscent of that match played a year and a half ago at Canary Wharf; it might not be audacious "Egyptian Squash", they just have too much respect towards each other's retrieving skills to go for unstructured attacking shots. But there is so much going on on other levels, on a constructing-structuring level; so many variations of trajectories, rhythm and pace. These two play the game on the highest physical level, nevertheless they are constantly entering into each other's mind in order to find that little breach of deception that will allow to squeeze out a sufficiently loose opening form the other one which then probably - probably I say, not sure - will allow to play a winning shot. And as hard as the rally is, it can also end with such a soft and delicate drop shot as the one Willstrop is demonstrating. However, one more time, all those incredible skills were not enough to beat the beast that Matthew is.

NICK AND AMR: THE NEVER PLAYED FINAL AT THE 2010 WORLD SERIES FINALS

First of all, the quality of squash was so high between these two at this match (Round Robin). I had the luck to be there at the Queens Club that evening, and apparently this best-of-three-games format liberated the players mind (knowing that in three games there will be no stamina issues, so one can go for all right from the word go and for all the duration of the match). The other great thing about this event - the 2010 World Series Finals - was the colour and lighting settings; squash has never looked as good both on the screen and in the flesh. I've been waiting for long that PSA understands that squash courts need to be dark in order to see well the tiny white ball; the pink-brownish color of the court was elegant and friendly for the eyes, the lighting was dramatic, just like in a good theater (spectators are sitting in the dark). A shame the tent had to collapse the night before the finals (which would have been a repetition of the Matthew-Shabana match in the round robin stage). Just last weekend however Nick and Amr were allowed to meet in the final of the 2011 US Open, but Matthew being slightly diminished physically, had no chance against mighty Shabana and lost 3:1.  

WEEKEND BAGATELLE VIII.: HITTING THE OTHER CHAP'S FACE: DAVID PALMER vs. JONATHON POWER

Poor Jonathon Power! He has revolutionized the game of squash (deception, extra-compact backswing), but he was for some reason (maybe for that reason) not always welcome by the fellow players. You remember I guess the weekend bagatelle from a few weeks back when Ahmed Barada kicked him in the leg; this time, even though without any intention, it was David Palmer to hit him brutally in the eye with his after-swing. If JP has introduced the compact backswing and the the extra sliced shots into the game of squash, then Palmer is definitely a representative of the old school at least in regard of his extra long and round after-swing and the almost top-spin like backhand drives. 

THE MAN WHO LIKES TO GO THE WRONG WAY: MIGUEL ANGEL RODRIGUEZ

Finally I have found some footage about one of my favorites from outside the top20 on the PSA tour; Miguel Angel Rodriguez, probably the quickest person on earth on 5 or 10 meters, by the way a lovely squash player with a particular type of deception in his shots and a funny Gaultier- or crab-like lateral movement. Well, as we said, he's got definitely the quickest feet on the tour (yes, quicker than Gregory Gaultier or Aamir Atlas Khan) and he is also a clean striker. So why is he stuck outside the top20? Probably because back in his home country Colombia he lacks serious training partners. For me, this guy should come to the UK, and under the guidance of the likes of Peter Genever for example he could easily become top10 if not top5. So which are his weak points? Definitely his reading of the game. He often goes the wrong way, even though he almost seems to like to go the wrong way to exploit his hilarious speed. He is the only player on the tour to make on a constant basis 360 degree turns (like in the current video at 0:48 and like I've had the luck to observe in the flesh at the 2010 London Open; once there he was even doing it on the volley, and fellow PSA player Joe Lee who sat next to me said that this would have been the greatest shot ever if it hadn't hit the tin...) Once we said, that what distinguishes Amr Shabana from the other dive-kings on the tour (John White, David Palmer) is his ability to get up after a dive. Well, have a look at Rodriguez' get up at 0:22, and you will probably agree that Shabana is only number two in this respect.

2011 US OPEN, ANOTHER SUPERB DIVE AND TOUCH: WAEL EL HINDI vs. AMR SHABANA

It's not the first time that Wael El Hindi is showing his exceptional touch and balance by playing a drop shot on the run, behind his body on the backfoot! This time add to the bill that he was just recovering from a dive in order to lob back a good faded drop by Amr Shabana. EL Hindi, in general might not be at the levels of a Ramy or a Shabana, but in this respect - playing drops from behind his body - he is probably the greatest on the PSA tour. Without looking specifically for the subject, we've already had previously three other similar solution by El Hindi here on the no-let blog, check'em out in this video at 0:33, in another one at 0:37, and in this one at 1:02. But don't try this at home!

WEEKEND BAGATELLE VII.: FAIR PLAY AT ITS BEST: JAMES WILLSTROP vs. PETER BARKER

This is not a very special rally from a squash quality point of view. However we include it in our blog as it shows a very rare moment of an extreamly high level of fair play: James Willstrop overrules a 'let' decision against himself and concedes the point to Peter Barker. I've been watching now pro squash for a few years but I do not remember to have ever seen a similar situation. Hats off to James, really! It's another question that, even in the heat of a live pro match, how the hell could come to any referee's mind to give a 'let' in this situation? James then, in the rally that follows, shows his other great quality: his incredible touch, that allows him to play probably the best deep backhand drop on the tour.