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.

LIKE AN INVISIBLE MAN ON THE COURT: JAMES WILLSTROP vs. RAMY ASHOUR

It's a shame we don't have the outcome of this rally, but that behind-the-body shot by James Willstrop at 0:18 itself makes it a must for the blog. Extra pleasure to listen to the commentator's amazement in the box. Another thing to note: I often observed that Ramy Ashour, whilst running and stretching towards the front, in extreme situations puts his hand down to the ground in order to help to keep his balance, just as you can see it in this rally at 0:15.

WEEKEND BAGATELLE VI.: NO COMMENT

At first sight this video seams a simple demonstration of Hisham Ashour's exceptional touch (and nerves, as he was finding the nick at game ball down). If you keep watching the video after the end of the rally you will hear Hisham shouting towards the referee, and this is why we included it in our 'Weekend Bagatelle" section. Then in the replay even the reason of the shouting becomes clear: Peter Barker deliberately hit Hisham's hand whilst the latter was looking the get the ball from him. No comment.

WEEKEND BAGATELLE V.: NASTY SQUASH, AHMED BARADA vs. JONATHON POWER

That's pretty much the worst in terms of ugliness I've ever seen on a squash court (to be fair am only following squash in the last five years) and I know in the eighties-nineties sportsmanship was on a total different level compared to today. Well, what happened there? Ahmed Barada, whilst running and stretching into the front right corner to recover a drop shot, simply decided to kick with his back-foot into Jonathon Power's leg. You wouldn't believe it if you wouldn't see it.

DON'T RUN, WALK! II.: ONG BENG HEE

It's another debt we are trying to minimize by showing finally some stuff with great player Ong Beng Hee. To be honest, as exquisite it was, that final nonchalant backhand volley into the nick is not that much a main characteristics of his, however, as you can see, under no pressure (6:10 down against the world #1) he is pretty much able to demonstrate his geometrical skills. More significant and characteristic about him is his movement: just as in Azlan Iskandar's case, it's funnily slightly square - but that's just an aesthetic note; more important is his economy: he is basically walking all the way down the rally! We've showed some time back John White doing the same, but he was doing it against a lower ranked player, whereas Beng Hee is doing it against the world #1! It's a one minute rally, with quiet a few short balls and swifts in momentum, and it's Beng Hee's perception/reading of the game that allows him to be that economic. On the other hand, Matthew seams to run all the time, not only because he is mostly dominated in this rally, but apparently also because that kind of dynamism is in his nature; he is also one of the hardest trainers on the tour so he can allow himself to spend more energy on the court than others; and running instinctively to every ball also enables you to be early on the ball which has its obvious advantages. However, if I were allowed to advise one thing to Matthew, then nothing else would come to my mind than telling him to observe and implement at least partially into his game the Beng Hee type of economic movement.

EXQUISITE TOP SPIN VOLLEY WINNER: by KARIM DARWISH

This is a short few seconds rally, however with a very unorthodox and exquisite shot that you will not find in the books. To understand it better it makes sense to rewind and watch Karim Darwish's previous volley, a lot more conventional one: he hit the ball at service line heights with mid-low pace slice, looking to make it as tight as possible and as dying as possible. In comparison, the winning volley was hit with a totally unconventional top spin pretty low (however without risking to catch the tin); funnily even though it was a full pace shot, the ball died exactly in the back-wall nick, even if that was not necessary as Nick Matthew was going totally the wrong way, due to Darwish turning his upper body in order to fake a cross-court. Also, his backswing/swing was so quick, that it might have indicated a cross-court (straight drives, as they require more accuracy, are executed with slightly slower backswing/swing). Anyway, amazing shot from an amazing wrist as it has already been noticed in other examples too.