GREGORY GAULTIER vs. AMR SHABANA NETSUIT OPEN 2012 SEMI-FINAL FULL MATCH REPLAY

As a follow-up to yesterday's full match replay of the final of the 2012 Netsuit Open in San Francisco, here is another great performance by Gregory Gaultier and mighty Amr Shabana at semi-final stage (you surely remember their PSA Masters final last January at the Queen's Club in London, one the greatest matches ever). It's atypical for our blog to stage full matches, but since Squash TV was unfortunately absent from the event, we thought this might be useful for the hard core squash fans.

first game: Gaultier 11:7 Shabana


second game: Gaultier 12:10 Shabana 

 
third game: Gaultier 11:8 Shabana 


So a 3:0 win to Gaultier against an in-form Shabana (just coming off a 3:0 win against world #1 James Willstrop in the quarters). Did you notice Gaultier's new, more relaxed attitude since the birth of his first child? He now won within two weeks against four fellow top8 players -  3:0 against world #1 Willstrop, world #2 Matthew and world #7 Shabana, and only dropping a game to world #4 Darwish. Ramy Ashour remains the only scalp missing.

GREGORY GAULTIER vs. NICK MATTHEW NETSUIT OPEN 2012 FINAL FULL MATCH REPLAY

Exceptionally we offer a bit longer stuff. As Squash TV was unfortunately absent from the $70k Netsuit Open 2012 squash tournament, I thought it makes sense to publish under one post the full replay of the final between Gregory Gaultier and Nick Matthew. It's about an hour, so you probably will want to swap your favorite DVD for this tonight? Quality stuff all around and good video quality.

first game Gaultier 11:7 Matthew


second game Gaultier 13:11 Matthew


third game Gaultier 11:9 Matthew


So at the end it's 3:0 to Gaultier. Great tournament both from the organizers and for the Frenchman. Let's hope next year Squash TV will cover it!

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 SHOT OF THE (PREVIOUS) CENTURY - BRETT MARTIN vs. PETER MARSHALL

So who said squash has been boring back in the days? Maybe back in the days with the tiny-headed wooden rackets on cement courts, but already 20 years ago players like Brett Martin (in white in the below rally) were capable to make the game look very much entertaining. The author of this blog does not know much about the squash world from before the year 2005, but Brett Martin definitely seems to have something of Jansher Khan's calm and economy of movement (bit more square though) coupled with this incredible eye (and hand) to go short from anywhere. The concluding shot of the second rally is pure magic: body language deception and flick of the wrist at its pure best; Jonathon Power and Ramy Ashour would any time subscribe for it.

By the way, if you ask Peter Marshall (in red in the below video) - and you can bump into him in the UK for example at Bath Cup events - he will always be happy to confirm that back in those days the two most talented guys out there - at least in his eyes - were not the two famous Khans (Jahangir and Jansher) but the Martin brothers: Brett and Rodney.

US OPEN 2011/2012: AMR SHABANA vs. NICK MATTHEW

Amr Shabana won the 2011 US Open vs. Nick Matthew in an unconventionally short final (19,8,8 and 6 minutes the four games). At this year's US Open they already meet at quarter final stage, tonight.
How come? Well, Shabana is only ranked 7 in the world and does not have other great results (the World Series title at Queens not counting into the PSA rankings) in the last 12 months, whereas Matthew is steadily world #2. However, everybody (Squash TV commenators as well as the players on twitter) is talking about how lean and fit Shabana looks after the summer break. Let's look forward to an absolute blockbuster. Games start at 19.00 local time Philadelphia, 24.00 London, 01.00 Paris/Milan/Berlin)

A CLASSIC FOR THE AGES: JAMES WILLSTROP vs. GREGORY GAULTIER - 2012 BRITISH GRAND PRIX

Due to other - less fun - commitments, the activity level of the No Let! blog might have been terribly low the ultimate few weeks, but luckily we still get to see the most important things that are going on on the tour. 

As you are surely aware, the season has started, Tarek Momen has won the $50k Malaysian Open and now - tonight - Nick Matthew and James Willstrop are going to battle it out in the final of the $70k Springfield Solutions British Open.

Nick has a terrifying head-to-head record against James (he has won their last 14 matches on the PSA) however James just won their last two meetings outside the PSA during the summer (Bundesliga and European Club Champions). As a consequence, one would think the mental hurdle has been overcome by James, but what might be left in the tank after his incredible semi-final against Gregory Gaultier yesterday? It's been one of the best matches of the year, a 120 minute brutal encounter of extremely high standard. Not by chance did Squash TV come out with a 7 minutes highlight of the match. Have a look at it and don't miss to join in live for the final at 19.00 UK time (20.00 Paris/Berlin/Rome, 14.00 New York) in a couple of hours.

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.

TOM RICHARDS - REDUCING THE BACKSWING EVEN MORE THAN KARIM DARWISH

Last time we were talking about Simon Rosner - probably the player with the biggest swing out there (even if he restricts it nowadays somewhat). Technically speaking, the true opposite of Rosner is another player from the up-and-coming generation: Tom Richards. 

In this blog we have seen and analysed dozens of times the benefits of the compact backswing and we've had many many examples with Karim Darwish demonstrating it on a constant basis. Of course, everyone in the top100 is reducing his swing to a certain extent, but only few can reduce it as dramatically as Darwish or Richards, as it generally also involves a considerable loss of pace.

In the younger generation there are quiet a few opposite examples as well; next to Rosner there is Aamir Atlas Khan and Tarek Momen with big swings, and it works for them. However, for club players, I personally think that the compact backswing is easier to adapt in order to gain precision and generate deception.
As much as I find it beneficial in general, I have the impression that Tom Richards renders his forehand swing compact in a slightly too extreme way. I totally agree with keeping the elbow close to the hip whilst preparing for a shot, but I think you have to relax and loosen your shoulder at the same time in order to allow yourself to launch your arm if you chose to hit long and hard.
Even if it is not visible in this compilation - with three backhand winners to only one on the forehand - it seems to me that by aiming to render his backswing compact, Richards even raises his shoulder instead of loosening it. Maybe his aim is to hide the ball with his body this way, but I think by relaxing the shoulder he could still hide the ball with his body and gain more pace for his drives and more control for his drops.

Within the top30 the differences are mostly in the head; technical details are rather secondary. Tom Richards has advanced a lot in the last few years ranking wise, and nobody anymore would take it for granted to beat him. This must be due to getting stronger as well in the head as in the body. However, having talked to a few top players I know that they are still constantly trying to improve also technically, and I wonder if loosening the shoulder on the forehand side could enable Tom to make another step towards the top10 where he is likely to land some time soon. 

SIMON ROSNER - THE EGYPTIAN DISCIPLE

Happy to get finally some material about Simon Rosner, the skilful and very fair German player. We have mentioned him at the end of last year as one of the most promising up-and-coming players and indeed, it would be surprising not to see him within the top 10 within a year or two. 

To be honest, these nick-compilations do not really help to gather a player's real playing profile, but in Rosner's case they are eventually quiet representative as he indeed is a shot-maker, a true attacker.

The shot that gathers mostly my attention is the drop-shot played at 0:13. It's not the first example that shows that balls that land just behind the service box and somewhat off the side-wall are apt for attacking; you've got the drop option as Rosner shows it here, Tarek Momen in another, or Ramy Ashour in this example. You also have from the very same position the attacking boast option, as the deep straight corner opens up and your opponent is on his backfoot to cover that deep corner; you surely remember Tarek Momen demonstrating this in a recent example.

And if we mention Ramy and Tarek when talking about Simon we are not just talking in the air; Rosner might not dispose of the natural touch, fluidity and agility of those two magicians, but together with his Swiss mate Nicolas Mueller, they are assiduous watchers and learners of the Egyptian school!

TAREK MOMEN SKILL LIBRARY: VOLLEYDROP, NICK-RETURN AND ATTACKING BOAST

We have recently published quiet a few videos analysing Tarek Momen's atypical technique and special skills. We came to the conclusion that he must be one of if not the best in three domains: 1) the backhand volley drop 2) the attacking boast 3) returning the serve into the nick. Now squashtv has come out with their own tribute to this rarely gifted player: