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.

BEST AND WORST WAY TO CONCLUDE A MATCH: GREGOIRE MARCHE vs. OLLI TUOMINEN

Oups! Hitting a volley nick is always a pleasure. Finishing a match with a volley nick is always an extra pleasure. Getting your biggest win of your carrier by date with a volley nick makes it even more special. You probably just have to make sure that you don't knock your opponent's head off afterwards ;) Anyway, welcome to the blog Gregoire Marche, one of the potential up-and-coming players to be confirmed in 2013.

HITTING THE BALL TO THE BODY II.: AMR SHABANA vs. NICK MATTHEW + 2013 TOC PREVIEW

I guess most of you have already seen the highlights of the PSA World Series Finals, Amr Shabana's steam roller win over Nick Matthew. The reason why I am getting back to this clip is the shot at 4:01. 

I have never seen a solution like this. Of course, the-cross-court-to-the-body, is a shot that both Matthew and Shabana play with predilection (in fact, they are probably the two best to employ it, as this earlier example also shows it), but it's always played from the front when they are late on the ball and squeezed in a corner from where a straight passing shot would result in a stroke and a wide cross court shot would probably be chased down by the opponent; but this version played from around the 'T' is new to me. I can't decide whether Shabana hit this one on purpose or not, but he for sure he reacted very fast to clear Matthew's path, who on his turn could not avoid to be hit by the ball. So even if the shot was not intentional, it was very quick thinking and reacting by Shabana to make sure that Matthew can not argue that he couldn't get out of the way of the ball because of his opponent's obstruction.

By the way, just out of curiosity, did you know that Shabana and Matthew could meet again as early as in the second round (last 16) at the 2013 Tournaments of Champion in Grand Central Station in New York? If the black-purple court of the Queens Club in London is the best court in the world, then the Vanderbilt Hall of the Grand Central Terminal is probably the most beautiful and also the most exciting site for a squash tournament. The mystical darkness and the relative smallness of the Queens Club produces a hermeneutic, almost sacred ambiance, whereas the sumptuous Art Nouveau architecture and the huge amount of noise and light of the main New York train terminal create a much more dizzy, distracting context to play in. 

Will the warrior, Nick Matthew get his revenge or will the squash god that Amr Shabana is maintain his almost transcendental winning mood under the totally opposite conditions? And if he will, will it be also enough against the best current player is in the world, Ramy Ashour? What a final that would be.

OKAY, THE VERY BEST DOUBLE FAKE EVER: JONATHON POWER vs. MARTIN HEATH

So we had Amr Shabana a few days ago concluding a perfect tournament, and producing an incredible double fake against James Willstrop in the semi-final. I have been reminded then by some attentive readers that in fact, Shabana's shot is only the second best ever double fake, as the very best has been produced by Jonathon Power about nine years ago. Well, I knew that shot from Power, but I thought to remember that it was an exhibition match, as Martin Heath, just before Power's lizard shot, made himself two cork-screw lobs (the second one even on a volley!), so it was three exhibition-like shots in a row, but, as I realize now, in a real competitive match. The image quality is horrible as it is dating almost a decade, but latest in the replay from the frontwall camera point of view you will understand the complexity of the faking. And listen how amazed the co-commentator, the great Jonah Barrington himself was!

Note, even if the image quality is even worse, the second rally where, at 1:08, Power shows another double fake, probably a less spectacular one but still so crazy! Faking first the backhand and then hitting a forehand with unbelievable dexterity. 

THE BEST DOUBLE FAKE EVER: AMR SHABANA vs. JAMES WILLSTROP

We've had in the past a few examples of Amr Shabana and James Willstrop employing the double fake in the front of the court: showing a menacing a big swing just not to hit the ball with that swing and then hitting a subtle drop shot. Well, in the past Shabana might have missed one or the other, but the below one must be clearly one of the best ever. By the way, it looks like there is no way to beat him on this dark-purple court in the Queens Club, he just won the title again by crushing Nick Matthew after having lost the first game. 

THE 2012-2013 PSA WORLD SERIES FINALS IN THE QUEENS CLUB IN LONDON

Just as an appetizer for the this year's PSA World Series Finals on the emblematic purple courts of the Queens Club in London - that you can follow from today onwards live on Squash Tv if you are not lucky enough to be in the flesh. Here you are, a fine rally showing from a frontwall perspective how it looks like when Maestro Amr Shabana is attacking with almost every single shot of his. Believe me, James Willstrop is a Shabana fan, not less then ourselves. 

BACK AND FORTH: THE TEN BEST SQUASH PLAYERS OF 2012

Last year we did our "back-and-forth" year-end resumé based on the 2011 December rankings. This year we do it based on the 2013 January rankings, as it is this one that reflects the whole of 2012 (the December rankings taking into consideration the results only until end of November, hence results of two major tournaments, the Hong Kong Open and the World Championships in Qatar are only included in the January Rankings which we have calculated for you in advance). 

#1 RAMY ASHOUR

After a year of injuries, he is back, stronger and healthier than ever. And he is back to number one as well. Apparently there is now also a new factor - not to his game, but to his mentality: consciousness. He is finally treating his training, his preparation, his body as a real professional, and it shows: no serious injuries and altogether only two losses in 2012, one against James Willstrop in the Final of the North American Open and the other one against Nick Matthew in the final of the British Open. Both time 0:3, both times he has been contained by the British forces. But it can be assumed that those two were bad days in the office, as every other time he met them, he beat them (Nick 5 times, James 3 times and let's add 5 more wins against Gaultier) in highly entertaining matches.
Predictions for 2013: world #1 

#2 NICK MATTHEW

I think few of us have realized that Nick Mattew has only lost against two opponents this year: Ramy Ashour and Gregory Gaultier. Okay, against Ramy five times altogether. However, Matthew is still defying age and probability: whilst his notary contemporaries like Shabana and Darwish are clearly on decline, Matthew keeps improving technically and tactically and does not show any signs of slowing down or losing any of his legendary fitness. In last year's "Back and Forth" I asked the question: will he be able to defy age for another year? Well, this time am not asking anything, he has already proven his longevity.
Predictions for 2013: world #3 - #5

#3 JAMES WILLSTROP

Infact, nothing dramatic has happened with James' level compared to last year, just both Ramy Ashour and Nick Matthew were healthy for the whole of the year and he lost to both of them three times (with only one win on the other hand against Ramy, however that match was a master-class of how to contain a shot-maker). James has had also losses against Gaultier (that's not a shame, and even less so if you consider that he also beat him twice this year), Shabana and most famously against Mohamed EL Shorbagy at the semis of the World Championships at the end of the year.
Predictions for 2013: world #2 - #4

#4 GREGORY GAULTIER

I had the feeling throughout the year that Gaultier was playing incredibly well - he always has of course, but this year he seemed to improve further on, and finally also on the mental level (mostly since the arrival of his first child in June and not considering his headless loss against Peter Barker at the British Open). Hence the #4 ranking seems a real understatement compared to his global performance, but of course, the statistics, the ranking don't lie. Gregory has fad wins this year against everybody (also against Nick Matthew), the only player he hasn't beaten was Ramy Ashour (0:4). All in all I feel he would have deserved, just a fraction more than James, the #3 year-end ranking. It's always unpredictable what's going to be the next step of this moody but highly professional Frenchman. However I have the funny feeling it's going to be a strong one for him.
Prediction for 2013: world #2 - #3

#5 MOHAMED EL SHORBAGY

Last year I said I was expecting big things from him for 2012. The big things didn't come until the very last tournament, the PSA World Championships at Qatar, where he beat in a thrilling five-gamer semi-final then world #1 James Willstrop and just - really, just - lost in another thrilling five-gamer to re-crowned world #1 Ramy Ashour. Anyway, he has matured into the top5, and next year he will be very eager to make sure to beat more than once the top4 above him. Age is on his side. Not that determination, talent, physical and mental strength wouldn't. Only domain where he has a slightly larger room for improvement is variation of pace and of usage of the full heights of the frontwall. But in Qatar there were already signs that he's been considering also these points.
Prediction for 2013: world #3 - #5

#6 KARIM DARWISH

Well, with all the respect that we have towards this great former champion, there is nothing special to say about his 2012. Already last year it was clear that he is on decline but there at least he has had one big win against James Willstrop in the final of the World Team Championships. This year, no big wins, and his famous terminator-manners against the lower ranked players were not that redoubtable anymore; even if he still only occasionally loses to any of them. Joey Barrington form Squash TV has very well noticed that Karim has been using a lot less two of his major weapons: the forehand kill and the forehand drop. At the end of the year he seemed to realize this and started using those shots more again, and it showed for example against up-and-coming Simon Rosner in the last 16 of the World Championships, but there was not much he could have done then against his - presumable - successor, Mohamed El Shorbagy in the quarter-final, losing for the very first time 3:0 against his talented disciple.
Predictions for 2013: world #7 - #12

#7 PETER BARKER

Next to Gregory Gaultier I think that it has been Peter Barker who progressed the most compared to his own 2011 edition. He has always been a role model for smooth moving and hitting, without having the perception/intuition of the top players how to go short. He has now progressed considerably in this domain even if his results and ranking don't show the progress. He's had only one big win this year (a rather ugly one) against Gregory Gaultier at the British Open, for the rest, he's been terribly reliable, even more than Karim Darwish, hardly losing (in fact, just once, against Borja Golan being diminished by an injury) to lower ranked players. Can we expect more from him next year, real top5 stuff?
Predictions for2013: world #5 - #7

#8 AMR SHABANA

Even though he has won at the very beginning of the year the World Series Finals - which unfortunately does not account for the world rankings - it hasn't been a great year for the Maestro's standards. In fact, it's been worse than last year (where he at least won one major PSA event, the US Open next to a few uninspired results). This year only one big scalp on his account: against James Willstrop in the quarter-final of the Netsuit Open. But the good news is that he went through a serious training regime during the summer. He looked really fit coming back to the major tournaments in September, but the results - apart from beating once Willstrop - were not really coming. When losing to Nick Matthew in the last tournament of the year he even looked gutted. I hope that was just a wrong impression as it would be great to see him doing a last major effort, even if obviously time is not on his side. But nor is it for Matthew, and look! But Shabana - being a God - is moodier than the British soldier, so it is really tough to predict the combination of how much his body will hold and how much he will be eager to give it a last big push in 2013.
Predictions for #2013: anything between world #5 and retirement (hoping to be wrong)

#9 OMAR MOSAAD

The big man, the most powerful hitter (yes, more powerful than Cameron Pilley, I think) of the tour has made the top10. He's been near to it for a couple of years now and in 2012, a single top10 scalp, the one of Karim Darwish, was enough to make this important carrier-defining step. Of course he's had a lots of other good wins against top20 players players as well, beating Tarek Momen, Alister Walker and Tom Richards for example. Mosaad's power/pace is really outrageous. And the thing that makes this pace even more of a problem for his opponents is that he's got even a fine touch, a good reading of the game and is also moving very well for being such a big fellow - I mean when he is indeed willing to move. Unfortunately he is not always, as he is also one if not the main blockers and fishers in the top100, and that makes this otherwise so intriguing package a bit faded. In this blog we are always concentrating on the positives of each player, or in the worst case the domains that one player might still improve. It's absolutely not our thing to insult anybody and I have even towards Mosaad a lots of respect. However, the above mentioned problems are not only making the life of his opponents tough but also harms the enjoyability of his matches and the general image of squash, and this is not a good thing. I really wish he will be looking to improve not only his rankings but also his reputation in 2013 and then he could become a really characteristic (and redoubtable) force of the top10, or even top5.
Predictions for 2013: world #7 - #9

#10 BORJA GOLAN

Mad man, crazy man, emotional man Borja Golan is back in the top10! What a comeback! It took him years after his disastrous injury in 2009, but his devotion got him through all the pain (and the rankings). Interestingly I think his off-court attitude is more professional than his on-court attitude. Of course he is a very complete and strong player notwithstanding his unorthodox racket-preparation and movement-patterns, but I think he is capable of losing matches on the mental front. Whereas watching him warming up before matches or warming down after matches is absolute spot-on. For example at the British Open he has already been doing his warm-up routine for half an hour when his opponent of the day, Ramy Ashour, was just coming off the tube station. And what a lesson he gave to the Egyptian genius for two games and a half, just to collapse mentally 3 points away from victory. Bit like Gaultier, he is a strange mix of Mediterranean moods and highly professionalism and as such always a warmly welcomed colour spot in the top range of world squash.
Predictions for 2013: world #10 - #15

THE FOREHAND DROP MASTERS: KARIM DARWISH vs. MOHAMED EL SHORBAGY

To control a forehand drop shot, most players need to reduce their swing dramatically. The two guys who have developed an incredibly skill-full forehand drop technique are old master Karim Darwish and new master Mohamed El Shorbagy. We've had several examples already here on the blog as demonstration, but this is the first one where such a shot is filmed from the frontwall. 

Normally most of the players need to reduce both their natural backswing and the speed of their swing when they go for a drop shot. Try to pause the footage between 0:06-0:07 and you will see that basically Darwish's (back)swing is higher and quicker than he would do for a normal drive: he really fakes a big and hard shot; the only (huge) difference is that whilst with a hard paced shot you generally also have a big and round after-swing, by playing the drop-shot you have to brake your swing and stop your racket in order to hit the ball softly; pause the footage again a fraction later at 0:07 to see how Darwish used his body balance in order to help to stop his racket with as much control as possible.

Be assured that latest hot gun Mohamed El Shorbagy has been watching/observing this forehand technique ever since his childhood days every single time he got the opportunity to watch the 'big guys' (Shabana, Darwish, El Hindi, Abbas) training.

UNDER THE TIN / FROG PERSPECTIVE: AMR SHABANA vs. JAMES WILLSTROP

Just for fun I have tried to film from the lowest position possible, under the tin, just behind that little ventilation whole. This is the point from where lucky mice, frogs and bugs can watch squash if they don't get caught by the maintenance team. 

And as it is always the case with James Willstrop and Amr Shabana, it's just a pleasure to see how much space one (two) can find on a squash court in order to avoid interference. It's easy, you just don't have to clear into your opponent's path (sorry for the very weak audio quality, I strapped my iPad with black tape in order to avoid to be visible for the main backwall camera, and I didn't notice that I also strapped the micro... clever boy).