2016 Review - Part two

The end of the year - as well as the beginning of the new one - is traditionally the opportunity to look back into the past twelve months. Today we wrap up our review of what happened in squash in 2016, with facts 6 to 10. A new chapter begins!

Fact 6: The man of the moment

All the squash experts agreed that Karim Abdel Gawad had the talent as well as the potential to become a top player. After he won the “PSA Young Player of the Year” award in 2013, his rise may have been slower than this of some other Egyptians, but the Alexandria-born still broke into the top 10 at the end of 2015. He then won his biggest title in Sweden and finally reached the semi-final of a major event at the British Open. But this was nothing compared to what was to come after the start of the 2016-2017 season: Gawad reached the final in Hong Kong, won in Al-Ahram, lost to Matthew in the US Open semis after an epic battle and then completed a majestic double World Championship + Qatar Open, beating El Shorbagy twice in the process. These results took him to the world number 2 spot, but beyond numbers he's been impressive in the way he faced what his opponents threw at him, as well as in handling difficult situations. Gawad is still quite far behind El Shorbagy in the rankings but doesn't have a lot of points to defend at the beginning of 2017, having bowed out early in the two US World Series tournaments last year. While Shorbagy won them both …

Karim Abdel Gawad, current squash world champion (Photo credit: squashsite)

Fact 7: The resistance

Last week we talked in length about the current stranglehold of Egypt over both men's and women's squash. Here is another amazing stat: there were two or more Egyptian players in the semi-finals in 14 of the 16 major events in 2016. There are mainly two countries trying to stop that domination - England and France, who shared the three titles not captured by the squash first powerhouse. This tendency is even more prominent in the men's, where the last World Series tournament won by a player not belonging to any of these three countries was in 2008 (David Palmer at the British Open). In the women's game, Laura Massaro and Camille Serme have been the main worry for the Sherbini-Gohar-Welily triumvirat (although Amanda Sobhy and Nicol David have also been in the mix): English number one was at the top of the world rankings for the first four months of 2016. She came very close to get a second world champion crown before surrendering 11-9 in the fifth game to Nour El Sherbini, and won her first World Series finals in May. She lost in the quarters of the two first major events of the 2016-2017 season (against Gohar and Serme), but each time after a fierce battle. And the way she beat El Sherbini at the World Teams proves she will still very much be a contender in 2017. After the 2015 British Open, Serme won her second major event at the US Open in the fall, beating Massaro, Sobhy and Sherbini in the process. The Frenchwoman has reached at least the quarters in her 14 last World Series events. As a result, she is very close to her best ever in the January rankings (fourth).

Camille Serme, Grégory Gaultier and Laura Massaro have been trying to slow Egypt's domination down (Photo credits: US Open Squash and PSA World Tour) 

As far as the men's concerned, we focus on English players in Fact 10 (below). The other “resistant” is of course Grégory Gaultier. Although he was hit by many more injuries than he would have liked, the “French General” was still able to win the World Series finals, and reach the final in El Gouna as well as three other semi-finals in major events. “I am devastated, the Frenchman said after he had to retire in the morning before his World Championship semi-final. It’s been a bad 2016 year for me, with too many injuries which didn't allow me to perform as I wanted to in many events. It’s part of an athlete career and I can only accept it and move forward.”

Fact 8: El Shorbagy is still the boss

It is the same thing in each sport: when a champion dominates, he's expected to win all the time and every single of his losses is scrutinized. Like others before him - the latest being Ramy Ashour in 2014 - Mohamed El Shorbagy spent the whole of the year in the number 1 spot. He even established a new PSA World Rankings record points average twice, thanks to an exceptional first half of the year which saw him winning all the World Series tournaments. But since the 2016-2017 began in August his power has been challenged, mainly by compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad, undoubtedly the man of the moment (see Fact 6 above). Who had the better of El Shorbagy twice in a row, in Qatar and above all in the World Championship, the only major title that still eludes the Alexandria-born. He therefore won “only” two of the seven tournaments he played in the first half of the season. But let's not forget there is a still a substantial gap in the world rankings between him and his challengers. The Tournament of Champions, which begins on January 12^th, and where El Shorbagy won the last two times, will certainly set the tone for the remainder of the season.

His leadership may have been challenged but world number 1 Mohamed El Shorbagy can still rely on his exceptional mental strength (Photo credit: US Open Squash) 

Fact 9: Underdogs upset the order

There was a time not so long ago where the upsets were a rarity in men's squash, at least as far as the top players were concerned. But the tables have turned in the last few months, especially since the first World Series event of the season in Hong Kong: only one of the eight seeded players was featuring in the quarters, a first in history! The strength is so deep on the tour at the moment that it's no longer seldom to see a player ranked beyond 20 in the world have a shot at the top 5-10 guys, if not beat them. Do you need examples? It started with local wildcard Yip Tsz Fung downing Miguel Angel Rodriguez in Hong Kong. Then there was Malaysia's Nafiizwan Adnan's victory at the World Championship over Omar Mosaad, who's been struggling these past few weeks. Let's not forget Grégoire Marche and Diego Elias upsetting Nick Matthew and Ali Farag in the first round of the NetSuite Open. And what about Paul Coll's crazy week in St George's Hill, where he went through qualifying to win what is by far his biggest trophy ($100,000)? He may not have beaten a top 10 player in the process but this is surely only a matter of time.

Yip Tsz Fung and Pau Coll are among the players who upset the order in the last few months (Photo credits: squashsite and PSA World Tour) 

Fact 10: The old guard still holds

Something went relatively unnoticed at the British Open in Hull in March: it was the first time since 1992 that no English player was featuring in the men's quarter finals. Some observers jumped to conclusions, and stated that a few months after Peter Barker's retirement, and with his former teammates in the national squad being well in their thirties and struggling with injuries and niggles, it could be the end of the road for this group of players that has brought so much success to their country – both in individual and team events. “Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion,” said basketball coach Rudy Tomjanovich to what he called the “non-believers” after the Houston Rockets won back-to-back NBA titles in 2005. The same could be said about the English trio: after having a few difficult few months, Nick Matthew, James Willstrop and Daryl Selby have shown that their careers are far from over since then. The “Wolf” had two huge battles with Mohamed El Shorbagy in the US Open (where he was leading 2-0 before having to conceed due to injury) and in Qatar. 36 year-old Matthew says he's taking one step at a time but he's got the 2017 World Championship in Manchester and even the 2018 Commonwealth Games in his mind. His reaction after his triumph at the British Grand Prix - which meant he has won at least one tournament in the last 11 years – cleared any possible doubt about his current motivation ...

"The Wolf" Nick Matthew is still as hungry as ever (Photo credit: squashsite) 

Everyone knows that James Willstrop has been struggling to get back to his best after hip surgery. He's not quite there yet, but certainly going in the right direction. As shown by his semifinal in the US Open, as well as significant wins over the likes of Simon Rosner, Omar Mosaad or Grégory Gaultier. The "Marksman" is not far from a comeback in the world top 10, which he's left two years ago. Finally, Daryl Selby according to his own words may be playing the best squash of his life. Not only he won the biggest title of his 13 year-old long career in Macau, but he also reached the semifinals of a major event for the first time in almost 5 years in Qatar! Players ranked between 5 and 20 are so close at the moment that a top 10 return is also a realistic target for the Essex man. The World Team Championship at the end of the year in Marseille, France, should therefore be very entertaining: although Egypt looks incredibly strong on paper, English players strive on team events: when they won in 2013 in Mulhouse, Daryl Selby had underlined that they all had been preparing specifically for this tournament for months. In the meantime, England Squash has brought Peter Barker into their staff, to help the development of the new generation. And make sure they are still a major nation of squash when the old guard will bow out ...