What's been happening in the world of squash (6th to 12th of February 2017)

Matthew and Massaro retain their crown

For the 21st consecutive year, the City of Manchester was hosting the British National Championship, a major event that not only includes the professionnal players but also all the masters age categories. At 36-year old Nick Matthew could play in the O35 but he continues to reign on British squash. Last Sunday, he not only made his tenth final but also won his sixth title in a row, not dropping a single game along the way. He'd become even more favourite after Daryl Selby - the only man who's beaten him the event since 2005 - pulled out because of an ankle injury, and long time rival James Willstrop had to retire during his quarters due to illness. In the semis, Matthew faced one of England's greatest prospects, Declan James. "I've seen the work Declan is putting in here with the England Squash Academy - day-in, day-out - and he has a big future," he said. "I just wanted to make sure it doesn't start tomorrow!" His opponent in the final was Joe Lee, who had benefited from Willstrop's withdrawal but also recorded a significant win against higher ranked Adrian Waller in the semis. "The Wolf" dominated most of the match despite a late challenge from Lee in the third game. “This has been a very tough week for me,” said Matthew, “having to play Declan yesterday and Joe today, it made me feel my age a little! I’m trying to hold off the next generation for as long as I can, but whether you’re going for you first or ninth title you still get nervous towards the end of games like that third.” The Yorkshireman has been regaining some great form lately after a few injuries and is aiming for the World Championship in Manchester at the end of the year as well as the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Therefore he'll certainly be hoping to get a 10th title next year!

In the women's draw, Laura Massaro is still quite a long way from Matthew's figures but nonetheless she won her third consecutive title last weekend, four in total. The Preston-born dropped the first game in her quarter and semifinal match (against Fiona Moverley and Emily Whitlock, respectively), but she was very dominant after that. In the final she was facing in form Sarah-Jane Perry, who just broke into the world top 10 for the first time. It was a repeat of the 2015 final, which Perry had won in five games. After a quick first game (11-5), Massaro got the better of two close final games. “It’s a special event to win,” said Massaro, “especially at home with all my friends and family here. I set out to play fast to try to take the nerves out of it, and I was really pleased to be able to finish those last two games. I know that Cassie Jackman has six titles, so that spurred me on to try to get a fourth today. I’ll be around for a while yet, so if I could get to emulate what Cassie did that would be a great achievement.”

Source: nationalssquash.com

Nick Matthew and Laura Massaro won their ninth and fourth National Championship last weekend in Manchester (Photo credit: nationalssquash.com)

A tour of Europe

The second weekend of February is traditionally the one where the national championship is held in quite a few countries around Europe. Here is a recap of what happened: in France, some major players were unavailable (Grégory Gaultier, Mathieu Castagnet, Camille Serme). Lucas Serme and Coline Aumard didn't miss the opportunity and clinched their first national title. Camille's brother produced a remarkable performance in the final to beat higher-ranked Grégoire Marche in 5 games and 85 minutes of play. After beating her main rival Laura Pomportes in the semis, Aumard dispatched 19-year old Julie Rossignol in 3 games in the final. --- In Spain, despite the rise of the young generation Borja Golan is still the boss. He won his fifteenth title last Sunday in Madrid, after a solid performance in the final against Iker Pajares. 18-year old Cristina Gomez – who had some great results in the World Team Championship in Paris - put an end to Xisela Aranda's winning streak and was crowned Spanish champion for the first time. --- In Netherlands, Piedro Schweertman had to wait for his sixth final to put his name on the trophy. He beat Sebastiaan Weenink in the final. In the women's draw, it's also a first for Tessa ter Sluis, who caused a big upset beating much higher-ranked Milou van der Heijden. --- In Ireland, it was the fifth title for Arthur Gaskin but the first one for 18-year old Hannah Craig. --- 37-year old Olli Tuominen won his seventeenth national championship in Finland! Emilia Soini won her second title in a row. --- In Belgium, Nele Gilis beat her younger sister Tinne and is Belgian champion for the fourth consecutive time. But in the men's draw Joeri Hapers caused an upset, beating 2016 winner Jan van Den Herrewegen in 5 games.

A few European countries were holding their National Championship last weekend (Photo credit: www.ffsquash.com, yle.fi, Twitter Borja Golan, Twitter Cristina Gomez, Facebook Joeri Hapers, Twitter Piedro Schweertman, Twitter Tessa ter Sluis)