What's been happening in the world of squash (27th of February to 26th of March)

British Open: Double jackpot for Gaultier

It is becoming hard to find the words to describe Grégory Gaultier's results. At 34-year old, the “French General” has never had such a successful beginning of the (calendar) year in his long career: runner-up in the Tournament of Champions, then victorious in the Swedish Open, the Windy City Open and on Sunday the British Open, hence the third time he won the so-called Wimbledon of squash. Here is a stat that says a lot about his current form. It's the first time in 17 years on the PSA World Tour that Gaultier has won three tournaments (and two World Series) in a row. Consequently, this winning streak will take him back to world number 1 - a spot he had already occupied in 2014 and briefly in 2015 after his only World Champion title - therefore ending the two-year reign of Mohamed El Shorbagy. He will also become the older number 1 in history, dethroning Australian Geoff Hunt and Sarah Fitz-Gerald (men and women included).

2017 British Open winners Grégory Gaultier and Laura Massaro with event's main sponsor Dr Allam (Photo credit: Steve Cubbins)

In the final, Gaultier had the better of his long-term rival Nick Matthew (it was their 49th encounter), preventing the first English double since 1939. After two very close first games, the Frenchman prevailed physically while his opponent was feeling the effects of a tough week. “There is only one winner but Nick also deserved to get his name on the trophy alongside mine, said a very gracious Gaultier in a speech during which he barely said a word about his own performance. He had a much tougher route to the final than mine, and he's played some amazing matches both here and at the Canary Wharf. Age is just a number, it is hard work, discipline and determination that make all the difference.” But Gaultier deserves most of the credit for having spent much less time on court in Hull. In the two first rounds he ruthlessly dispatched the likes of Miguel Angel Rodriguez and Cameron Pilley, before facing a little more resistance from his compatriot Mathieu Castagnet and to benefit from Ramy Ashour's retirement after the first game in the semi-final. Besides Gaultier, the big winner of this year's event is England Squash, which had three players in the finals for the first time since 1953. After seeing off Egypt's Raneem El Welily and Nour El Sherbini (clawing back from 2 games down), Laura Massaro was the more solid player against fellow England teammate Sarah-Jane Perry, whose it was the first final in a major event. “It’s just unbelievable,” said Massaro. “When I won the British Open for the first time I was so happy, there was a little bit more pressure coming into today as I beat Nicol who was World No.1 for my first title. At the time there was absolutely no pressure on me. As much as you tell yourself there isn’t an awful amount of pressure on you, it’s a British Open final, it doesn’t matter who you are playing you want to win it. I definitely didn’t feel settled on there and that’s partly due to SJ and how well she’s been playing and what she does with the ball, but also just some nervous energy for the final. Just happy I managed to tough it out in the end and keep getting balls back and it paid off. It’s a little bit different because the first one was so special. I’m proud of myself for the week and for bouncing back because that's probably not been my best season, after winning the World Series Finals in Dubai and making the finals of the World Championships I don’t feel like I’ve done myself justice.” The three English finalists will be back on court on Tuesday night in Premier Squash League, and the Pontefract crowd will attend a rematch between Massaro and SJ Perry! 

Source: www.psaworldtour.com

Laura Massaro needed all her fighting spirit to see off Sarah-Jane Perry and win her second British Open (Photo credit: PSA World Tour)

There were no Egyptian in the finals and "only" three in the semis, which is a mini-event for the main squash powerhouse - boasting five men and four women in the top 10. No doubt that they will be eager to set the record straight in El Gouna at the beginning of April (from the 7th to the 14th): the famous beach resort will be hosting a men's World Series event and the Women's World Championship.

March in a nutshell

At 33 and 36 years old respectively, former world number 1s and world champions Nicol David and Nick Matthew are still major actors on the PSA World Tour. Before shining in the British Open, they had both won a major tournament at the beginning of the month. After pulling out of the Windy City Open, the Englishman was impressive in the Canary Wharf Classic, which he clinched for the 6th time. Although he didn't face any top 10 player, he was dominant throughout, dropping only one game in the final against Fares Dessouky. "For me it’s also just such a pleasure to play here – I truly missed this tournament last year. The Friday Night crowd at Canary Wharf is the best on Tour,” said Matthew, who donated all of his prize winnings to Sumner Malik, a promising 10-year-old squash player who has been diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma – a rare form of brain tumour. In the meantime, la Cuidad de Floridablanca in Colombia was hosting the biggest women's tournament ever in South America ($70,000). Malaysian star Nicol David ended a fifteenth month dry spell - her longest one since 2005 - and won the 81th PSA event of her career. “It feels great to win a tournament again,” admitted David after beating USA Olivia Blatchford in the final. “It’s been quite a while and I think this is really special to have my first title here in Floridablanca. It’s going to have a special place in my heart. Thank you so much to the people in Floridablanca for hosting us here at the El Santisimo, it’s been such a special week for all of us girls here.” Blatchford had gone through the final in dramatic circumstances, after her teammate Amanda Sobhy tore her Achilles tendon while she was 2 games and 10-5 up. The world number 6 has already stated that she will come back stronger, and is targetting the next World Championship in December in Manchester for her return.

Nicol David and Nick Matthew are living legends of the game but still among the best players in the world (Photo credit: PSA World Tour)