James Willstrop beats Nick Matthew to end 10-year losing streak
January 01 2017
James Willstrop defeated Nick Matthew 11-6 7-11 5-11 11-7 11-4 in the second round of the 2017 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York to end a 10-year, 19-match losing streak against his perennial English rival.
The pair met for the 34th time last month in the final of the AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix when Nick Matthew scored an impressive straight-games victory to win the title for a fourth time. However, under the chandeliers of Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, James Willstrop turned recent history on its head, producing a free-flowing attacking performance that saw him pull out every tantalising trick in his repertoire & recover from going 1-2 down in games to complete the victory, his first over Nick Matthew since the 2007 English Open Final.
"It's taken me a long time to notch that win against him, so I'm pleased," said James Willstrop, the 33-year-old Englishman.
"Last month I didn't play well against him & I was more disappointed with the performance than the result.
"I think the squash today was as good as it has ever been between us & we both played some very accurate stuff. I know what I'm capable of & I've been trying to work out the way to break him down for a long time. Today I did just enough to come through.
"The best thing is I get to play here once again because I love being here at this event. To be out there & performing well in a good game of squash, it's just brilliant."
2017 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions Men's Second Round:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 (44m)
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 3-1: 4-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7 (59m)
Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [7] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-1 (34m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Fares Dessouky (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 (81m)
James Willstrop (ENG) bt [4] Nick Matthew (ENG) 3-2: 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-4 (73m)
[Q] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [6] Ali Farag (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7 (60m)
[8] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [Q] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (41m)
[2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 3-2: 8-11, 11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 (82m)
UNSQUASHABLE is committed to developing equipment to be used by the world’s leading players because we believe that engineering equipment for professional competition makes for a better product for the everyday player.
James Willstrop uses our UNSQUASHABLE JAMES WILLSTROP AUTOGRAPH racket which is available exclusively from www.unsquashable.com
For more information regarding the 2017 J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions, visit: at www.tocsquash.com, www.psaworldtour.com & www.squashsite.com
The pair met for the 34th time last month in the final of the AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix when Nick Matthew scored an impressive straight-games victory to win the title for a fourth time. However, under the chandeliers of Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, James Willstrop turned recent history on its head, producing a free-flowing attacking performance that saw him pull out every tantalising trick in his repertoire & recover from going 1-2 down in games to complete the victory, his first over Nick Matthew since the 2007 English Open Final.
"It's taken me a long time to notch that win against him, so I'm pleased," said James Willstrop, the 33-year-old Englishman.
"Last month I didn't play well against him & I was more disappointed with the performance than the result.
"I think the squash today was as good as it has ever been between us & we both played some very accurate stuff. I know what I'm capable of & I've been trying to work out the way to break him down for a long time. Today I did just enough to come through.
"The best thing is I get to play here once again because I love being here at this event. To be out there & performing well in a good game of squash, it's just brilliant."
2017 J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions Men's Second Round:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 (44m)
[5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 3-1: 4-11, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7 (59m)
Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [7] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-1 (34m)
[3] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Fares Dessouky (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 (81m)
James Willstrop (ENG) bt [4] Nick Matthew (ENG) 3-2: 11-6, 7-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-4 (73m)
[Q] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [6] Ali Farag (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7 (60m)
[8] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [Q] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (41m)
[2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 3-2: 8-11, 11-4, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 (82m)
UNSQUASHABLE is committed to developing equipment to be used by the world’s leading players because we believe that engineering equipment for professional competition makes for a better product for the everyday player.
James Willstrop uses our UNSQUASHABLE JAMES WILLSTROP AUTOGRAPH racket which is available exclusively from www.unsquashable.com
For more information regarding the 2017 J.P Morgan Tournament of Champions, visit: at www.tocsquash.com, www.psaworldtour.com & www.squashsite.com