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[ TICKETS ] [ News Page ] [ STREAMING from Broadgate ] [ Matthew Ready ] [ Back at Broadgate ] [ Day ONE ] [ Day TWO ] [ QUALIFYING ] [ SEMI-FINALS ] [ THE FINAL ]
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08-May-04:
MATTHEW READY TO
CREATE
MAYHEM AT BROADGATE
Tom Maidment meets up with Nick Matthew...
World-class squash returns to the city of London on Monday as eight of the
world’s top 12 ranked players battle it out for the right to be crowned
the 2004 Brit Insurance Super Series Finals champion at Broadgate Arena
from 10th – 14th May.
One of the most prestigious tournaments in world squash, the event is
contested by the top eight point scorers from the annual PSA Super Series
Tour - including The Tournament of Champions in New York, The PSA Masters
in Qatar and The World Open in Lahore.
This year’s Finals feature an exciting blend of experience and promising
young talent. Of the eight players on show at Broadgate Arena, four have
occupied the world no. 1 spot within the last 3 years – three of them
since January 2004 – whilst three other players make their Super Series
Finals debut.
Nick Matthew, England's fastest rising star, is one of the three
newcomers and will be hoping to make a big impact in his first Super
Series Finals appearance. Ranked no.24 in the PSA world rankings this time
last year, the Sheffield-based 23-year-old has exploded into the senior
ranks in the past 12 months and now occupies a career-high ranking of 9.
“At the beginning of 2003 I’d never have expected to qualify for the Brit
Insurance Super Series Finals. It wasn’t even one of my goals,” he said.
“I lost in the opening round of the first three Super Series Tour events
of 2003 but then reached the semis at Qatar and the quarters at the World
Open and my ranking shot up from around 20th place to the top 8.
“It was totally out of the blue but it’s great to have qualified and I’m
really proud to be amongst the elite top eight at Broadgate. It just shows
how much my game has improved over the past year and this is a great
opportunity for me.”
Matthew faces a tough draw in the Harrow group where he will play three of
the sport’s biggest names on consecutive evenings. He launches his title
challenge against current world no.1 Peter Nicol on Monday before taking
on Canada’s defending champion, Jonathon Power - a replacement for the
injured Anthony Ricketts - on day two. His final round-robin group match
on Wednesday evening sees him take on Scottish world no. 2, John White.
“I was originally drawn alongside Anthony Ricketts so it was always going
to be tough, but Jonathon Power is a great replacement and won’t make it
any easier for me,” said Matthew. “It would be an upset if I were to get
through my group, but if I can win my first or second match I’ll have a
pretty good chance and who knows what might happen. It’s a brand new
scoring system so no one really knows what to expect.”
In October last year Matthew earned himself a Senior England debut at the
World Team Championships in Austria where England secured bronze. He
represented his country again last week as England powered to an
impressive victory at the Men’s European Team Championships in Rennes.
Matthew remained unbeaten throughout both events.
“I don’t think there’s much danger of anyone underestimating me. It would
be nice if they did - and I might have got away with it 6 months ago - but
I don’t think so now.
“Recent results on the tour have shown that anyone from the top 16 can
progress to the semis. There aren’t just one or two players capable of
winning tournaments these days there are several, so anything can happen.”
The 2004 Brit Insurance Super Series Finals – which take place in a
specially constructed all-glass court at London’s Broadgate Arena - get
underway at 5pm on Monday evening.
This year marks the second year of title sponsorship by UK General
Insurer, Brit Insurance. British Land, owners of the
Broadgate Arena, are Presenting Sponsors for the sixth successive year.
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Nick Matthew
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