Sample 1
Sample 2

Both players were at the top of their game in one of the most closely contested matches this year. In a nutshell, it was made more of well constructed and patient rallies than it was of dead nics and outrageous winners that we’ve seen so much of these days coming from top Egyptian players.

On the bigger scheme of things, and through the last few decades, we’ve seen players favouring a more conservative style of a play hold the top of the ranking far longer than opponents who preferred a more daring approach. Testimony to this are the domination of legends of the past in their prime years such as Hashim over my old coach Egyptian master Mammoud el Karim, Hunt over Zaman, Jahangir over Dittmar & Rodney Martin, Jansher over Brett Martin & young Power & Nicol, and then Nicol over Barada & Power & White in the 2000-06 period.

Now with Ramy and Amr winning the bulk of events using a predominantly attacking style of play and raw talent, it may be too soon for squash coaches from around the world to adopt the style and make it the norm with their juniors since a few more decades may be needed to make that assessment, but one thing if for certain as you’ll witness in this colossal match Vs James and Gregory, the old way is far from dead & gone, please take note.

Sample 1
Sample 2

In this match these sparring partners went at one another with an arsenal of shots not yet listed in the shot-making coaching book. ‘Live by the sword die by the sword’ as the saying goes for one of the two players that made his mark pushing the limits of risk. One fraction of a second off normal reaction speed caused him to strike the ball off the racquet’s sweet spot and in unwanted directions time and again… He visibly summoned all he had of courage and endurance drawing on his will to get back in the match and survive…

Someone had pushed his body beyond reasonable limits in recent weeks and the overload may have caught up with him, one to learn from no doubt. That being said however, we must be careful not to take anything away from a worthy and most skilful opponent whose time may have come to jump levels. Never-the-less, this one will be for the record book.

Sample 1
Sample 2

Not too often will you get to see within the same match such drastic shift in momentum going from great to nightmarish. “It isn’t over till the fat lady sings” - well rarely has a saying been so ‘dead on’ accurate than in this match. Former # 1 in the world vs an aspiring champion whose natural talent is undisputed, as for his future… well he’s writing that chapter one event at the time as we speak.

If whatever goes on between the ears of 2 players during a one-on-one competition will generally dictates which one should win at equal skills, then watching this match should inspire us to also factor in the size their “heart” as well (call it ‘will to win’). This match is undisputable proof of this theory.

Sample 1
Sample 2

Best player ever to come out of the US Vs one of Egypt’s best. Barely graduating from Yale U, Julian is now taking the pro tour world by storm and shows tremendous promise beating players ranked double digit ranking points higher than him on the circuit. Hisham, himself one of his victims in recent time, took the court by storm to set the record straight…

From the way he struck balls behind his back and in the most daring, if not “surprising” attacks, it became clear to all spectators watching on that Hisham’s plan was to throw Julien off his game by sending balls in unexpected directions, and burying as many as he could in the nics along the way. Julien however didn’t bite or respond in kind, as many of us may have been tempted to in similar circumstances to impress the gallery & show off our own skills. But Julien had a different plan of his own that aimed to put off the fireworks that came off Hisham’s racket…

Julien’s calm and calculated reactions to his opponent’s actions were disarming in their simplicity… chopped volleys and straight drives hurt Hisham for a while… But he hadn’t said his last word... digging in deep in his bag of tricks he threw all he had at Julien who for the first time in the match barely had a chance to get off his heels. From that point on the Virginia crowd moved up a few inches to the edge of their seats to the match’s bitter conclusion, at least for one of the players.

Sample 1
Sample 2

Gregory desperately wants to get where Thierry has been at World # 1, so he knows all too well how important winning every match and every single ranking point is. The two Frenchmen train and play each other so often that know each other’s game inside out, they can anticipate what the other will do before he does it, so they both knew they’d have to keep balls tighter to the walls than ever or they’d pay the price.

Thierry isn’t quite over the hill and still moves around the court as well as he ever did ‘cat-like’ and primed to pounce at every opportunity. Gregory appeared slightly stiffer in his court movement but he makes up for it with impeccable mechanics, shot selection and ‘hold and pull’ deception strokes. As a result of the effort he exerted, black circles appeared under Gregory’s eyes as the match progressed, so until the tie-breaking limit game no one could anticipate whether or not he could pull it off… Wonderfully entertaining and some of the best and cleanest squash we had the privilege to film in NA this year.

Sample 1
Sample 2

We’ve come to know how fast Ramy is but what we couldn’t anticipate when the cameras began rolling was that he would meet his match on that end in this round. It appeared from the start that Julien would take things where he left off with his previous opponent by neutralizing attacks intelligently and with disarming poise. Furthermore and for the most part, he did so by raising his game to the level of that of the # 2 player in the world.

Throughout the match both players struck balls at crazy speeds that could only be counter-punched instinctively, indeed no human being can think that fast in a conscious (read analytical) state of mind. What a discovery this was for the American crowd present to learn that one of their own was able to compete at such level, one usually only achieved through years of dedicated training and tour competitions by the majority of players, to the exception of Ramy himself of course who’s a young man in a hurry.

Keeping in mind that just 2 years ago Julien was giving all he had to the books and curricular assignments so he could graduate from one of the most demanding University in the world, we can only command this young man for what he’s achieved so far. Can juniors watching find inspiration on the possibility that they too could achieve the highest levels in both sports and academics if they put their mind to it?

Countless game balls in different games were up for grab, one player had been in that situation before, but the other not… Not that anyone is looking for excuses but would it be a factor?