March 22nd : 26th, 2010 ISS Canary wharf Classic at East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf
This 5 star PSA tour event has delivered some spectacular squash in recent years and hopefully 2010 can continue this trend. Last year saw a great run for Spaniard Borja Golan, who defeated Thierry Lincou and ran James Willstrop very close. The semi-finals were however the highlight, and in particular a very heated but awesome 5 set battle between Gregory Gaultier and eventual tournament winner David Palmer.
Then there was 2007, and John White. The Scot’s retrievals and ability to come through games despite looking like he had nothing left astounded the crowd. His semi-final with Thierry Lincou and the final against James Willstrop featured some long, brutal rallies which had everyone in East Wintergarden in raptures.
ISS Canary Wharf Draw 2010
As the tournament is a 16 player draw, the matches promise to be of a great quality from the first round. According to the seedings the quarter finals are expected to beas follows:
Nick Matthew and James willstrop are seeded to meet in the semi-finals
Nick Matthew v Thierry Lincou
James Willstrop v Daryl Selby
Alister Walker v Peter Barker
David Palmer v Gregory Gaultier
Arguably all of these games are liable to go either way given the calibre of the draw. Gregory Gaultier appears to have the easier side of the draw, and despite his form being slightly below par, he would be expected to reach the final. There he is seeded to face Nick Mathew, but not before the Englishman would have had to once again overcome his Yorkshire rival James Willstrop. Could it be Willstrop’s time? The tall player from Pontefract has now suffered a string of defeats against Matthew, whose physical and intense style have provided Willstrop with problems. That said Willstrop has proved that he can beat the best on his run during the tournament of champions in january and despite a 3-0 scoreline, each game in their last match was tight.
Click here to see the 2010 draw for the Canary Wharf Classic.
