The world's top two squash players Nick Matthew and Ramy Ashour are seeded to meet in the final of the ROWE British Grand Prix, to be staged at the National Squash Centre in Manchester from 15-20 September.
But, according to the draw issued today (Wednesday) by event promoters internationalSPORTgroup and the Professional Squash Association, the standout match in the biggest international championship to be staged in Europe this year is likely to be the predicted quarter-final clash between career-long English rivals Nick Matthew and James Willstrop.
The $92,500 ROWE British Grand Prix - Manchester 2010 is the sixth of ten PSA Super Series events in 2010, and the only PSA Super Series event to be staged in the UK this year.
Nick Matthew, who became England's first world number one for six years in June, leads a star-studded field which boasts eight players from the current world's top 10 and five former world number ones.
Matthew, twice a British Open champion, is enjoying the best form of his career - and on Sunday beat Egyptian rival Ramy Ashour, ranked two in the world, in straight games in the final of the Australian Open to clinch his fifth PSA World Tour title in a row - becoming the first player to achieve this feat for more than five years!
The 30-year-old top seed from Sheffield in Yorkshire is scheduled to face second seed Ashour in the final on the spectacular all-glass court in Sportcity on Monday (20 September) - but the knowledgeable Manchester crowd will no doubt be attracted by the quarter-final prospect of Matthew taking on fellow Yorkshireman James Willstrop, the fifth seed.
The England team-mates enjoy one of the country's biggest rivalries of all-time. The pair contested the 2009 British Open final on the Sportcity court - which Matthew won in 122 dramatic minutes after saving a match ball! In February, back on the same court in the climax of the British National Championship, Matthew again prevailed to win his third title.
Matthew opens his 2010 British Grand Prix campaign against a qualifier and is likely to face India's rising star Saurav Ghosal, the No14 seed, in the second round before his mouth-watering last eight clash.
Willstrop, the 27-year-old world No6 from Leeds, also faces a qualifier in the opening round - with the prospect of a second round meeting with 11th seed Stewart Boswell, the former world No4 from Australia who is based in Manchester.
In the semi-finals, Matthew is expected to meet fourth seed Gregory Gaultier, the former world No1 from Aix-en-Provence who made his mark in squash history when he became the first French winner of the prestigious British Open title - on the same Sportcity glass court in September 2007.
An all-Egyptian semi-final is predicted in the other half of the draw where Ashour is drawn to face reigning and four-time World Open champion Amr Shabana. Third seed Shabana, who held the world number one ranking for 33 months until last year, is one of the sport's biggest attractions.
The 31-year-old left-hander from Cairo boasts 26 PSA World Tour titles - but has yet to win a trophy in England!
ROWE British Grand Prix 1st round draw:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v Qualifier
[14] Saurav Ghosal (IND) v Chris Ryder (ENG)
[5] James Willstrop (ENG) v Qualifier
[11] Stewart Boswell (AUS) v Qualifier
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Martin Knight (NZL)
[9] Adrian Grant (ENG) v Jens Schoor (GER)
[7] Daryl Selby (ENG) v Qualifier
[10] Alister Walker (ENG) v Qualifier
[12] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) v Qualifier
[8] David Palmer (AUS) v Julian Illingworth (USA)
[13] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) v Rafael F Alarcon (BRA)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
[15] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) v Campbell Grayson (NZL)
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY)
[16] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) v Qualifier
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v Qualifier
For further information, visit the ROWE British Grand Prix - Manchester 2010 Official Website www.britishsquashgrandprix.com