It will be a "hungry opponent" that England's top seed Nick Matthew will face in tomorrow's (Wednesday) opening round of the ROWE British Grand Prix as the 30-year-old from Sheffield bids to reclaim his world number one ranking in the biggest international squash event in Europe this year at the National Squash Centre in Manchester from 15-20 September.
A high quality field, boasting six world number ones and seven players from the current world top 10, will be in action in the $92,500 ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2010, one of ten Professional Squash Association Super Series events in 2010, and the only PSA Super Series event to be staged in the UK this year.
Matthew became England's first world number one for six years in June – then lost his crown this month to Egyptian rival Ramy Ashour, the second seed who he is due to face in Monday's final on the spectacular all-glass showcourt at the Sportcity venue.
The Yorkshireman's first hurdle will be Guernsey-born Chris Simpson, the Harrogate-based 23-year-old world No52 who became one of four Britons to qualify for the championship in Wolverhampton on Monday.
"It's a repeat of last year's first round," said Matthew via Twitter when he heard the draw. "It should be a very tough match - Chris is hungry and playing well."
Matthew is also campaigning to become the squash player with the most followers on Twitter, and will be posting regular updates during the tournament on www.twitter.com/nickmatthew
En-route to his scheduled final clash with Ashour, Matthew is expected to face fellow Yorkshireman James Willstrop, the fifth seed from Leeds, in Saturday's quarter-finals.
The England team-mates enjoy one of the country’s biggest all-time rivalries. The pair contested the British Open final on the Sportcity court last year – 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.
Willstrop also lines up against a qualifier in the first round on Wednesday. The 27-year-old former world No2 meets Max Lee, the 22-year-old world No66 from Hong Kong.
Wednesday (15 September) 1st round schedule:
12noon: [10] Alister Walker (ENG) v [Q] Ivan Yuen (MAS)
1pm: [7] Daryl Selby (ENG) v [Q] Robbie Temple (ENG)
2pm: [9] Adrian Grant (ENG) v Jens Schoor (GER)
3pm: [4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Martin Knight (NZL)
5pm: [11] Stewart Boswell (AUS) v [Q] Kashif Shuja (NZL)
6pm: [5] James Willstrop (ENG) v [Q] Max Lee (HKG)
7pm: [14] Saurav Ghosal (IND) v Chris Ryder (ENG)
8pm: [1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [Q] Chris Simpson (ENG)
Thursday 16 September 1st round schedule:
12noon: [12] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) v [Q] Amr Swelim (ITA)
1pm: [8] David Palmer (AUS) v Julian Illingworth (USA)
2pm: [13] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) v Rafael F Alarcon (BRA)
3pm: [3] Amr Shabana (EGY) v Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
5pm: [15] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) v Campbell Grayson (NZL)
6pm: [6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) v Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY)
7pm: [16] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) v [Q] Alan Clyne (SCO)
8pm: [2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [Q] Laurence Delasaux (ENG)