By Doug Woodburn
A good dying length takes as much skill as a triple fake, James Willstrop proclaimed as he talked Squash IQ for Squash Site through the 40 shots featured below.
Our ‘40 at 40’ video features some of ‘The Marksman’s’ best winners and mega-rallies from a more-than-20-year professional career that is still going strong today, on the eve of his 40th birthday (on 15 August 2023).
Holding court
Willstrop may be best known for his extravagant ‘windmills’ and luxurious long drops, but some of the subtle holds to length featured in the video are just as hard to execute, the Yorkshireman emphasised as he talked us through his memories of the 40 clips and reflected on how long he may continue playing professionally.
Willstrop has made the ‘triple fake’ his trademark shot, famously outfoxing Ramy Ashour with it in 2010 before inflicting the same treatment on Karim Abdel Gawad in 2018 (see clip 40).
“A lot of things came together in that rally,” Willstrop said of the Gawad exchange that floored commentators Joey Barrington and Nicky Muller.
“It was a fantastic rally for a start. I think the rally enhances the final shot. Then the commentary gave it a lot of sparkle as well, as Joey often does. And then the crowd, the lights, the venue…”
“Certainly there are other shots in there that are just as good but don’t really get played [on YouTube and social media],” the former world number one continued.
“There are many dying length shots I’ve hit in my career that are less exciting to people but just as skilful from the point of view of a squash player. It’s a squash player’s shot. A squash aficionado will notice it, but it’s the exhibition stuff that people outside the game really relate to.”
Willstrop also picked out clip 38, where he stuns Ashour (pictured above) with a reaction volley, as another that stood out.
“I really remember that Ramy match in Chicago,” he recalled
“It was one of our best matches but it went under the radar. I felt the quality that day was the best we ever did. Although it’s the two fakes that have got all the attention, that reaction shot is definitely comparable.”
When it comes to his most memorable matches, Willstrop also highlighted his 2018 Commonwealth Games gold victory against Paul Coll, as well as the 2011 Gregory Gaultier encounter that propelled him to world number one.
“That’s what the game is about. It’s a tremendous test of endurance, skill and agility and it has that ability to reduce us to a crumpled mess. No matter how good we get at it, the game of squash will find us out at some point, which is why it’s so exciting for us all.”
It featured a 57-minute first game, which Willstrop lost before going on to win the match in four.
“The match itself petered out a bit and he got cramp,” Willstrop said.
“But it sticks out because I would have taken the number one spot if I won. I would have run through a brick wall – and done anything that day – to win, hence why I lost the first game in 57 minutes and still came out rampaging in the second.”
Matthew match-up
But Willstrop’s marathon 2010 Canary Wharf encounter with arch-rival Nick Matthew (see below) will arguably go down as his most epic battle to date, even if he was forced to retire with cramp in the fifth.
“It was two competitors at the peak of our time. We were about as good as we got at that point. The rivalry was very intense and the contrast between the two of us was very strong,” he recalled of the 127-minute battle.
“Everything came together and we produced [a level of squash] to the point I couldn’t walk.
“That’s what the game is about. It’s a tremendous test of endurance, skill and agility and it has that ability to reduce us to a crumpled mess. No matter how good we get at it, the game of squash will find us out at some point, which is why it’s so exciting for us all.”
Despite not being one to go large on his birthdays, Willstrop was glad of the opportunity to watch a show reel of some of his finest shots and rallies.
“At the end of it all it feels like those moments are almost the highlights, in a funny way,” he said
“Obviously it’s nice to win titles and be world number one, but those moments where the crowd are left breathless or you get a massive round of applause – where you know you’ve affected people in the way you’ve done something artistically or in a sporting sense – that’s one of the great things we can do.”
In part two of this interview, Willstrop addresses how he is balancing squash with his other interests, and how he feels about the prospect of continuing to play professional beyond his 40th. Look out for it on SquashSite tomorrow.
