British Nationals 2007

Willstrop fulfils childhood dream

James Willstrop in a convincing and entertaining high speed encounter overcame John White 11-10 (2-0), 11-7, 11-5 to win his first National title in Manchester.

The first game was crucial with White just a little more error prone that he was in his distruction of Grant in the semi-finals. There were fantastic rallies, with at times both players in front of the short line intercepting and firing the ball into the front court nicks in fast reaction play, with breathtaking retrieving, but White was finding the tin too frequently.

Although White blasted the ball around he never found a consistent length of take his 6 foot 5 inch opponent out of the centre of the court. Willstrop was all invention, and intercepted readily reading White well and as his opponent shots loosened he was able to counter with fine attack and touch.

The crowd loved it. After the second it was going to be very hard for White to get back and even when he put Willstrop under the most extreme of pressure the Pontefract player kept retrieving and sending the ball back with interest.

At the end Willstrop stayed on court in what was obviously a deeply emotional moment.

“I have been coming here for many years watching Simon (Parke), John (White) and Lee (Beachill),” he said. I have taken so much inspiration form this event and I am proud to have won it.”

“It’s good to win again. I have had a hard time since playing well at the end of 2005 – nothing much has happened since then – and hopefully I am back in winning ways.”

Duncalf National Champion

In the best National women's final ever Jenny Duncalf playing the best squash of her life came back from two games down to snatch the National title from Alison Water's grasp.

Waters in purposeful play applied the pressure from early on, dominating on the volley and in excellent all court play from both players took the initiative to go two games up. The second game alone was a contest of 23 hands with Waters playing half volleys and scything the ball out of the air, surging through from 5-6 to take the game in one final hand.

Duncalf, all credit to her, kept at it, chased everything down and came onto her game as Waters tired marginally.

Rampant White to face Willstrop

The National final will be fought out between a fresh Yorkshireman James Willstrop and a rampant Aussie, turned Scot, residing in America, John White. Avoiding a showdown with his stablemate and nemisis Lee Beachill, out to injury, will mean Willstrop is fresh but he may wish to have benfited from top line world ranking threat to bring his game to a peak.

John White however has played himself into top from here. He saw off Adrian Grant impressively in front of a crowd mutted by the embarrassing ease with which he proceeded to dismantle his opponent at high pace.

“I had a game plan and I was able to stick to it,” said White afterwards. The plan was evidently clear in White’s mind but to the observor it resembled crashing the ball around the court at a speed that no other player approaches and it was obvious that his opponent the world no.14 could not handle. White won 11-3, 11-4 and fell a little adrift in the third at 7-6 but it was only a temporary aboration and he completed the lesson 11-8 in 37 minutes.

White for good measure was able to sprinkle unplayable corkscrews, nicks and three-wall boasts in with a relentless barrage of pressue drives and kills that had Grant constantly twisting and turned and gave him little time on the ball to establish control. He was forced totally into responsive mode and understandable though it was did not come up with an consistant game plan to get his opponent out of the dominating middle of the court.

It may be that White will try the same approach against the impressive intercepting powers and front court invention of Willstrop in the final.

“I want to keep the ball down and play at a fast pace,” White said of his plans.

Will he use the same tactics for the final?
“I’ll try,” he said non-committally.

Duncalf versus Waters

The women’s final will be between Jenny Duncalf and Alison Waters.

Duncalf beat the Irish champion Madeline Perry coming back from 2/1 down to win in five. Perry contolled the rallies for much of the match and when 2/1 up look the more likely winner but she tired inexplicably at 4-all in the fourth and although Duncalf struggled to finish the match – serving seven times at 7-3 she won it 9-3 and was moving beautifully, controlled in her driving and positive in her shot making at the end.

Waters, to found it hard to finish against Jane Lengthorn and should have had the first leading 8-6 but was disrupted by two severe strokes to lose it 10-8. Lengthorn has improved and was excellent in her length driving and strong striding to the front, offer a variety of attack and pressure on the volley. It all fell apart however as she lapsed into loosish play, crosscourting frequently and this was mania from heaven for Waters who is one of the best volleyers in the game. The second and third games disappeared 9-2, 9-4 rather quickly but in the fourth she got her length for an impressive spell to recover form 0-2 to 6-2 in a hand before Waters volleying again gained the assendency.

Waters was in fine form at the end. We are in for two grand finals.

Beachill Out

Pain in Neck

Lee Beachill, the three-times British National Squash Championship champion from Yorkshire who was one match away from reaching a record seventh successive men's final, has been forced to pull out of today's (Saturday) semi-finals at the National Squash Centre in Manchester due to a neck injury sustained in practice on Friday.

The 29-year-old former world number one from Pontefract was due to face his club and England team-mate James Willstrop, the top seed to whom he has never lost, for a place in Sunday's final.

Five minutes into a knock up at the National Squash Centre with Manchester's Nick Taylor, a former England international and runner-up in the event, Beachill heard his neck "click" - and within five minutes couldn't turn his head round.

"I haven't got a clicky neck - so I knew something was a bit weird," said a disconsolate Beachill at a press conference, held shortly after he returned to the venue to express his disappointment to the packed crowd waiting to see one of the most eagerly-anticipated clashes in British squash.

"I've never had a problem with my neck before - so this was a real shock. It seems that I've trapped a nerve in the side of my neck, and it's now in spasm.

"I had physio treatment immediately after the incident yesterday, and again all morning today. I even tried acupuncture as a last-ditch effort. But I can't turn my head round at all, so playing would be impossible.

"If I could have gone on, I would have done. I know this is a match everyone wanted to see - especially being in England - as well as it being a match we both wanted to play," added Beachill.

The audience were not totally disappointed: Willstrop played a best-of-three match against club-mate Saurav Ghosal, the Indian national champion and world No46 who is a student at Leeds University.

"It's the worst thing that can happen to a professional squash player - and there's nothing you can do about it," said Willstrop, when asked to express his feelings about Beachill's situation.

The 23-year-old world No9 will now face either John White, the No2 seed from Scotland, or Adrian Grant, the fourth seed from England, in Sunday's final at 5.00pm.

Reports

Quarter-finals:
Waters survives
Lloyd-Walters comeback

Alison Waters came through a tough match against her Middlesex colleague Dominique Lloyd-Walter that was in the balance until the fifth and the test may be useful for her. She won 9-7, 9-4, 3-9, 7-9, 9-0.

Lloyd-Walter lead 7-2 in the first structuring straight rallies, nicely varied in pace, to control the game but let it slip when Waters upped the pace slightly to surge back and take the game 9-7. Perhaps Lloyd-Walter will be disappointed in hindsight for she was knocked out of her pattern just a bit too easily and that game was crucial. Two down she came back well, used superb lobs against a great volleyer, survived a few cruel decisions that put her behind in the fourth, and turned the crowd in her favour as she came back from 4-7 to level the games 9-7.

“I knew then I had to get in front, up the pace and dictate it a bit more,” said Waters. That she did. Lloyd-Walter will be disappointed to go scoreless in the fifth but the 70 minutes match was a fair effort.

“Brain and lungs tested,” said Waters. She will need both if she is to go through. “There are five of us who can win the title now,” she added.

Adrian Grant won a disjointed battle against Simon Parke but could not relax as his opponent kept scrambling and improvising shots.

“I had to up the pace after losing the first,” said the Halifax based Grant. “It’s always difficult, when you up it he just steps up a gear and he plays his best squash when he is down.”

Vicky Botwright, the second seed joined top seed Tania Bailey on the sidelines at the National Championships as she fell to a committed effort from the Chorley based fellow Lancastrian Laura Lengthorn, 9-4, 9-5, 9-5. It was standard fair for Botwright who has never got past the quarter-finals in her home city.

“I have been working on my short game,” said Lengthorn.She was able to use that and Botwright gave her ample opportunity.

Lengthorn scored her ever first win over her opponent in the Wolverhampton tournament at the end of 2006 and despite a loss this year in the USA, she credited that with her increased self-belief.

Lengthorn worked both the front and back corners well and was able to cut out a number crosscourts from her opponent with winning volley drops. She goes through to face Waters.

John White played superb exhibition squash to overwhelm Peter Barker in the quarter-finals 11-10 (2-0), 11-6, 6-11 11-3 and then declare he would like another British National title.

The 2004 champion said, I don't have that many titles left in me, I'd like to get another British one before I hang up my rackets.

It was a very bouncy ball and I tried to do too much with it early on, said White. He (Barker) is a danger if you are not on the top of your game.

A lapse into mixed mid-court play saw White drop the third but by the fourth game he was on song with stinging kills, unplayable three wall boasts and fine touch on a top spin forehand drop finished off the fourth to end Barker's embarrassment.

White, is the hardest hitter in the game with the ball regularly flattening and rising up off the front wall due to the power with which it is struck. And when White finds his range his crosscourts sing past an opponent too fast for an intercept and die in the back corners. One superb White corkscrew lob rebounded parallel to and inches off the back wall for which Barker asked for and received a let while White explained to the referee that it was impossible for his oppoent to straight it, that there was no interference and a let was certainly not the right decision. Poor referee.

Frequently in the back White would perform a dance to end up in an open stance, lean his body for the straight shot and then swing across his body unemcumbered to smash the ball low and crosscourt. It must have been a nighmare for Barker to read. One superb crosscourt kill from deep on the forehand slammed into the front left nick and rolled.

In the end White was on song and the no.2 seed looked capable of another title but who knows - certainly not White. Anything can happen.

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Duncalf Dumps Champion Bailey ....

Yorkshire's Jenny Duncalf caused the biggest upset in the British National Squash Championships so far when she beat defending champion and England team-mate Tania Bailey in tonight's (Thursday) women's quarter-finals at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

In one of her best results since the middle of last year, the 24-year-old from Harrogate fought back from a game down to defeat England No1 Bailey 2-9, 9-3, 9-5, 9-3 in 63 minutes.

"I had an absolute shocker of a time in the last half of last year," admitted Duncalf, who failed to achieve her seeding in a series of WISPA tournaments, causing her world ranking to drop from 6 to 12.

"I trained really hard over Christmas, to get a decent level of fitness - and when your ranking is down there's not so much pressure.

"But I really had to concentrate on being steady against Tania - she's a great player and you have to play well to beat her. I had nothing to lose," added the sixth seed.

A forlorn Bailey, who won the title for the first time last year, admitted she could have played better: "Jenny played better than me on the day - and you can only play as well as your opponent lets you."

Duncalf will meet third seed Madeline Perry in Saturday's semi-finals following the eight-times Irish champion's 9-6, 9-4, 9-0 victory in 39 minutes over England's No8 seed Laura Hill.

Perry, the world No8 from Banbridge near Belfast, is making her first appearance in the event for four years. "It's exciting playing in the Nationals again after spending the past few years focused on my international career in a bid to get a world top ten ranking.

"Even though I'd never played her before, I knew Laura would be tough."

When asked if she felt she could win the title, Perry replied: "I've got a good chance - I think it's pretty much open between a few players. I'm certainly up for it.

"After the World Open a few months ago in Belfast, where all the attention was on me, it's nice to be here almost unnoticed."

Hill, a full-time fire-fighter from Derbyshire, was seeded in the event for the first time: "It's taken me five years to get where I am, playing through the qualifiers, then getting beaten by seeds in the first round. It's nice to be able to give the full-time players a hard time - but it's a shame I can't beat them!

"I was really looking forward to playing Madeline, but it would have helped if I'd given her a better game."

The two men's last eight matches produced the dream semi-final (on Saturday) between top seed James Willstrop and his England and Pontefract club team-mate Lee Beachill, the three-times champion.

Former world number one Beachill is one match away from reaching a record seventh successive final after beating Welshman Alex Gough. The third seed was fully extended by 36-year-old Gough, the British Open Over-35 champion, for the first two games.

But in the third, Gough was clearly suffering the effects of an injury - later revealed as a pulled hamstring - and shook hands with Beachill midway through the game with the score standing at 11-3, 11-10 (2-0), 7-0.

"I knew he'd had a hard ride leading up to tonight's match," Beachill told the crowd afterwards. "After reaching the Swedish Open finals on Sunday, he came straight into a tough game here against local hero Nick Taylor and in the last round faced Alister Walker, probably the toughest opponent in the 9/16 seeding group.

"But he moved so well for somebody who's nearly 40 - all credit to him," joked the three-times champion!

Beachill, who won his first Nationals title in Manchester in 2001 - as the 13th seed - acknowledged the career breakthrough that the victory provided: "Wherever you have your first win, you tend to go back there and do well.

"This is a big event nowadays, and when I think of the quality of players who compete in it, it makes me realise that my success here is one of my greatest achievements."

Willstrop took just 28 minutes to overcome Sussex opponent Tim Vail 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 in the last match of the day. Vail pulled off one of the major upsets of the second round when he defeated seventh seed Jonathan Kemp to become the first unseeded player to reach the quarter-finals for eight years.

"Tim played really well - he's very skilful and I had to be really focused," said the 23-year-old from Pontefract who was runner-up two years ago.

Willstrop's clash with Beachill will be the pair's fifth Nationals' meeting in the past seven years. The event favourite has yet to record a first victory over his long-time friend and rival.

"I've had the hard end of it for a long time now," said Willstrop after tonight's win. "I'll just have to give it my best shot - I'm sure it'll be bloody tough!"

Round 2:
Kemp Crashes As Vail Advances In Manchester
Tim Vail became the first unseeded player to reach the men's quarter-finals of the British National Squash Championships for eight years when he upset fellow Englishman Jonathan Kemp, the No7 seed, in today's (Wednesday) second round at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

After dropping the opening game, the 29-year-old from Lee-on-Solent beat his Shropshire opponent 8-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 in 39 minutes to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in eight appearances in the event.

"I thought before the match that if I played well, I could win it," said the England No16 who gave up the international circuit in 2002 to concentrate on coaching. "I'm chuffed to bits.

"My current form is down to the training sessions I've been having with Stacey Ross and Ian Robinson over the past eighteen months or so. My main aim now is to get into the England top ten."

Kemp came into the match having not played at all for the past two weeks as the result of a back ailment: "I knew what to expect against him - but he played really well. I didn't think I played badly, under the circumstances - but I couldn't miss the Nationals!"

Vail will meet favourite James Willstrop in the quarter-finals on Thursday, when the action at the National Squash Centre moves onto the all-glass show court. The Yorkshireman, playing on a conventional plaster court, "trundled" to an 11-9, 7-11, 11-3, 11-4 victory over Gloucestershire's 16th seed Alex Stait.

"It's important to realise that these courts don't suit the way I play - they're a real leveller - so when you encounter players like Alex, you have to treat them with a lot of respect," explained Willstrop, the 23-year-old world No9 from Pontefract.

"Unlike on the all-glass court, which we're so much more used to playing on, it's really hard to do anything with the ball. It makes you feel quite ordinary - you just have to trundle your way through matches!"

Willstrop's England and Pontefract club team-mate Lee Beachill cruised through his second round encounter, beating Oxfordshire's 12th seed Scott Handley 11-8, 11-6, 11-4.

"It's good to get off three-nil. I didn't feel amazing, but I'm hitting the ball well enough, which is good," said the three-times champion who is bidding to reach the final for a record seventh successive year.

"I'm just looking forward to getting back on the glass court now," added the third seed.

Welshman Alex Gough, the sixth seed, survived his second marathon battle in 24 hours when he overcame Gloucestershire's No9 seed Alister Walker 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4 in 78 minutes.

"I'm feeling much better than I did yesterday, following a good rest after the match," said the 36-year-old British Open Over-35 champion who reached last week's Swedish Open final against the seedings.

"I thought my win over Karim Darwish (the world No8) in last week's semi-finals in Sweden was one of the best performances of my life - and he was playing well - and this is the continuation of that," said Gough when asked to describe the way he felt he was playing currently.

"I'm hitting the ball well - so, as long as the body holds out, I should be fine. But it'll all be very different on the glass court."

Walker was disappointed at the outcome: "I gave myself a great chance before the match - and should have made more of it at 7-7 and 8-8 in both the first two games. But Alex knows how to play those points so well. There's a lot to learn mentally from a match like that," said the 24-year-old from Leeds.

Former champion Simon Parke was another 'marathon man' in action for the second day in row: The 34-year-old No8 seed from Yorkshire took 98 minutes to get the better of Essex's tenth seed Daryl Selby 11-7, 11-10 (5-3), 10-11 (0-2), 11-8.

"He's a phenomenal player, I've got so much respect for him," said Selby of his opponent, the 1998 champion, afterwards. "I can't remember winning any easy points - I was battling for my life all the time. I've never beaten him before, but I felt I played well. What an experience!"

Parke will now face higher-seeded Adrian Grant, the Yorkshire-based Londoner who beat Berkshire's unseeded Stephen Meads 11-10 (4-2), 11-3, 11-6. The match lasted 77 minutes, but 26 of those were off court while Grant was receiving treatment for a cut knuckle on his racket hand - sustained when he scraped his hand across the floor while reaching for a shot.

Favourite Tania Bailey coasted to a 9-0, 9-4, 9-2 win in 31 minutes over Manchester's Rebecca Botwright in the first round of the women's event. "I've played Becky probably three times in the past year - and this is definitely the best she's played," said Bailey.

"I feel great, I feel sharp - in fact it's the best I've felt going into a tournament for ages," explained the defending champion from Lincolnshire.

"Last year I wasn't expected to do well, so this year I guess there is a bit more pressure."

Tania and her England team-mates recorded an appearance on the BBC TV show 'Eggheads' last week. "I was more nervous doing that than I've ever been in all my life!"

Irish champion Madeline Perry made a welcome return to the event after a four-year gap to record her first ever win in the championship by beating Merseyside's Georgina Stoker 9-1, 9-0, 9-1 in 29 minutes.

"I wanted to play well here and get off to a good start," said the third seed from Banbridge, near Belfast, who celebrated her 30th birthday this week.

"In previous years I was concentrating on getting into the world top ten, but now that I've achieved that I want to try and win this - it's a title I really fancy!"

Manchester fans had to wait until the final match of the day to see local star Vicky Botwright claim her anticipated place in the quarter-finals with a 9-6, 9-3, 9-2 victory over Warwickshire qualifier Vicky Hynes.

"I didn't play super well, but I'm pleased to get through without dropping a game," said the second seed who has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals in nine appearances since 1997.

Hynes, who had a baby boy some eighteen months ago, was making her return to the event after a three-year gap.

"She's a tricky player and considering how long she was out, she plays really well," added Botwright.

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Beachill & Willstrop Overcome Early Hurdles In Manchester

England and Pontefract club team-mates James Willstrop and Lee Beachill comfortably overcame their first hurdles in today's (Tuesday) first round of the British National Squash Championships with straight games wins at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

Top seed Willstrop, the world No9 who was runner-up two years ago, despatched Welsh qualifier Jethro Binns 11-3, 11-7, 11-6 in 29 minutes to set up a last sixteen clash with fellow Englishman Alex Stait, the 16^th seed from Gloucestershire.

"That was a good work out," said the 23-year-old Yorkshireman. "I didn't want it to go on too long - after all, it could be a long week."

Lee Beachill took just 20 minutes to down Nottingham qualifier Eddie Charlton 11-2, 11-1, 11-3. The three-times champion, who is bidding to reach the final for a record seventh successive year, will now face Oxford 's 12^th seed Scott Handley, who beat Gloucestershire qualifier Chris Tasker-Grindley 11-7, 11-5, 11-5.

Beachill and Willstrop are expected to meet, for the fourth year in a row, in Saturday's semi-finals.

Former champion Simon Parke, the No8 seed in his 15^th appearance in the event since 1987, was taken the full distance by fellow Englishman Ben Ford before coming through 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5.

Both players are over 30 and, like Parke, Ford is a club coach - but unlike Parke, the 31-year-old England No27 from Kent has just rejoined the Professional Squash Association (PSA) after a gap of some eight years, whereas Yorkshireman Parke 'retired' from the pro circuit last year.

"I knew what to expect - Ben took a game off Peter Nicol in the Nationals last year," said Parke after his 71-minute marathon. "He's a cunning player and I'm glad to get through."

Despite having given up the international circuit, 34-year-old Parke seems to be playing more than ever. "I seem to be working harder than ever now, combining my coaching at the Heaton club in Bradford with playing most of the BSPA tournaments. I feel I'm playing well, but not playing full-time means that the pressure's off when I'm on court."

After taking the fourth game from 4-6 down, Ford could clearly see the winning post: "I just bottled it in the fifth, going for shots I hadn't tried earlier in the game. I was thinking I was on the verge of winning!"

As the day progressed, so the courts at the National Squash Centre continued to favour the more 'mature' player. Stephen Meads produced one of the two men's upsets of the day when he beat 19-year-old 14^th seed Chris Simpson, the former European junior champion from Hampshire, 11-4, 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0) in 63 minutes.

The win marked the 36-year-old former champion's 16^th successive first round win in the event since making his debut in 1987. "It's a bit sad that I got myself really psyched up for that match - and was even quite nervous before it," said the Berkshire number one, who retired from the international circuit three years ago. "As I don't play events on a regular basis, this one means a lot to me.

"But it's good to show that there's still life in the old dog," said the 1995 champion. "It was 'old-school' squash, not necessarily very pretty. But he'll probably go away and think about that for a long time."

Later, another 'senior' player dismissed one of the up-and-coming seeds when Devonian Hadrian Stiff, aged 33, defeated 13^th seed Tom Richards, a 20-year-old from Surrey , 11-7, 11-3, 11-6 in 27 minutes.

Another fine demonstration of 'seasoned' squash came when 36-year-old sixth Alex Gough, the reigning British Open Over-35 champion, took on Manchester 's Nick Taylor, who is also the top seed in the British Nationals Over-35 Championship.

Gough had arrived from Sweden where 48 hours earlier he - unexpectedly - played the final of the Swedish Open after upsetting Egypt 's world No8 Karim Darwish in the semi-finals. Gough and Taylor - both former runners-up in the event - thoroughly entertained the packed NSC crowd, who were desperately hoping for local success.

But, after 58 minutes, it was eventually Gough who prevailed - winning 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 to reach the second round for the tenth time in 12 appearances since 1992.

Northern players excelled in the women's qualifying finals, with Lauren Siddall and Kirsty McPhee, both from Yorkshire, joining Merseyside's Karen Leach and Warwickshire's Vicky Hynes in the main draw.

Hynes, from Birmingham , will face local star Vicky Botwright, the No2 seed from Worsley in Manchester who is expected to reach the final for the first time in eight appearances.

Steady Eddie Battles Into Nationals Draw In Manchester

Eddie Charlton battled for 66 minutes against Nottinghamshire county team-mate and fellow 18-year-old Lewis Walters in today's (Monday) qualifying finals of the British National Squash Championships to become the youngest player to qualify for the men's main draw of the sport's biggest UK domestic event at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

The Mansfield teenager, who became a member of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) to play the international circuit only two months ago, came through 11-8, 6-11, 11-10 (4-2), 11-10 (2-0) against Walters - and goes on to face Yorkshire's three-times champion Lee Beachill, the No3 seed, in the first round tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1.00pm.

Merseyside's Stephen Siviter earned the distinction of becoming the oldest player to qualify for the main draw when he beat Devon's James Snell 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 in 33 minutes. It was a case of 'fifth time lucky' for the 31-year-old from Swinton who has failed in his attempts to qualify for the event four times earlier since 2000.

The Prestbury club No2, widely regarded as the best non-professional player in the famed North West Counties league, will now take on left-handed Londoner Adrian Grant, the No4 seed ranked 14 in the world, in the first round.

Event favourite James Willstrop, the 23-year-old from Pontefract in Yorkshire who was runner-up two years ago, is drawn to meet qualifier Jethro Binns in the first round. The 22-year-old Welshman defeated Surrey-based Yorkshireman Phil Rushworth 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9 in the qualifying finals.

The late withdrawal of Surrey's 11^th seed Stacey Ross opened the door for a 'lucky loser' in the event. Hertfordshire's Adrian Waller, beaten earlier by Jaymie Haycocks (Shropshire) in straight games, was given a further opportunity to shine in the event by replacing Ross to meet Sussex's former world No116 Tim Vail in the first round.

Manchester 'A Perfect Place To Win Something' Says Willstrop

England's James Willstrop, top seed in this week's British National Squash Championships in Manchester, believes that he is on the verge of success for the first time in the country's biggest UK domestic event.

After qualifying, which gets underway today (Sunday), the British National Championships take place at the National Squash Centre at Sportcity from Tuesday (13 February) - with action from quarter-finals onwards staged on the spectacular all-glass court at the NSC, the venue which hosted the squash competitions in the 2002 Commonwealth Games, leading to the finals on Sunday (18 February).

In addition to members of England's historic Men's and Women's World Team Championships-winning squads, the 2007 National Championships have also attracted the leading players from Scotland, Ireland and Wales - including former champion John White, the world No10 from Scotland; Madeline Perry, the world No8 from Banbridge, near Belfast; and British Open O35 champion Alex Gough, the world No23 from Wales.

Willstrop, the 23-year-old from Pontefract in Yorkshire who led England to success in the 2005 Men's World Team Championships, reached the Nationals final two years ago - and rates the tournament highly.

"You can see how significant it is with the level of players competing in it," said the former world junior champion. "The event is so well run and the players so well looked after. And it's well-marketed and attracts big crowds - there aren't many tournaments anywhere in the world that are better!

"I enjoy playing on the all-glass court there - it has fond memories for me as it was where I played the final of the British Open (in 2005). It's a big stage for us to play on - and that's what we like," added the England international who trains regularly at the NSC.

By his own exacting standards, Willstrop has had a mixed run on the international circuit since winning the prized Qatar Classic in November 2005. His lowest period came in September last year when he contracted food poisoning in Cairo on the eve of competing in the World Open.

"You have to understand that people in all sports have periods like this - nothing really bad but just a time when things don't seem to go well. And that illness in Egypt was a bit of a setback. Your confidence takes a bit of a knock.

"But I really believe in myself - and I realise that I need to back that up with some success. I need a good run, but I feel in good shape and things have been going well in training.

"It's time for me to win something - and this would be the perfect place to do it. The National title is a very important one to hold," explained Willstrop.

For the past three years in a row, Willstrop's National Championship progress has been stopped by Lee Beachill, his close friend and England and Pontefract club team-mate. Indeed, he has never beaten the 29-year-old former world number one who is also coached by his father Malcolm Willstrop.

According to the draw, Willstrop will meet third seed Beachill for the fourth year in a row - in the semi-finals.

"It's something which keeps coming up - I guess because we're based at the same club and good mates," explained Willstrop when asked if he was looking forward to another meeting with his great rival.

"But I'm not thinking about it - mainly because there are plenty of tough matches to go before the chance of meeting him.

"But, truthfully, I never have a great deal of fun playing Lee - our games are so different. I'm trying to learn how to deal with players like him - I'm working at it. But, even though he's had the upper hand so far, I don't dwell on it.