Sheffield PORTRAITS
In the second Sheffield Portrait Framboise
talks
to Welshman Alex Gough...
I LIKE THE PRESSURE,
IT KEEPS ME FOCUSED…
This morning, at the same breakfast table as Simon Parke, Alex Gough, the
gorgeous Welsh player, and his son, Jayden, were having their breakfast.
So, I couldn’t resist, you know me, nosey and all …
“Well, I came on Sunday with Simon, and I was telling myself that I was
looking forward to two matches… But those guys are all young and fit, so
actually, I’m really happy to find myself directly in the main draw.”
But playing Nick Matthew in front of his home crowd at 6.30 today may not be
such an easy task…
“I actually like when I can change the focus from my squash to something
else. For example, I always play my best squash in team events, because I
think about something else than just playing good squash. So that’s why I
don’t mind playing Nick in Sheffield that much, maybe I can shift the
pressure from me to him …”
What makes you keeping on playing squash, I asked?
“You know, for the past two years, I concentrated a lot of my family, so
squash wasn’t my priority, but now, I have started to train very hard
again.”
And he had “a little bit” of his family with him today, his 7 year old son,
Jayden, who, I understand, is mad about all sports, cricket, tennis,
football, and of course, squash with Dad! But his most remarkable
achievement comes from his brain actually, as he just won the under 7 UK
Chess Championship.
Not just a pretty face and quick legs, is he?
Alex, like all fathers, is bursting with pride as he talks about his son.
But back to his own career, I asked him what his goals were for the next two
years:
“I would love to sneak back into the top ten before retiring ...”
Well, once again, good luck to Alex, and who knows, he is used to creating
surprises, like when he beat John White last year at the Nationals. Who
knows, Nick Matthews’ scalp would sit very well on his mantelpiece…
Let’s see what Nick has got to say about that…
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Alex Gough and son Jayden
|
I was looking forward
to two matches, so I’m really happy to find myself directly in the
main draw |
Jayden, UK U7 Chess Champ
|
“I would love to sneak back into the top ten
before retiring ...”
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