England’s Nick Matthew, winner of February’s Swedish Open, has maintained his
status as squash’s World No.1 in the latest official PSA World Tour Rankings,
remaining on top for the third consecutive month.
Matthew’s Swedish Open triumph sees him regain exclusive rights on the crown
after occupying the No.1 rank alongside French star Gregory Gaultier in
February, the first time in history that two men have held the No.1 ranking
simultaneously.
That move sees Gaultier drop back to second in the rakings while Egyptian Ramy
Ashour leapfrogs compatriot Mohamed Elshorbagy to re-take third place on the
roster while Spanish champion Borja Golan maintains his career high No.6
ranking.
“Last year was a great year
for me and probably the best year of my career but it is very tough to maintain
this position in the rankings,”
said Golan.
“There are so many guys
behind me who are fighting so hard to move up the rankings and who play at
really high levels so it is difficult.
“My aim is just to
keep playing at the level I am currently and try to challenge the players above
me at every opportunity.
“I had good results
in Qatar and Hong Kong last year, and I think I played one of my best ever games
to beat Greg (Gaultier) in Qatar so I’m very motivated for 2014 and I think it
will be agood year.”
After winning the first PSA World Series event of 2014, the J.P Morgan
Tournament of Champion in January, and reaching back-to-back semi-finals at the
Motor City Open and Swedish Open, Egyptian legend Amr Shabana has moved up two
places to seventh in the rankings.
Elsewhere in the top 20 Peter Barker falls two positions to ninth in the
rankings while Dutch champion Laurens Jan Anjema drops one position to No.17,
with Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad moving up one to No.16.
