MEET A PRO - 7

There aren’t too many bigger names in squash than this one. We are exceedingly privileged to be able to speak to a current legend of the game, with a record that only a select few humans can compare. Joining the world tour as a 15 year old in 2006, he won his first title just a year later, and then went on to win back to back world junior titles in 2008 and 2009. In 2013 he claimed his first World Series event in Qatar, and in 2015 he won the esteemed British Open beating Greg Gaultier in the final. From December 2015 to April 2016 he had a remarkable run of 6 consecutive World Series titles, and in 2017 he won his first World Open title beating Marwan El Shorbagy in the final. He also currently owns 4 British Open titles, 3 Hong Kong Open titles, 3 Tournament of Champions titles, 3 US Open titles, and 2 Windy City Open titles. He has been ranked inside the world’s top ten (unbroken) since December 2010, and inside the top 3 since Aril 2014. One of consistently hardest hitters of the squash ball, nicknamed “The Beast of Alexandria”, and the current world number 1…

 

MEET… MOHAMED EL SHORBAGY

The Squash Joint (TSJ): G’day Mohamed and welcome to The Squash Joint! At only 29 years old, you have already had an extraordinary career winning pretty much every major title there is. What do you consider to be your greatest achievement to date and are there still some goals that you are still striving to achieve?

MoES: I have to say my greatest achievement is not any match or any title but it is without a doubt how I have always came back to world number 1 every time I had it taken from me. Every time I came back was harder and I had do something very differently, whether moving or hitting and had to change it up a lot both in my style of training, technique and tactics. I am still not done and I know if it will be taken off me again and then I will again have to evolve and try to get it back. Obviously I am getting older and it will become harder and harder and one day I will not be able to reclaim my position at the top of the sport but until then I will keep pushing my limits and trying to do something new in this era of the sport that nobody has done before.

TSJ: That’s really interesting mate; what did you do different this time?

MoES: I had to improve my movement, it was the thing my generation were beating me at because Ali is quick and Gawad moves smoothly. The other times I have lost the world number one was never to my own age group but older generations like Nick, Greg and Ramy. I was by myself for a long time waiting for my generation to catch up and join me at the top of the sport. Gawad and Ali were the only two who I lost to in the season where Ali overtook me as world number one. For sure on his day Gawad is unplayable

but most of the times where he beat me I would have won if I had moved slightly better. I know I will never be able to move as well as them but this was the area they were so much better than me and while they will probably always move far better than I, my focus was to narrow this gap.

TSJ: There are not many players on the tour that you have a losing record against. In fact of the current players, I couldn’t find any! However, the recently retired Ramy Ashour seemed to be a little bit of an Achilles Heel for you. What made him so difficult to play against and do you wish he was still playing?

MoES: The thing is that me and Ramy only played 12 times, it’s not like me and nick who played 27 times and me and Greg played 25, me and Ali already played 25 times and all our meetings were in finals. I actually lost 13 straight matches with Greg before I beat him so to be honest I think I worked out Ramy much quicker. I do feel that with Ramy our matches together brought something special because I was the only one who went after him at his own game and fought fire with fire. All of the other top guys tried to minimize his strengths, tie him up, and slow him down. I had no interest in that and I just said OK, you want to play fast, let’s see how fast you can play when someone does this back to you! As it turned out, Ramy could play pretty darn fast and I feel like doing this raised the level of squash at the top of the sport. I really miss getting to play him, I wish our rivalry had lasted longer - and we had a huge rivalry - but maybe our story had to be this way, cut short by his injuries. Grasshopper Cup was a perfect end to his career against me and beating me in 3 games. He was so technically unique which made him so hard to read and to play but his mental strength was the scariest thing for me. He could be out for 6 months and not play one match and come back even stronger than when he left from that first match. Even if you are 2-0 up and 10-0 up he can still come back and beat you. He was never phased on court, even if in round 1 he is 2-0 down he never cared because he knew if he turned it on he would win emphatically. For me if I am 2-0 down in the first round you can see I get tense and nervous but that is something we never saw from him, he always backed himself to pull the cat out of the bag no matter how far his back is up against the wall and to me that is so special and I have tried to learn this from him.

TSJ: In every sport there is a lot of talk about the greatest player of all time and I know that you don’t like the comparisons across generations who didn’t play each other. Of the generation that proceeded the group you have played against there were three guys who stuck out above the rest; Nicol, Power and Palmer. Since it is a direct comparison I am wondering who you thought was the best of the three and why?

MoES: The three had different achievements. Nicol stayed number one for 58 months, I have been world number one for 48 months and I can tell you this is the hardest thing to do and this is brutal. Obviously Palmer was my coach for a couple of years and he told me Power was extremely hard to play but quite easy to beat and that Peter Nicol was so easy to play but very difficult to beat. Palmer is so hard to look past though because his sheer determination meant that he won two world championships and four British Opens which is more than the other two guys. The thing was Palmer wasn’t as consistent in the smaller events so only spent a relatively short time at world number one, but on the biggest stages, when it came down to the one huge match you always knew that Palmer would show up ready to die on the court, and not only that, if Palmer got the opening he would never miss the big shot to close out a big match.

I tell you what it is though man, for a one off big match if I had to bet everything I owned on one of them to beat the others in a one off big match on a big stage my money would be on Palmer. If I had to put money on one of these guys to be world number one at the end of the year I take Nicol. If all three were to play the best level squash match they ever played at the same time against each other in a round robin event Power would win because on his day he was the one capable of playing the highest level of squash.

TSJ: Let’s lighten the mood for a minute. Tell us your favorite…

1. Relaxing activity… Going for a coffee

2. Non-squash sporting hero…Muhammad Ali or Michael Jordan

3. Tournament venue…Cartagena (Colombia)

4. Unhealthy food…Burger

5. Movie…Anything with Denzel Washington

6. Country to visit (except Egypt and England)…Mexico or Colombia

TSJ: Who was your greatest squash idol growing up? Who was your most influential coach?

MoES: Squash idol as a kid was obviously Shabana, he pioneered the game. Most influential coach would be Gamal Awad. He provided me with the foundation and belief that I could be very good. He always believed I would be world number 1 and I proved him right. Jonah Barrington also had a huge impact on my career and taught me so many valuable things when I was still very young. All my coaches were great for different reasons.

TSJ: I just realized I don’t have any idea how you started playing squash?

MoES: My uncle played for fun, I used to be a swimmer and my uncle took me one day to play squash when I was 8 or 9 and I never looked back.  

TSJ: When did you know you wanted to play pro?

MoES: I wanted to be world number one from when I was 11 years old. But really my goal was never to be world number one, my goal was bigger than that. Even aged 11 or 12 my goal was to be number one and stay there for as long as possible, to win as many world championships as possible and to dominate the sport. 

TSJ: For the club player, it’s impossible to fathom the amount of training and fitness required to compete at a world class level year after year. What would a typical Mohamed El Shorbagy day look like when you are in full training mode?

MoES: 6am I wake and have breakfast, then around 730 I go for fitness training. After I do a session with a coach and then at night, I do condition games or match play. Sometimes I mix in some yoga or stretching, and I see the physio 4 times a week which is why I have never been injured because I invest so much in my body.

TSJ: Stu and I have recently been discussing the standard of referring at professional tournaments. Lately, we have been more and more baffled at the decision making. Since you have been in tour for 14 years now, what changes have you seen over this time in regards to the let rule and has it altered the way you approach your matches?

MoES: All the referees are trying to do is make people go and play the ball. It gets confusing sometimes because they try and make people play the ball when they actually can’t. The thing we must remember is they are doing it for the love of the sport. Back when I started the game was a lot more physical with Greg, Nick, Palmer, Darwish, El Hindi, Barker, etc, because we used to block each other a lot more but to the ref it didn’t matter if you played a good shot. Now we must give access to the player or there is a stroke against you. I think it’s a good thing, but it happened in the middle of my career, so it is something I had to adapt and evolve to learn what is now allowed. So long as the referring is consistent, I don’t mind if I agree or disagree with the decision, so long as we know the line the ref is taking in the match because then we know what to do.

TSJ: What areas of your game do you think need improving?

MoES: As I mentioned earlier my movement is the main area for improvement, but I also think that my short game needs improved because most of the other Egyptians are still better at this than me. Just like with my movement I feel that trying to be better than them at this is not achievable anytime soon and so my aim is just trying to narrow that gap as much as possible to allow me to at least compete in this space of the court with them. I think that mine and Ali’s basic game is too good compared to Gawad and Tarek and I think a solid basic game will always beat a good short game over time. They will always be good for a one-off win but having a good short game will not make you consistent enough to be world number one.

TSJ: Let’s think like a coach. Do you recommend players work more on their strengths or weaknesses?

MoES: Both, but I think work more on the weaknesses defiantly but don’t forget about your strength.

TSJ: What should the on-court v off-court training ratio ideally be for aspiring junior players?

MoES: It is important to train the fitness on track and the gym, but it is equally important to play a lot on the court and do a lot of solo. Go for any shots they want and then when they are mature enough you can structure the game but don’t structure a junior game when they are young. This is what makes the Egyptian juniors so good they have no structure until pros - when they need it. It is easier to hit a straight length than a straight drop.

TSJ: What do you think the recommended balance is between taking a lesson and match play with your peers?

MoES: No matches for juniors in the off season at all and then 3 weeks before the season start playing matches. In the off season they should train hard and routines and conditions only.

 

We can’t thank Mohamed enough for his time and candor. It’s not often we get the unique perspective of a current world number 1. The PSA squash tour has just started back up again, albeit with a very limited schedule, and Mohamed won the Manchester Open final on Tuesday this week beating Karim Gawad 3-1 in the final. Clearly the 6 month break hasn’t stopped his domination. This victory has put Mohamed 5^th on the all-time PSA tournament win list with 42 titles. He has 7 more winner trophies to raise to catch the current 4^th best Peter Nicol, and a staggering 57 titles to match Jahangir Khan’s 99. He is unlikely to reach that milestone, but even if he retired tomorrow, Mohamed El Shorbagy has cemented himself as a true legend of the sport. As mentally exceptional as he is, it will be very interesting to see how long he can hold onto the top spot over the next few years.

 

MEET A PRO - 6

Currently the highest ranked Australian on the world ranking- men’s and women’s - this professional squash player reached a career high of 13 in the world before an injury halted her rise. She is now fighting back to the top echelon once again and was a threat last November at the DAC to win our Pro Classic tournament where she reached the semi final. An amazing junior career where she won 5 junior national titles and in 2003 she was a finalist at the junior British Open. She won her first career pro title in 2007 and broke into the top 20 just 3 years later. In 2018 she won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in the squash doubles event with partner - and cousin - Cameron Pilley. Currently ranked 22 in the world, one of the smoothest movers and cleanest techniques on the women’s circuit…

MEET… DONNA LOBBAN

The Squash Joint (TSJ): G’day Donna! We are very grateful that you have agreed to talking with us! Tell us how you have been keeping yourself occupied during the lockdown and how do you keep yourself motived not knowing when the next tournament will be played?

Donna Lobban (DL): I’ve still been keeping myself very active with off court training which takes up a good part of my day. Other than that though I enjoy cooking so with this extra time at home it’s been nice to experiment with lots of new recipes. In terms of keeping myself motivated I’m lucky that my husband is also a professional squash player so that’s a massive bonus to have a training partner everyday to keep each other going. 

TSJ: You grew up in Yamba, New South Wales. For those who don’t know where that is (which would be most of us!) it’s about a 3 hour drive south from the closest capital city, Brisbane. Not exactly a squash hot-spot. How did you manage to get so good so young being so isolated? I imagine you had to spend a lot of time traveling?

DL: Yamba is a tiny town of about 5000 people but I was lucky that squash was in the family. My mum played and my cousin's family owned the local squash centre across the road from my house. My mum and my uncle were my first coaches and I guess I got good at it because we were able to play whenever we wanted. The hard part being from Yamba was that most of the competitions happened in the biggest cities like Sydney (over 10 hour drive away). 

TSJ: You play a style of game which could be described as a shot-maker, hitting numerous clean winners and wrong-footing your opponent. How did you learn this and what is your favorite way to set up and finish a point?

DL: My style has certainly evolved during my career but it’s still funny for me to hear myself described as a shot maker as I’ve never thought of myself as having the best technique or racket skills. I guess I learned this from enjoying playing this way and practicing until I got good at it. I’ve learned to use my strengths of my height and reach by setting myself up for winners on the volley.

TSJ: I have no doubt you would have reached the top 10 ranking had you not been sidelined with injury. How mentally difficult was it to come back from these injuries and to keep motivated? I believe you have the game to still get there, can you tell us how (or if) your training methods have changed with these experiences.

DL: Any injury is difficult to mentally overcome and during my career I’ve had my fair share including 4 surgeries which sidelined me for extended periods. As disappointing as it was every time I always knew I had the strength to come back from it as I could use my experience of having done it before. Because of these injury layoffs I feel like I haven't reached my potential yet and that is what keeps me motivated. You learn from any experience and over my career I’ve adapted my training in lots of different ways to try and prevent injuries as much as possible. 

TSJ: Back when I was growing up, Australia was the power-house in the world of squash. Looking at the world ranking now, you are highest ranked woman at 22 and the highest ranked player on the men’s side is an unbelievable 160. What happened to Australian squash and what do you think needs to happen in order for them to start to look even half-respectable again?

DL: Squash in Australia was booming in the 80s and 90s, we had World Champions in both the men's and women's rankings and as a kid I was fortunate to grow up idolizing these players. Things are very different now and no matter how you look at it there’s going to be a big gap, but things are looking up with lots of new initiatives including a new National Training Centre on the Gold Coast. I would love to see Squash become as popular as it used to be in Australia.

TSJ: Let’s lighten the mood. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say…:

1. Vegemite and Cheese sandwich… Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!
2. Twilight movie series… Liked it at the time, haven't seen it since!
3. Skateboarding in the Olympics… Face palm.
4. Alaskan boat cruise… responsible for most of the Covid cases in Australia?
5. Nick Kyrgios… Amazing tennis player, bit of an idiot!
6. 45 minute interval session… Good warm up.

TSJ: Who was your biggest influence in your squash career as a junior? Who is the biggest influence now?

DL: When I first started playing squash it was as a 5 or 6 year old kid running around the court in between my mum’s ladies daytime matches. She used to get on court and play with me a lot. I had a double handed backhand and she used to challenge me to put one hand behind my back to help me learn how to play with a one handed backhand. After that my uncle Steve Pilley and my cousin Cameron Pilley were big influences throughout my junior career.

My biggest influence now is my husband Greg Lobban, he's often the one there in my corner at tournaments and we spend a lot of time talking through each others games and ways to improve.

TSJ: What would you consider to so far be your greatest achievement in squash? Would you mind sharing with us what goals you have for the future? 

DL: Winning a Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 (squash’s equivalent to the Olympics) was a dream come true for me.

I would love to win Gold at the next Commonwealth Games in 2022 and also improve on my highest world ranking of 13. 

TSJ: Who is the toughest player who have ever come across and what made them so difficult to beat?

DL: Nicol David, I played against her in that period where she was basically untouchable. On a good day, I felt I could match it with all the top girls at the time but with Nicol I could barely come close. I remember her playing at an incredible pace but what stood out more than anything was that there was nowhere in the court that you could put the ball that she wouldn’t be able to get it back. Even if you got to game ball she would go into this incredible retrieval mode where she just wouldn't let you win one more point.

TSJ: This may be a tad controversial. Recently, I have become more and more confused at many decisions at the pro tournaments. It looks to me as if PSA is trying to minimize awarding a ‘let’ as much as possible and it is causing plenty of uncertainty amongst the players. What do you think of the current quality of the refereeing in professional squash and do you have any ideas to improve it?

DL: I would love to see the quality of the refereeing in professional squash improved. In my opinion the best solution would be an initiative to get ex professional players refereeing the World Tour as they have the best understanding of the game and the subtleties of whats going on on the court. They would also have the respect of the players for this reason.

TSJ: Complete these sentences…

1. The one house chore I refuse to do is… touching Greg’s sweaty kit!
2. The one dessert I can never resist is… chocolate lave cake.
3. My favorite shot to play on the court is… backhand drop off the back wall.
4. My favorite major tournament to play in is… Tournament of Champions in New York's Grand Central.
5. If I didn’t play squash, I would be playing… Field Hockey or Surfing.
6. My favorite Star Wars character is… Yoda.

TSJ: Let’s tackle the Olympics. I am sure you have been asked countless times about this! Have we missed the opportunity? Do you think squash should continue to try to get in? If so, what ingredient are they missing? 

DL: I have become disillusioned with the Olympics and how unfair the IOC process is of choosing new sports for inclusion. That being said I would still love to see squash in the Olympics one day. My opinion is that squash as a sport should stop trying to 'change to please', but instead concentrate its focus - funding/time/resources on just getting better and better, until the Olympics comes to us.

TSJ: You are married to another squash professional - Greg - and now live in Sheffield, England. How does living there compare to Australia and do you have any plans to return back Down Under after your playing career? 

DL: The obvious difference is the climate and the weather, the other main difference for me is that I grew up living a 10 minute walk from the beaches and now in Sheffield I’m in the middle of the middle of the UK, about as far from any coastline as I could be - so I miss the beach! I’ve spent a number of years now living away from my family and I would love nothing more than to live in Australia again one day. Hopefully in the future life circumstances will make that possible. Luckily Greg loves Australia too! 

TSJ: If Hollywood were to make a movie of your life, which actress would you like to portray you, and which actor would play Greg?

DL: I’m going to say Rachel McAdams to play me (I don't even know why?), and Ryan Reynolds to play Greg because he’s just hilarious.

Thank you so much to Donna for taking the time to answer these questions. Her perseverance and determination through multiple injuries to bounce back and once again compete at a world class level is something to be respected and admired. I love her pick for Ryan Reynolds to play Greg in their Hollywood movie… Deadpool is a classic! And Rachel McAdams… can’t complain there either! We very much hope to see her again at our next Pro Squash Classic this November challenging for the title. 

MEET A PRO - 5

If any of you ever watch the PSA videos for “shots of the month”, you will regularly see this veteran professional in contention. At the ripe young age of 37, he joined the PSA tour way, way back in 1999. He won the British National Championships in 2011 beating the then world number one and reigning world champion Nick Matthew in the final, and was a member of the English team that won the 2013 world championships. He reached a career high of 9 in the world in April of 2010, and was in the world’s top 20 continuously from November 2009 to September 2018 - except for one solitary month where he dropped to 21 in May 2016 - a remarkable 106 of 107 months. Currently ranked 26, he’s squash's version of poetry in motion, a one-man highlight reel…

MEET… DARYL SELBY

The Squash Joint (TSJ): G’day mate! Thank you for taking your time to answer these questions and welcome to Detroit (virtually) and the Squash Joint! You have been on the PSA tour for many years. How has your approach / methods to training changed over the years from when you were a teen to now in your later end of the 30’s? 

Daryl Selby (DS): Firstly thanks to The Squash Joint for asking me the questions and showing a bit of interest in Bobby the Dazzle. I’ve been on tour 17 years, was on for 2 months and then went to university, and then started again at 21. Training has definitely changed, the rise of the Egyptians has made the game faster and more dynamic. The days of me going and smashing out a load of 400’s has gone because I don’t need to stay on court for that hour and a half length based games. It’s led to me doing a lot more speed sessions and speed endurance. That isn’t to say the game is any less physical though – I would even say that the stress it puts on your body is higher now but it definitely hits you differently.

TSJ: In February this year while playing a tournament, you copped a squash ball in the eye. A freak accident in the pro squash world to be sure. You have now vowed to wear eye-guards for all your future matches. Was it a difficult thing to get used to playing with and do you think wearing eye-guards should be made mandatory for all amateurs and /or professionals world wide? 

DS: Yeah mate, got the ball in the eye at the nationals in February. Complete freak accident, Ive spent thousands and thousands of hours on court and never even come close to it. Obviously with kids and stuff I don’t want to take that risk anymore, eyesight is so important and not having it would restrict me in so many ways. I started looking around for eyewear to get the best pair I could and was so lucky to find a specialist company called “Ria”. Their eyewear is top, top class, the lenses are really good, far better than anything I’ve ever seen before. They aren’t paying me or anything and I’m not doing anything for them they genuinely are the ultimate glasses. They don’t mist or fog up and the lens quality is stunning, I think the fogging was always the problem in the past but these are brilliant I don’t even realize they are on. I never have to take them off and wipe them during the game. I’ve worn them for every PSA event after and it has had no impact on my events, I’ve beaten Joel Makin in them and almost got Momen wearing them so yeah, I really don’t see why everyone can’t wear them. It’s just hard to make something mandatory because people hate change but it protects people and saves eyesight so I think everyone should wear them.

TSJ: I saw on social media that you reached 100 on the frame challenge. Stu and I did this for our members and almost jumped in front of a truck with the frustration this caused us. Did you find this relatively easy and how much practice did you need to get to the triple digits?  

DS: Yeah the old frame challenge and trick shots in general I love because it is like a process. If you go on youtube and type in “dudeperfect” those guys do trick-shots in a lot of different sports and I've listened to them a lot. I love the trials and tribulations of a trick-shot, because you go from being so far away to being so close and eventually getting it. I love creating the trick-shot and then going through. It took me about 2 hours total to get to 100, I started it and went from getting 10 or 20 and eventually got to 50. Once I got there I managed to get to 80-90 once or twice and then broke 100 after that. Crazy you think I practiced 2 hours and went from nothing to being able to consistently get 100 after that. No wonder you guys found it difficult it is a really tough one.

TSJ: You reached a career high of 9 in the world and have beaten players in the top 5 - such as Nick Matthew, Mohamed El Shorbagy, Tarek Momen. Clearly you are capable of going toe-to-toe with the best. What do you think sets apart the players who are capable of reaching the top 10 to the ones who plateau just outside the top 20?

DS: It’s a tricky one because there is such finite margins from being a top quality player in the 20’s to breaking in the top 10. At the top of the game it really is about bettering yourself in each area by 1%. As I touched on a bit earlier in the trick-shots, a lot of it is about belief. A lot of the guys out of the top 20 have never beaten a guy in the top 5 for example and therefore they can’t get to that next hurdle. Once you’ve beaten a guy in the top 5, you know you can do it and you know that they deserve their ranking and they belong there. That gives you so much self-belief and often it runs from there because next time you play a top 5 player you know that you are good enough to actually beat them. Always you need to beat the guys below you and then start looking to take some scalps above you. I’d say a lot of them are fit and need to develop their skillset or vice versa, everyone in the top 20 has one or the other so its about developing the individual game to make those inroads into top of the sport. The top 5 guys are so good at wearing people down so the lower guys need to make sure they have the gas tank to match them.

TSJ: The Egyptians are currently dominating squash and it looks like they will be for the foreseeable future. Do you think this is bad or good for squash? Which of the current top Egyptians do you find most difficult to play? 

DS: I don’t think its good for the game, I think a few of the Egyptians have even said that in interviews. We need a variety of nations and players at the top to make it interesting. That isn’t to take anything away from the Egyptians or their quality coaching system which is clearly working very well. For the enjoyment of the fans we need different cultures, different personalities etc, to get fans across the world more heavily involved. If you have Diego Elias or Paul Coll in a major final you’ll have people from Peru or New Zealand tuning it. Just because they are Egyptian doesn’t mean they are all the same - they have different swings and personalities - but you want people from different countries supporting their players.

2^nd part of that question: Do you know what? I don’t necessarily find the Egyptians hard to play. I find them hard to beat. Mohamed El Shorbagy, Ali Farag and Tarek Momen aren’t hard to play or are even in the same ball park as the guys like Amr Shabana, Greg Gaultier and Ramy Ashour and I was playing them when I was a better player. I say “better player” more when I was higher ranked. I’d say my all round game is the best its ever been now but I’m 38 so not as physically able. Obviously all of those guys have fantastic qualities but I would say the most difficult to play is Mazen Hesham just because of his strange technique and he is incredibly skillful. He doesn’t give you any rhythm which is something I really like. The guys like Mohammed or Ali still give you rhythm which means I don’t find them anywhere near as tough to play against. Another one I find very awkward is Fares Dessouky, I have only played him a couple times so haven’t had time to work him out yet.

TSJ: Tell us your favorite…

1. Squash hero when you were a junior? Peter Nicol or Amr Shabana
2. Non-squash sporting hero now? The Fed, Messi, Rory McIlroy
3. All-time movie? Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels
4. Vacation destination? Sunny beach, Maldives
5. Shot to play on a squash court? It’s got to be anything through the legs don’t it?
6. Couch snack? If you have a beer with it, crisps

TSJ: For any reason, which one:

1. Jahangir or Jansher? Jansher
2. Geoff Hunt or Jonah Barrington? Jonah
3. Karim Gawad or Ali Farag? Farag
4. Sarah Fitzgerald or Nicol David? Sarah
5. Nick Matthew or James Willstrop? Nick
6. Peter Nicol or Jon Power? Nicol
7. Nour El Sherbini or Raneem El Welily? Raneem
8. Thierry Lincou or Greg Gaultier? Greg
9. Ramy Ashour or Mohamed El Shorbagy? Ramy
10. Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal? Federer

TSJ: What does life after the PSA tour look like for Daryl Selby? 

DS: Hopefully still be involved in sports. I have a sports management company going - “Dynamic 7” - where we manage athletes in other sports. A bit of coaching would be good, I like guiding and directing younger athletes and helping them enjoy the sport so that they can get the most out of themselves.

TSJ: Complete these sentences. Feel free to elaborate!

1. The worst movie I ever paid to watch in the cinema was… Hot Fuzz, Nightmare before Christmas
2. The one song I can’t help but to sing along with is… Bohemian Rhapsody
3. The one thing in life I haven’t yet done but would like to is… Skiing or snowboarding
4. My greatest pet peeve is… People with no manners, lack of consideration – parking
5. The one famous person I would love to have dinner with is… Tiger Woods, Maradona, Obama – Yeah actually I’m going Barak
6. The fastest speed I have been in a car is… 323kph on the autobahn (200 mph), Audi RS6+ one of 150 made and it was a rocket…

TSJ: During your career, have there been any unexpected obstacles that you have had to overcome? 

DS: Not really to be honest. Not having a coach and logistically living a bit out of the way meant I trained a lot by myself but nothing major I would say.

TSJ (Stu): Daryl, over the years I've followed your career very closely as you played for my team at St. Georges Hill. I was very influenced by Tom Richards as a junior and copied his style. One thing in particular that he said to me was "pace is everything". When I watched you play I noticed you didn't volley as much and played in a slower, more methodical rhythm. In the early days you also didn't take the ball short as much compared to a lot of the other guys. What did you like about this play style and what do you think made it so effective?

DS: Haha! That’s a classic Tom Richards comment that - "pace is everything" - haha!. Yeah, I play slower for sure. I think you need accuracy, Tom to be fair, plays fast and he is able to combine that with accuracy. But for me, changing the pace of the game and the subtleties of slow to fast and high to low helps having that bit of delay on your swing. Chucking up a lob sometimes stops your opponent from knowing what is happening and slows them down, making them quite uncomfortable, so in my opinion it’s a more effective way to play.

I didn’t take the ball short as much in the early days, that’s the way I was taught by Neil Harvey between the ages of 14-19 to have a fantastic base length game with a little bit of variety. It did make me very hard to beat but not necessarily hard to play. I think the way the games has changed has meant I always had that in my locker and was able to build stuff on top of it. I don’t think I have the worlds softest touch but I can do a lot with my hands, a lot of spin or changing the direction of the ball at the last minute with my wrist. As I’ve got older I’ve had to use that to still be able to compete.

TSJ (Stu): People always talk about Mohamed El Shorbagy or Nick Matthew as being the toughest players out there mentally, but there is a solid case to be made for you to be right in  there with them.  I remember in 2010 you had just gone on a run of events in Canada that would propel you into the top 10 for the first time where I believe, you came runner up to Thierry Lincou then beat LJ Anjema and maybe Hisham Ashour in the other tournaments. You then flew back to England and the same day miraculously beat current world champion Tarek Momen, looking like a jet-lagged zombie in an epic 5 gamer. The next year you beat Tom Richards in round one, 11-9 in the fifth after he saved 14 match balls and you are one of only two players to ever beat Nick Matthew on PSA from 2-0 down. On top of all that, I have never seen you do anything outside of the rules to win which I can't say for most of these guys with reputations of being ferocious competitors. Can you speak a bit to your toughness but fair playing style and how you have consistently won matches in difficult circumstances over the years?

DS: That’s a good effort, Stu! Blimey, haha, you have a better memory than I do! Think you’re spot on there, though, I remember that run of tournaments in Canada that took me into the top 10 and I think you’ve nailed those results. Oh yeah, that’s true that I beat Momen that day. I mean I've come back from 8-0  and 10-5 down in the fifth a few times, against Nikki Mueller and Greg Marche. But yeah, I will always teach kids and I will always expect from my kids to never give up on anything and to fight right until the end. I always believe on giving it all because it is never over until the handshake. It’s nice of you to notice the mental toughness mate. I do make sure I always play within  the rules but I definitely push the limits of it with gamesmanship and talk to my opponents to put them of, but I always make sure that I do it in the right way and just within the rules!

TSJ (Stu): You beat Nick Matthew in the final of the British nationals in 2011 and in your post match interview, you mentioned your work rate that day was a fair bit above his that day. Given he was one of the most physical players of the modern era I am wondering what was your game-plan that day and how on earth you managed to not only keep sight of it, but keep your discipline and execute it so well under such extreme physical duress?

DS: I always try to remember that British nationals final. I’m very disappointed England Squash lost the recording of that British final so I can’t watch it back to know what happened. I only have a few memories of the fifth and winning which I am trying to cling on to. Physically I was in great shape and I don’t remember much of it other than the last few points. Not having the tape is one of the saddest things of my career but I guess a lot of guys in the old days had to just remember their best matches from their own memories. I really just wish that I had the tape because like I said I don’t remember too much of it.

TSJ (Stu): You were well known in your prime for hitting a great length and absorbing pressure like a sponge thus being extremely difficult to break down.  I feel as your career wore on you became much more unorthodox and more of a shot player. For example, we regularly see you winning PSA “Shot of the Month”! Why did you evolve your game like that and do you ever wish that you had done it a little bit sooner? 

DS: I wish I had expanded my game earlier, but when you’re in your 20’s, you are fit and strong and just want to play a tough physical game. To an extent though, what got me in the top 10 was playing a hard physical game. I wasn’t playing all the flashy shots back then, I was just playing a brutal length game. As you get older the skillset and knowledge improves, it is about finding that peak where your physicality and skillset both peak at the same time.

 TSJ: I am sure you have had some memorable night outs with the lads during tournaments over the years. Care to indulge us a little on one of the more noteworthy - or dare I say ‘infamous’ - evenings?

DS: Haha! YESSSS! Nights out with the lads, Stu you’ve been on tour, you know how it is. The tour is a much busier schedule now, though back in the day going out after you lost was always part of it but I don’t always have the time for it now. Most of my craziest nights out were with the English or the Aussie guys. Peter Barker, Cam Pilley, Nick Matthew and Adrian Grant were always good for it but to be honest I can’t think of any stories that are suitable for a nice family podcast haha!

Fantastic stuff from a world class athlete and world class personality. Hopefully Daryl has heavy involvement in the world of squash after his playing career, maybe he should also try to get a some commentating gig? His insights would certainly be tremendously valuable and no doubt entertaining. We look forward to when the PSA tour resumes and can start to again watch one of the most enjoyable players to grace the squash court.