Gaultier
And Matthew Top February World Rankings from PSA Media February 1, 2014
- French squash star Gregory Gaultier and England’s Nick Matthew have
become the first ever joint World No.1s – with the duo tied level for
top spot in the latest PSA World Squash Rankings. Gaultier ended the
first PSA World Series event of 2014, the recent J.P Morgan Tournament
of Champions in New York, as runner-up while Matthew failed to progress
past the quarter-finals, meaning the pair are level on 1297.500 points. “Being number one is a
massive thing for any player and it was a big goal for me to become
number one again after five years,” said Gaultier, who’s victory in the
ToC semi-finals saw him recapture the No.1 ranking for the first time
since November 2009. ‘For now I’m going to
enjoy it, but I need to keep improving as well. “Even when you are on
the top of your game you have to keep learning and keep improving
things because if you don’t move forward the other guys catch up.” Gaultier’s opponent in
that semi-final, 23-year-old Egyptian Mohamed Elshorbagy, has moved
above compatriot Ramy Ashour to take the World No.3 spot, becoming the
highest ranked Egyptian player for the first time in his career.
Elshorbagy cemented
his place with an impressive January in which he emerged victorious in
the Motor City Open in Detroit following his semi-final placing in New
York.
“Of course it means a
lot to be ranked as the number one player in Egypt but that is only a
stepping stone towards my goals,” said Elshorbagy.
“I turned 23 a few
weeks ago but I have so much that I want to achieve and I am working
hard on a daily basis to ensure I achieve them as soon as possible.
“People don’t remember
who the number one in their country is, but they remember who the World
Champions, British Open Champions and World No.1s were, so those are
the goals for me.
“Players like Amr
Shabana, because he has achieved so much more than any other player in
Egypt has ever achieved, are the players who get remembered and I want
to emulate that.” PSA WORLD
SQUASH RANKINGS – FEBRUARY 2014 1=
Gregory Gaultier FRA 1297.500 1=
Nick Matthew ENG 1297.500 3
Mohamed Elshorbagy EGY 1009.500 4
Ramy Ashour EGY 986.000 5
James Willstrop ENG 845.500 6
Borja Golan ESP 668.500 7
Peter Barker ENG 610.500 8
Karim Darwish EGY 607.500 9
Amr Shabana EGY 561.500 10
Daryl Selby ENG 476.500 11
Simon Rosner GER 449.500 12
Omar Mossad EGY 385.500 13
Miguel Angel Rodriguez COL 363.500 14
Cameron Pilley AUS 353.500 15
Laurens Jan Anjema NED 317.272 16
Karim Adbel Gawad EGY 307.500 17
Saurav Ghosal IND 297.000 18
Alister Walker BOT 290.500 19
Adrian Grant ENG 253.182 20
Mathieu Castagnet FRA 245.500
