Profile
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Country: |
England |
| Date of birth: |
25th July 1980 |
| Place of birth: |
Sheffield, England |
| Place of residence: |
Sheffield, England |
| Marital status: |
Single |
| Highest World ranking: |
1 (May 2010) |
| World Tour titles: |
14 |
| World Tour finals: |
34 |
| National titles: |
British National Champion 2006, 2009 & 2010 |
Despite first achieving a world top five ranking in October 2004, it was in 2006 that Nick Matthew made an indelible mark on squash history when the Englishman, seeded six, upset third-seeded Frenchman Thierry Lincou in the final of the British Open in Nottingham to become the first home-grown champion of the world's most prestigious event for 67 years!
"This has to be the pinnacle of my achievements," said the Yorkshireman who beat Lincou 11-8, 5-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6 in 82 minutes to become the first true English champion since Jim Dear in 1939.
The triumph rounded off a sensational year for the 28-year-old from Sheffield, which began when he won the British National title for the first time - later becoming the only person to hold the National and Open titles simultaneously.
The disappointment of failing to retain his British Open title in September 2007 - when he lost out to world number one Amr Shabana in the quarter-finals - was tempered by his achievement in New York City two weeks later when he won his maiden Super Series crown.
Seeded six in the US Open, Matthew made his breakthrough in the quarter-finals when he upset Thierry Lincou in five games. In the semis, he avenged his Qatar Classic defeat by beating the event's second seed Ramy Ashour in four games, before celebrating his historic triumph in a straight games win over compatriot James Willstrop.
In December, this time playing alongside Willstrop, Matthew led England to a successful defence of the World Team title, beating Australia in the final.
But in January 2008, Matthew underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right shoulder – and the England international was out of action for eight months until making a winning comeback at the Dutch Open in September.
A month later, he exceeded his seeding to reach the semi-finals of the Qatar Classic after upsetting fourth seed David Palmer 11-3, 11-9, 10-12, 13-15, 11-6 in 111 minutes – which proved to be the longest match of his Tour career!
Making rapid improvement since his layoff, eighth seed Matthew also made the last four of the Saudi International in December after upsetting new World Open champion Ramy Ashour.
Matthew celebrated the first anniversary of his surgery with the beginning of a sensational run in 2009 – firstly by making the final of the Tournament of Champions in New York as the No8 seed (upsetting Shabana, Ashour and Willstrop before losing out to fourth seed Gaultier) – then securing the Swedish Open trophy for the first time after despatching title-holder Willstrop in the semi-finals.
Within a week, he had claimed the British National crown for the second time, and by the end of the February the rejuvenated Englishman had battled through a high quality North American Open field to reach the final of the new Super Series event in Virginia – marking the 26th PSA Tour final of his career. The success propelled Matthew to a career-equalling-high No5 in the world rankings in March.
Matthew enjoyed a promising junior career – in which he represented England in both the European and World Team Championships and was runner-up in the 1998 European Junior Open and winner of the 1999 British Junior Open.
Nick is managed by internationalSPORTgroup™ and is part of the England Squash World Class Performance Programme, based in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.
Nick's principal sponsors are Dunlop (rackets, string & equipment luggage), and Maxim (nutrition).
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Click here to listen to a Radio 5 Live Interview with Nick Matthew
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Biography
After a promising junior career – in which he represented England in both the European and World Team Championships and was runner-up in the 1998 European Junior Open and winner of the 1999 British Junior Open – Nick Matthew exploded into the senior ranks in 2003 with a string of remarkable successes on the PSA Tour which saw him leap to a career-high No5 in the Dunlop PSA World Rankings in October 2004.
Born and raised in Sheffield in Yorkshire, Matthew followed his title success in the Windy City Open in Chicago in 2004 by celebrating his first appearance in a Super Series event final in 2005 after upsetting David Palmer in the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open.
But his most satisfying run of the year was in the English Open, back in his hometown of Sheffield. Seeded five, Matthew pulled off his first career win over England team-mate Lee Beachill, the event's top seed, and went on to topple another England colleague James Willstrop, the third seed, to reach the final at the Crucible Theatre. Here, he faced his third England team-mate Peter Nicol, to whom he lost in a close-fought 54-minute battle.
After playing his part in England's triumph in the World Team Championships in Pakistan, Nick scored another upset over Beachill in the final event of the year, beating his Yorkshire compatriot to reach the semi-finals of the Saudi International.
Nick laid claim to being the best player in his home country in February by winning the British National title for the first time – then, back on the PSA Tour, claimed his 19th final appearance when he reached the climax of the Tournament of Champions in New York. He made his breakthrough at Grand Central Station in the quarter-finals when he beat former champion Jonathon Power – in what transpired to be the colourful Canadian's farewell match when he then announced his retirement!
Matthew continued to show on the World Tour in 2006, reaching the quarter-finals of the PSA Masters in Bermuda, the Liverpool 08 Open, the Super Series Finals and the English Open – in all cases losing out only to higher-ranked players, and on three occasions the player being Frenchman Thierry Lincou!
However it was in October 2006 that Nick Matthew made an indelible mark on squash history when the Englishman, seeded six, upset third-seeded Frenchman Thierry Lincou in the final of the British Open in Nottingham to become the first home-grown champion of the world's most prestigious event for 67 years!
Lincou twice levelled the match after the local hero forged game leads - but Matthew bravely stuck to his task and fought back from behind in the decider to claim a sensational 11-8 5-11 11-4 9-11 11-6 victory after 82 minutes.
"This has to be the pinnacle of my achievements," said the Yorkshireman who had become the first true English Champion since Jim Dear won the title in 1939.
The triumph rounded off a sensational year for the 27 year-old from Sheffield, which began when he won the British National title for the first time - later becoming the only person to hold the National and Open titles simultaneously.
Matthew's 2007 campaign started disappointingly when he suffered a serious ankle injury in the first match of the year at the Canadian Classic in Toronto. Intense treatment for the torn ligament in his right ankle enabled him to return to action in March, reaching the semi-finals of the KL Open in Malaysia and Canary Wharf Classic in London, England.
He was a surprise semi-finalist too in April's Qatar Classic, where he again went down to the ultimate champion when he lost in a five-game marathon to Egypt's rising star Ramy Ashour.
The disappointment of failing to retain his British Open title in September, when he lost out to World No.1 Amr Shabana in the quarter-finals, was tempered by his achievement in New York City two weeks later when he won the prestigious US. Seeded six, Matthew made his breakthrough in the quarter-finals when he upset Thierry Lincou in five games. In the semis, he avenged his Qatar Classic defeat by beating the event's second seed Ramy Ashour in four games, before celebrating his historic triumph in a straight games win over compatriot James Willstrop.
In December, Matthew reinforced his position as England's leading player by reaching the semi-finals of the World Open and returning to a career high No.5 in the PSA World Rankings.