The strong-minded Englishman had been sidelined for so long with a shoulder injury that he had been unable to defend the title he won in 2006. To regain it, his mind had focussed in ways which to an outsider might have seemed contradictory.
“I geared my whole preparation for this match – no disrespect to others,” Matthew said after overcoming Willstrop 11-8 12-10 11-5 with a superlative and well-judged tactical performance.
Having admitted how crucial his showdown with Willstrop was, Matthew persuaded himself, though maybe few others, that he was then not the favourite in the final against Grant.
“Adrian's the higher seed,” he said, “We've been playing since we were twelve and it's probably fifty-fifty, and he's had an easier run.”
However the walkover Grant received against Peter Barker, who had bronchitis, may have hindered him mentally more than it helped physically, for in his first National final he was tense. As for Matthew's head-to-head calculation, it included matches going back till they were twelve years old!
Nevertheless this contrived focus, designed to reduce pressure, may have helped, for Matthew despatched his third-seeded opponent 11-4 11-3 11-9, trailing only briefly at 4-6, and 5-7 in the third. He had a greater presence, fine movement, and stronger self-belief, even though Matthew said: “I tried not to think about the finish, but I had a bit of a battle with myself there.”
Earlier Matthew had been taken to four games by Jonathan Kemp while Willstrop had had dig deeper in a 5-11 11-5 11-8 11-4 against the tenaciously in-form Daryl Selby, who led 4-1 in the second game and fought back to 8-8 in the third.
Grant had had solid wins over Alex Stait, the impressively enduring Stephen Meads, playing in his twenty-first Nationals!, and Alister Walker in a hard three-game encounter which lasted fully seventy-eight minutes.
Barker's quarter-final, an 11-5 11-6 15-13 win over Joey Barrington, had also been long, sixty-seven minutes. But it was a fourth member of England's world title winning squad, the sixth-seeded Lee Beachill, who generated most emotion.
Although the former World No.1 had announced it would be last tournament before retirement, few thought it would end with a second round against Tom Richards. As Beachill slipped towards the exit, news percolated of his impending last defeat, and half full stands began to swell with surprised spectators.
They were packed by the time Beachill stood before them, beaten 10-12 11-6 11-7 11-6, but with humour intact. Thanking them, he turned, mock accusingly, and said: “It wasn't meant to end like this, by the way, Tom.”
By Richard Eaton