Following surgery to repair a shoulder ligament tear and an eight-month injury, Nick Matthew reclaimed his status as the top-ranked Englishman earlier in the year with a succession of impressive performances on the international circuit which earned him a career-equaling-high fifth place in the Men’s World Rankings.
The 29-year-old Englishman further consolidated his position as his country’s leading player with success at the British National Championships in Manchester, England with victories over Joe Lee, Jonathan Kemp, Tom Richards, James Willstrop and Adrian Grant.
Country: England
Date of Birth: 25th July 1980
Place of Birth: Sheffield, England
Place of Residence: Sheffield, England
Marital Status: Single
Highest World Ranking: No.5 (October 2004)
World Tour Titles: 8
World Tour Finals: 25
Earliest Sporting Memory: Watching the British Open every year as a kid when it was at Wembley Conference Centre. It always used to be on over Easter so we would spend a few days down there watching the likes of Jahangir, Jansher and Rodney Martin. I particularly remember one year when we went to the squash on the Saturday and the League Cup Final on the Sunday when Sheffield Wednesday beat Manchester United 1-0 – the perfect weekend!
Sports Watched: Football. I am a Sheffield Wednesday fan, obviously! And I love watching the majors in golf, England at cricket and the Six Nations Rugby.
Sports Played: Occasionallygolf in the summer, but that has had to be curtailed after my shoulder operation last year.
Why a life in sport, or if not, what would you have done? As a kid I was very sporty. I used to play every sport that I could at school, so I can't imagine any other type of life. If not as an athlete, I would definitely be involved in sport in some shape or form. I still always read the back pages of the paper first.
Toughest part of your sporting life: Injuries, and coping with them. And any Mark Campbell training sessions!
Most memorable sporting moment: Winning the British Open in 2006. It felt surreal, and still does, being the first homegrown player to have won it in over sixty years.
Worst sporting moment: Probably the moment when it was announced that squash wasn't going to be in the 2012 Olympics. How many people get the chance to compete in an Olympic Games in their home country in their lifetime? I also found it hard coming fourth in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games when they'd given out two Bronze medals in Manchester.
Sporting heroes: Mohammed Ali, Lance Armstrong and Peter Nicol. I particularly get inspired by those who have triumphed through adversity.
Favourite venue and why? Grand Central Station, New York City. By far and away the best atmosphere in any squash event around the world - great for players and spectators alike.
Sporting event you would pay the most to see: Possibly a Lions Tour down under or in New Zealand.
And to miss: I'm not in to Formula 1
Question asked most often by the public: Two spring to mind; Why is squash not in the Olympics? and can you make a good living from the game?
And the answer: Good question, and, why, would you like to sponsor me?
Greatest change you would like to see in the running of your sport? That's a hard question. I will let Alex Gough and Lee Beachill settle into their new jobs with the PSA first beforecriticising them too much! No, seriously, I think the players are behind our new Board and we are hoping for the World Tour to go onwards and upwards in 2010.
How well is your sport covered in the media? Not as well as we would all like. Obviously the Olympics would help massively. It would be great if we could match what, say, British Cycling have done since the Olympics.
Sporting motto: If you do what you always did, you get what you always got.
Who would you most like to invite to dinner and why? I never know how to answer this question! Seeing as though I'm so sporty, anyone who's available out of Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, David Beckham, Lance Armstrong, Michael Johnson and Michael Jordan! And I'd save space for Jennifer Love Hewitt.