Improvisation

I watched almost every match on Squash TV at the recently completed Tournament of Champions. There were some amazing matches and as a player and coach I'm constantly analyzing and marvelling over the ability of the top players. The level of the game has never been higher and each year the bar raises. I thought Momen was going to take the event, but he had a few mental spats against Marwan Elshorbagy, Ali Farag and in the finals against Mohamed Elshorbagy.

What I watched at the TOC inspired this week's episode of Squash Shots and also today's blog post. Episode 36, titled 'Improvisation,' can be watched on the Serious Squash Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/tv/B7i7o-TpTe8/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

I was impressed with how fit and strong both Paul Coll and Joel Makin were. They hit so few unforced errors and with how well they move and for how fit they are, they must be a nightmare for almost everyone on tour. There's very few players in the world that can hang in there physically and mentally with those guys. Even still Makin and Coll haven't won a major title. Will they be able to with the style that they play or will they have to adapt their game? Can they adapt their game at this stage of their careers? Surely they can't get that much fitter, stronger and faster, can they?

In my opinion there are a number of players who possess the ability to hit anywhere at anytime. Players like Farag, Momen and Gawad are so smooth and are nearly unreadable. Diego Elias is also a guy who you could put into this category. Elias was the better player, but eventually succumbed to the physicality of Makin. So clearly being silky smooth and having world class ball control is not enough without an incredibly high level of fitness.

Gawad, Momen and Farag, just like the great Ramy Ashour not only have an immaculate short game, but they can also adapt their racquet preparation under pressure meaning they're nearly impossible to read. They play with very little tension in their arm which allows them to generate a lot of whipping action in their wrist so they can flick the ball to any part of the court. Coll and Makin on the other hand have a couple of very set, rigid preparations and they are more easily read by the top players in the world. It's this contrast of styles which is so enjoyable to watch, but I certainly prefer watching and cheering for the smooth moving and hitting Egyptian players.

Mohamed Elshorbagy's game is transitioning from a hard hat, Nick Matthew style of play. For years he basically played at a pace the rest of the field couldn't handle. Now there are a few that can and with the aging of Elshorbagy he has no choice, but to begin to refine his game. This is what Nick Matthew did as he aged. Matthew was able to find a few areas to be more deceptive with his shots. He couldn't continue to dominate with simply being super fit, disciplined, mentally tough and accurate. Would Matthew in his prime be able to be world #1 with today's pool of players? He'd be one of the top competitors, but I don't think he would win more than 1 or 2 titles per year as the depth of talent is simply too deep and talented now.

Nowadays there are a loads of players who are hunting the volleys, playing a high T position and are super fit. Back when Matthew was playing there were very few players who had this effortless style of play and the racquet skill that the top few do now. The ones that come to mind are of course the GOAT, Ramy and the maestro, Amr Shabana. When either of those legends were fit enough to hang in with Nick or Greg Gaultier they would have the edge. But when they're not 100% fit, healthy or strong they would have trouble hanging in there.

How do these top Egyptian players develop the uncanny ability to have such a relaxed, accurate and unreadable swing? A lot of it has to do with their decision making. They understand what their opponent is reading and they know how to create space on the court by having countless options from a variety of set positions.

Many other players prepare the same way every time they move to a specific part of the court and have maybe 2 or 3 options, but they can be fairly easily read compared to the players who have adaptability in their swing. The ability some of these squash magicians have to accelerate and decelerate their swing at the last second to change the speed and angle of their shot is what makes them so great to watch. Doing this means their opponent has to wait longer on the T and expend more energy to move off the T, which also dictates that they will be at the ball a little later and generally keeps their opponent off the volley. Squash is a sport where fractions of a second make all the difference and dictates if a player has to defend or attack and how hard they have to work. Even the top movers and fittest players in the world can only take so much.

A good example of being unreadable and smooth was first two games of Farag and Coll. Farag was reading Coll like a book and was on the ball so early. Coll on the other hand was under a lot of pressure trying to just get the ball back and hang in the rallies. Coll's tenacity and fitness was almost enough to be able to come back and win the match, but ultimately Farag had just enough in the tank.

If Gawad was fitter would be have beat Elshorbagy? What if Momen got better calls or was mentally a bit stronger and handled those decisions better? I would say they are technically the two best players in the world and when Momen is in the right mindset and Gawad is fit they are almost untouchable. The reason why? In my opinion it's their ability to use all 4 corners with tremendous accuracy and their ability to adapt their swing to hit into the open space. Have they practiced more than the other top pros or have they just practiced differently and if so what exactly was it that let them develop their world class racquet skills?

Back when I was doing my masters I did my final project on decision making at the front of the court for professional squash players. So this is a topic that has always interested me. Can you teach a player to make better decisions and be tougher to read at the front of the court? Definitely yes, but I've never seen a top player successfully change their style from a grinder to a smooth attacking player. Some ideas I would try is relaxing the arm, varying the timing of hitting the ball, having 4 or 5 different set racquet preparations and doing a lot of shot option drills and conditions games. Part of it will also come from video analysis of watching their matches and seeing where they are being read and where a new shot or two could be helpful.

Is the future of the top of the PSA be based on speed, strength and fitness? Or will players with superb racquet skill dominate? Or will a mixture of the 2 be what is necessary to win major titles? If a player is at the highest end of racquet skills can they ever be as fit and fast and strong as Coll and Makin? And can players like Makin and Coll ever develop magical racquet skills? I don't have all of the answers, but it is sure a lot of fun to watch.

 With so many amazingly talented players right now, there is 1 thing I do know for sure. TO be world # 1 for any length of time is going to take the consistency of results that will only come to those that are fit enough to back up big matches and mentally strong enough to pull out close matches. In these situations do you back the super fit or the more relaxed and technically gifted? Beating 3 or 4 of the worlds best in consecutive days it's not going to be easy to win any big trophy and that's what is going to make in 2020 so much fun to watch.

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Mostafa Asal and Other TOC Observations

I have watched quite a few of the women's matches and there's been a number of surprising results, but today I'm going to focus on the phenom, the Raging Bull and some of the strange calls I've witnessed.

I've mentioned Mostafa Asal in a few previous posts as I saw him play at the World Juniors in India in 2018. He won the individual event without losing a single game. Now under 2 years later he's top 20 in the world and at the Tournament of Champions he had some huge wins. Asal beat Ramit Tandon, who I have also seen play in person in straight games. I didn't get to watch this match, but I saw his next 3. In round 2 he upset one of my favourite players, Mohamed Abouelghar who again I have also seen play in person. Yes, Asal played well in that match, but I thought Abouelghar was pretty flat and was probably a bit edgy and nervous playing a young up and coming junior from his native land.

For some reasons when 2 Egyptians match up they don't always play their best squash. A great example of this is if you look at the Tarek Momen and Marwan Elshorbagy match which was quite scrappy and the ref was far too involved. We don't always know the background and hierarchy back in Egypt, but there seems to be something holding some of them back from focusing on their squash when they compete against one another.

Asal against Gaultier was one of the most hyped matches in recent memory. Gaultier had a long delay after being off with a career threatening knee injury. Gaultier is one of the greats and the oldest player  that's still competing at the highest level. The last time he lost to a junior was probably closer to when he himself was a junior. The match lived up to the hype and was quite entertaining. Gaultier started off strong and looked the superior player in the first, but lost the momentum due to a minor blood injury delay between games. Asal looked nervous to be on this stage at this moment against this player, but the extra time seemed to give him some time to settle down. When game 2 started Gaultier's game slipped a bit and Asal was more relaxed. It was fantastic to watch 2 greats who are on opposite stages of their careers.

I heard that Asal didn't start playing squash until he was 11 years old. If that is indeed true, it's hard to fathom how he got to the level he's at in just 8 years. Absolutely unreal. Certainly his size and strength has something to do with this, but he strikes the ball so clean and has some beautiful holds. I'm also impressed how quick is racquet preparation is for having such long arms. His swing can be big when he wants to crack it, but he can keep the pace up under pressure with the best of them.

I can't recall any other junior player who was able to overpower top seasoned adult pros. His hard hitting is right up there with the likes of Mohamed Elshorbagy and Simon Rosenr. Asal reminds me a bit of John White. White had the power, but also great soft touch. Being world class at both extremes is a rare quality and is a big reason why he's playing at a top 10 standard.

Some people have questioned Asal's movement. He's not the most fleet of foot and he's a big strong boy. How is someone at that size going to hang in there for 60+ minutes against a fleet flooded Ali Farag or Tarek Momen? Can he hang in physically with the likes of Paul Coll? Those who saw Asal go down to Momen convincingly in the quarters will know this is a question that will be continually asked until he is able to do this. About his movement, I have never seen someone play so many shots with just the split-step +1 more step. Some players have quick feet, but Asal seems to have the luxury of the strength and reach.

Asal is like a heavyweight boxer and like most I'm curious to see how his career is going to unfold. With the retirement of some of the greats recently retired (like Nick Matthew, Ramy Ashour and Amr Shabana) we need some new players to fill these shoes and Asal in his different coloured shoes definitely does that. I bet most of us believe it's only a matter of time until he's world #1, but I think it's going to take a few years until he is going to be able to beat 3 or 4 of the top 10 players back to back to back; Diego Ellias is still trying to accomplish this. I can't wait to see him play Mohamed Elshorbagy since they are both such powerful players, but are very different in terms of their technique, tactics and movement. I also can't wait to see him play Paul Coll and Gaultier later in the season when he's back close to his best. Will he be able to beat Momen? Moment has shown to be a nervous player, so if he goes down a game to Asal he's got a real shot. I think every Egyptian senior will feel some pressure when they step out on court with him and Asal will be playing with house money.

One area I feel is unfair for Asal is having to wear eye guards. I don't believe anyone regardless of age should be forced to wear eye guards in a PSA event. I know it's not a major disadvantage, but he's not a normal 18 year old and I'm sure he would be fine playing without them.

Here's a few of my other thoughts about Asal. At his size there are going to be some traffic issues, plain and simple. I've heard complaints about his movement and on court behaviour. I've heard of 1 event where he was whining and used a fake injury timeout to make a phone call, presumably to his coach. I haven't seen all of his matches on Squash TV, but I haven't seen much to warrant a debate during the TOC. Back when I saw him play at the World Juniors he was so much better than everyone else the ref was never an issue. I've worked with juniors for a long time and I know sometimes you have to give them some slack. Learning to behave appropriately on court in the heat of the moment is something that takes a long time to develop. Just because Asal doesn't look like a junior, it doesn't mean he's not still one. Learning to clear properly is something that is still rarely done on tour and it's up to all of the players and refs to improve this.

I loved watching James Willstrop and Joel Makin play. Those 2 went through and played almost every ball and it produced far more enjoyable rallies. The sweat on the court floor was a bit of an issue and is something they need to find a way to fix. Almost every other match I watched players constantly took advantage of certain positional situations. The one area driving me nuts is when a player hits a straight volley drop (normally on the backhand side) and their opponent moves sideways into them and gets a stroke because the drop isn't right on the sidewall. I don't see many of the players moving to the T too quickly or sticking their back leg out, blocking a direct path anymore. I do however notice this new stroke position so much that some players are changing their shot selection. If there isn't a path, prove it by trying to go through to play the ball. There's also still a lot of players shaping their racquet around another player and exaggerating their preparation to show that they are being interfered with.

Willstrop and Makin demonstrated that the players have the ability to play around each other, but most of them have gotten into the habit of taking the cheap stroke instead of doing the work to play through minimal interference. It's so hard to win a point at this level, so any cheap stroke is happily taken. I think they should start fining players for fishing or playing the man/woman. It's still crazy how refs sometimes give no lets for a shot when their opponent is directly in their path. Is this not an easy fix? If they don't have a DIRECT path it's a stroke regardless of shot quality? If they did this people would get out of the way or not hit it into the same corner when they're not able to properly clear. Pros know where their opponents are and are moving from, so they can easily provide a direct line if they were going to be punished accordingly. Are the amount of type of let decisions frustrating to anyone else? 'Lets' clean up our game and make it greater!

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