England's Nick Matthew, top seed in September's ROWE British Grand Prix Squash Championship in Manchester, is more determined than ever before to win the biggest title in Europe this year following the loss of his world number one ranking to Egyptian rival Ramy Ashour.
Matthew was hoping to be become the first Englishman to win a tournament on home soil as world number one since April 2002 when he was named as top seed for the ROWE British Grand Prix – Manchester 2010.
The championship - one of only ten Professional Squash Association (PSA) Super Series events in 2010, and the only PSA Super Series ranking event to be staged in the UK this year - will take place at the National Squash Centre in Manchester from 15-20 September.
But, after becoming world No1 for the first time in June, Matthew crashed out of last week's quarter-finals in the Hong Kong Open – leaving the door open for his predecessor Ramy Ashour, a 22-year-old Egyptian, to clinch the title, and regain top spot in the world rankings which will be published on 1st September.
The 30-year-old from Sheffield refused to be downhearted by his slip to No2: "Nothing has really changed - my aim is always to win the next tournament, whether I'm ranked one, two or 102," said the Yorkshireman on his return to the UK.
"Ramy played exceptionally well in Hong Kong and over the course of the month away, his results added up to the highest total, so he deserves to take back the number one spot.
"It just shows how close it is, and with Greg (Gaultier) coming back in to good form, as well as the likes of Karim (Darwish), James (Willstrop) and Amr (Shabana), I'm sure there will be a few more changes of hands at the top before the end of the year.
"The British Grand Prix is a good opportunity in my home country - and favourite venue - to stake my own claim to get that number one spot back, and finish on a high before the Commonwealth Games."
Matthew has shown formidable form on the spectacular all-glass showcourt at the National Squash Centre in Sportcity – where he won the British Grand Prix in 2006, his second British Open title last September and his third British National Championship crown in February this year.