The British Open is the grand tournament of squash. The greatest players in history are judged in two ways – number of World Open titles and number of British Open titles. Despite a few recent years of apparent mismanagement, including a year in which the tournament was not even held, the British Open appears to be back to its rightful place in the squash world.
The Masters draws of the British Open are year-in year-out the toughest Masters draws around. This is partially because Masters events are very well organized in England and many great players stay active playing tournaments, and partially because so many outsiders want to be part of this great tournament.
I have been seeded 5-8 for the tournament. My first match was against a player from Munich, Germany. One of the differences with playing abroad is that you often have no idea how strong your 1st opponent will be. In this case, I was a much stronger player. Although I was pleased to get a relatively easy 1st match, the concern is always to play good squash so that your are truly preparing yourself for the rest of the tournament. In this case I played good squash, and was sure to go through my repertoire of shots and strategies to take them for a test drive. I won 11-1, 11-2, 11-1 and feel that I got a good warm-up for tomorrow’s match which is sure to be much tougher.
You can follow the 45+ draw here.