Willstrop & Matthew Are One-Two In May World Rankings
by Howard Harding
1 May 2012 - England again has the top two players in the Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings following Nick Matthew's return to No2 behind fellow Yorkshireman James Willstrop in the new May list published today by the Professional Squash Association.
Willstrop has extended his lead at the top of the rankings to more than 300 points after reaching last month's final of the El Gouna International Open, the third PSA World Series event of the year, in Egypt.
A semi-final berth in the Red Sea resort was enough to move Matthew ahead of Frenchman Gregory Gaultier - but his Egyptian victor Ramy Ashour went on to beat Willstrop in the final and rises to fourth place in the list.
England's Daryl Selby recorded his first Tour success for more than a year at the Grasshopper Cup in Switzerland - and is rewarded with a return to the world top ten.
Alister Walker, a former Englishman who switched his allegiance to the country of his birth last June, celebrated two title successes last month and his fourth since representing Botswana.
The New York-based 29-year-old brushed aside all opposition in the Berkshire Open in the USA, then again justified his top billing last week in Dublin to win the Cannon Kirk Homes Irish Open. Walker leaps five places to No13, his best ranking for more than two years.
Spaniard Borja Golan has also enjoyed a successful recent six weeks on the Tour - following victory in the Manitoba Open in Canada in March by semi-final berths in the Berkshire Open and Irish Open.
The 29-year-old from Santiago de Compostela, fighting back to top form after a career-threatening knee injury, makes a welcome return to the world top 20 for the first time since 2009.
Golan's return to the top flight also means that nine nations are now represented in the world top 20.
May 2012 top 20 (inc. points average):
1 [1] James Willstrop ENG 1,644
2 [3] Nick Matthew ENG 1,304
3 [2] Gregory Gaultier FRA 1,296
4 [5] Ramy Ashour EGY 1,073
5 [4] Karim Darwish EGY 947
6 [6] Amr Shabana EGY 652
7 [7] Peter Barker ENG 627
8 [8] Mohamed El Shorbagy EGY 613
9 [9] Laurens Jan Anjema NED 508
10 [11] Daryl Selby ENG 432
11 [10] Thierry Lincou FRA 432
12 [12] Omar Mosaad EGY 408
13 [18] Alister Walker BOT 373
14 [16] Hisham Mohd Ashour EGY 367
15 [13] Mohd Azlan Iskandar MAS 354
16 [15] Tom Richards ENG 347
17 [17] Adrian Grant ENG 344
18 [14] Cameron Pilley AUS 328
19 [18] Simon Rosner GER 316
20 [21] Borja Golan ESP 312
Complete Rankings
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