Barker Into World Top Five In New PSA Rankings
by Howard Harding
1 December 2012 - While James Willstrop maintains his grip on top position in the new December Dunlop PSA Men's World Squash Rankings, it is England team-mate Peter Barker who has major cause for celebration after moving up to a career-high fifth place in the list published today by the Professional Squash Association.
One of the most consistent players on the PSA Tour, Barker has reached at least the quarter-finals in 13 PSA World Series events in a row since January last year - a feat unequalled by any other player.
"I'm delighted to hear I've moved up to number five - it's a goal I've wanted to achieve for some time," said the 29-year-old Londoner on hearing the news.
"I'm pleased my consistency has paid off, but it's now time to progress further than the quarter finals and challenge the guys above me!
"Obviously, a continued thanks to those who support me - you know who you are - and without you, I wouldn't be at a career-high."
England now boast three players in the world top five, with Nick Matthew holding onto second position - but only by a single point (in more than 950) above Frenchman Gregory Gaultier.
While Matthew took a break from the Tour last month, Gaultier won the 22nd title of his career at the Abierto Mexicano de Raquetas - two weeks after beating Matthew in October's final of the NetSuite Open in San Francisco.
Egypt's Omar Mosaad also records a career-high ranking this month. The 24-year-old from Cairo reached the Abierto Mexicano de Raquetas final, then the semi-finals of the EBS Dayton Open - and now moves up two places to No8.
Spain's Borja Golan leaps an impressive five places to No13 - just three positions away from the career-high he achieved in 2009 before being side-lined by a serious knee injury. The 29-year-old from Santiago de Compostela notched up the 27th Tour title of his career last month at the EBS Dayton Open in the USA.
The top 20 also welcome back the Swiss number one Nicolas Mueller. The 23-year-old from Zurich continues to make progress on the Tour after becoming the highest-ranked Swiss player of all-time - and now rises three places to No20.
December 2012 top 20 (inc. points average):
(Prev) Pts
1 [1] James Willstrop ENG 1,082
2 [2] Nick Matthew ENG 996
3 [3] Gregory Gaultier FRA 995
4 [4] Ramy Ashour EGY 894
5 [6] Peter Barker ENG 539
6 [7] Mohamed El Shorbagy EGY 531
7 [5] Karim Darwish EGY 511
8 [11] Omar Mosaad EGY 440
9 [8] Amr Shabana EGY 415
10 [10] Daryl Selby ENG 412
11 [9] Laurens Jan Anjema NED 373
12 [14] Tom Richards ENG 360
13 [18] Borja Golan ESP 347
14 [13] Tarek Momen EGY 339
15 [16] Simon Rosner GER 338
16 [12] Alister Walker BOT 336
17 [15] Hisham Mohd Ashour EGY 303
18 [19] Adrian Grant ENG 299
19 [17] Cameron Pilley AUS 276
20 [23] Nicolas Mueller SUI 253
Complete World Rankings
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