Massaro Gearing Up for World Championship Return by Sean Reuthe photo squashpics.com
April 7, 2016
- Women’s World No.1 Laura Massaro is gearing up for a return to the
country where she won her biggest ever title as she heads to Malaysia
for the upcoming PSA Women’s World Championship which takes place in
Kuala Lumpur between Monday April 25 - Saturday April 30, when she will
look to recapture the crown she won in stunning fashion two years ago
in Penang.
Massaro has been one of the dominant forces on
the Women’s Tour so far this season, with back-to-back World Series
wins at the Delaware Investments US Open and Qatar Classic towards the
end of last year laying the groundwork for her rise to top spot in the
January 2016 world rankings.
By her own admission, the
Englishwoman’s form hasn’t quite followed along the same vein since
usurping Egyptian shot-making sensation Raneem El Welily at the summit
of the world rankings, but she is relishing the chance to take to the
court in a country that saw her defeat current World No.2 Nour El
Sherbini to lift the sport’s biggest prize back in 2014.
"I normally do quite well in Malaysia so I’m looking forward to going back there," said Massaro.
"I
had a really good week in Penang when I won the World Championship, but
it didn’t all go my way. It’s easy to look back and think that it was
all plain-sailing and I pulled everything together but I think I saved
three or four match balls in the quarter-finals and managed to come
through and win before winning the semi-final. By the time I got to the
final, I was extremely nervous because I didn’t expect to be in the
World Championship final with an opportunity to play it without Nicol
[David] being there because she had been in the last five.
"There
were quite a lot of nerves around it but I had a real determination to
take the opportunity with both hands and it was an opportunity that you
don’t know how many times you will have with it being the World
Championship final so I was very excited to do my best there and really
fight hard all the way through. I don’t think it was probably the best
match from either of us, but I think you get that sometimes in major
finals where you’re both on there, things are edgy and there’s a lot at
stake so I was happy overall with how I handled myself on the day to
finally take the title.
"The first half of this season and
the run up to Christmas was brilliant, winning two World Series
tournaments and making the final of the third one [Hong Kong Open], and
the fact that it culminated in becoming World No.1 was obviously a
massive high and an achievement that I’m really proud of. Since
Christmas I haven’t been as happy with my form and with how the events
have gone. I haven’t won a title apart from the British Nationals but I
don’t feel like I’ve been playing too badly, particularly in Chicago
[Windy City Open].
"I thought I had played well all week
and Nour was just really good in the semi-final so I came out of that
feeling pretty positive. Unfortunately, I got a little bit sick between
Chicago and the British Open so it just goes to show that, if you’re a
little bit off your game, everyone is too strong to be able to win. I’m
excited by the fact that I’ve got some time now after the British Open
and before the World Championship where I can try and get back to some
of the form that I had pre-Christmas."
Massaro has the
advantage of being one of just three previous winners to take part in
the tournament but faces a great deal of resistance with the likes of
El Sherbini, who last month became the first female Egyptian to win the
Allam British Open, Camille Serme, the Frenchwoman who eliminated
Massaro from that tournament, and El Welily all looking to launch
serious assaults on the coveted title, in addition to eight-time winner
David.
This is the first time the 32-year-old has come into
a World Championship as the number one seed but she insists that the
experience of winning the prestigious title before has helped to take
the pressure off as she looks to become the first Englishwoman to win
more than one World Championship crown and take part of the lucrative
$185,000 purse that is on offer.
"I’ve won the World
Championship when I wasn’t the top seed so that billing doesn’t really
mean anything, you don’t get anything for that, but it’s really nice,"
she said.
"It’s a privilege to be able to see my name at the
very top of the draw when the best female squash players are there as
well. Aside from that, I know that it’s going to be a really tough week.
"It
would mean a lot to win. It’s amazing to have my name on that trophy
already and I guess apart from myself, Nicol and Rachael [Grinham], no
one else has got a World Championship title so, in some ways, it takes
the pressure off when you’ve already got your name on there. It would
be an amazing bonus to have it on there a second time and a two-time
World Champion sounds a heck of a lot better than a one-time World
Champion.
"I’m really excited for the tournament and I’m
going to try and put in some good work now so I can give myself the
best possible chance to do well in Malaysia in a few weeks."
Massaro
gets her tournament underway against a qualifier and is seeded to meet
El Welily in what looks set to be a mouth-watering semi-final fixture
in the most lucrative Women’s World Championship ever, which will also
see the winner get a brand new Citroen DS4 car.
All matches
will be played at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil and
admittance to the event is free of charge. For more information and
details, please visit www.psawwckualalumpur.com
