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The PSA Bermuda Masters has brought some of the world’s best squash players to the island.

We caught up with two of them, Aussie number two seed Anthony Ricketts and England’s number on James Willstrop, as they went through a practice session on the glass court at BHS this week.

You guys have been all over the world playing squash. How does this event rate on the tour?

Anthony Ricketts: This is a grand slam event. In tennis terms it’s comparable with the US Open, Wimbledon, The Australian Open.

It’s one of the biggest of the year for us. The other three would be the British Open, The World Open and Super Series Finals.

Do you like coming to Bermuda to play?

AR: All the players look forward to April coming round to get back to Bermuda. It’s one of our favourite venues. The tournament's well organised. It's a great place to be.

James Willstrop: What can you say? The seas are blue, the sun’s usually shining. It’s a very pleasant place to be. I was sat out on a rock at the beach yesterday just contemplating life. It’s nice.

Squash is pretty competitive at the moment. Can you predict who will win this tournament?

JW: There is no-one in the world who could tell you who’s going to win this week. It’s so close between everyone — down to about 12. Anyone of those boys can do something on any given day. You’ve got to be on your guard to stay there if you can.

AR: Every time the world rankings come out there is a new number one, Everyone is so close together right now. I’m back at six in the world at the moment. I am going to have to play well from beginning to end to have a chance. We’ve all played each other a bunch of times and everyone knows each other pretty well. It will make for some hard squash battles out there.

So you think it will be worth watching for thespectators this week?

JW : You can’t get much better. You’ve got the best players in the world — a game which is totally competitive — at the peak of its competitiveness. Everyone is training hard, working hard and wants to win. It makes it a real challenge and hopefully it should be good to watch.

When was the last time you two played each other?

AR: Last time we played was in the final of the British Open. I got my revenge from a previous tournament and beat him.

You’ve both just come from the Commonwealth Games. How did things go out there?

AR: I got a silver in the men’s doubles. I didn’t do so well in the singles but it was a good experience. The atmosphere was something else.

JW: I got a silver in the mixed-doubles. I have never seen anything like that. There’s much more media spotlight, you are playing in front of around 2,000 people. Normally we get full stadiums but it’s about 500 or 600. The Commonwealth Games attract a crowd of sports fans rather than just squash fans.

What’s life like on the world tour. What other places have you been to?

JW: In the last few months we’ve been to Chicago, New York, Melbourne… and now Bermuda. We’ve seen some pretty nice cities. We’ve played in some amazing venues. They’ve set up the court in Grand Central Station in New York, in front of the pyramids in Egypt, in shopping malls…. It always attracts a decent crowd.

Do you think squash will ever take off as a spectator sport in the same way as tennis? Why do you think that hasn't happened yet?

JW: I really don’t know. Television coverage is maybe the problem. When you come here or you play in New York or anywhere in the U.S. people love to watch it. We never have trouble filling the stadiums.

AR: People that see squash for the first time get hooked by it. It would only be a matter of getting more exposure on the TV for it to take off big-time Squash is a really active fun sport to be involved with and people love to watch it. It's right on the brink of booming. There is a bit of frustration around that that hasn't happened yet.

Can you make a decent living out of squash or do you rely on sponsors?

AR: The top players can make a reasonable living out of it. The sport can be a bit cruel in that the money does drop off quite quickly. There’s a good bunch of guys making a good living on it, but it’s hard for the guys lower down the rankings

Have you met Bermuda’s ‘wildcard’ Nick Kyme? How do you think he will fare?

AR: I’ve seen him play, yeah. He’s improving all the time. I’m sure he’ll play his best squash at this tournament. He’s got the home crowd behind him and I’m sure he will do well.

David Palmer had some problems with his racket not making it to Bermuda. How important is it to have the right racket?

AR: It’s crucial. You need your racket. It has to be the individual one, not just the same make. You’re used to it — it’s your tool. You notice subtle changes in the string tension. I’m pretty obsessive about my racket.

So there’s no smashing your racket or throwing it around when things don't go your way?

JW: It happens. We are all passionate about the game. We are all competitive. We all show it in different ways. It happens in every sport — there’s fighting in football, there’s sledging on the cricket pitch. It’s a shame Jon Power’s not here otherwise you might have seen a bit more of that.[[In-content Ad]]

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