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There can be few more inspiring training camps than the Giza sand dunes where world number one Amr Shabana honed his physique in the shadow of the pyramids.

The Egyptian master, who has been wowing audiences at Bermuda's World Open this week at Turtle Hill, has come a long way since being written off as a hedonistic student by the media back home.

His party days are firmly behind him and after reeling off three major tournament wins on the bounce he has cemented his position as squash's golden boy - the closest thing the sport has to a Roger Federer or a Tiger Woods.

Here he talks to James Whittaker about his gruelling training schedule, what it takes to be a World Champion and his answers to all of the sport's problems: squash on TV and more promoters like Ross Triffitt - Bermuda's director of squash.

How did you start out in the sport?

You could say I come from a squash family. My mum was national champion, my dad still plays every day and is vice-president of the club in my neighbourhood in Maadi.

My sister is three-years older than me and she beat my mum to become national champion when she was 13. Now she has her own squash academy.

My parents really love sports. As a youngster I was into swimming, gymnastics, table tennis, football, badminton - I played all sports.

I started really getting serious at squash when I was 10 or 11 - that's when I started winning national junior titles.

I started playing PSA (professional tour) at 15. By the time I was 17 I was mid-20s in the rankings.

I stayed around that ranking for a while. I went to full-time at the American University in Cairo to study advertising and media and I didn't take squash as seriously. I was a first-year student - you know what it is like.

Did you consider going into a different career after University or where you always destined to be a squash star?

When I left University I gave myself three years. I said 'either I do something very big in squash or I quit and do something with my degree'.

There's not a lot of money in the sport. It's not like tennis or football.

I have known a lot of amazing players who have given up because they couldn't afford to keep doing it.

I was 21 and I said if I don't hit the top ten or win a major tournament by my 25th birthday, I'll do something else.

In 2003 I won my first World Open. I was 24. I cut it fine, but since then I have risen steadily up the rankings. I made world number one in April last year and I've held the position ever since.

What do you think is the key factor that has helped you kick-on to be world number one?

My body and mind are still very fresh. While a lot of the players my age were grinding it out on the tour I was living the student life - studying and partying.

Even the tournaments I went to were more like a holiday away from school. I didn't take it too seriously.

Ever since I was a kid I had people telling me I was going to be a World Champion and that kind of bugged me.

I think having that break gave me a push. By the time I started seriously I was more mature with my body and my approach to the game.

What was the reaction like at home when you won the World Championships?

In Egypt we have had great World Champions in the past, but not in the modern era.

It was huge when I won it. It caught everyone by surprise because by that time people had written me off.

Back home the media and the TV, they always make out like they knew I would be champion, like it was always going to be me. But before that they were saying I was burned out, that I didn't like to train and I partied too much.

Do you still like to party?

It has become less and less partying and more and more squash. I am a stay-at-home guy now.

It is hard to do both. I hardly go out at all now. Since March I haven't been drinking at all. I like to go to dinner with my wife or just stay home and watch sports.

I love all sports - football, tennis golf. Ask any sportsman and they will say sports is in your system. I am always watching sports - even if it's snooker!

My wife goes crazy. She says 'you're away all the time playing squash, then you come home and watch sports.

Do you think squash will ever take off commercially like some of those sports you just mentioned?

If we had more promoters like Ross Triffitt (Bermuda's director of squash and the man behind this year's World Open), then it would. But there are very few of them in the world. Look at this venue. Not just the location but the way it is set up, the professionalism. But this is one tournament. The World Squash Federation hasn't done enough to get the sport out there.

The players are doing everything they can. You couldn't get better depth and variety of styles. The organizations have to step up to get our product out there.

The prize money has to be increased too. When we had the tournament at Grand Central Station virtually everyone who came through stopped to watch.

When the people found out what the prize money was they could not believe it. They thought we were superstars.

You are actually something of a superstar in Egypt aren't you?

In Egypt squash is the second biggest sport in the country after football. But I am not a big celebrity. If I walk in the street I sometimes get recognized, but not too much. That's fine with me, I don't want to be bigger than the sport. I want to be famous for playing squash not for being on television talking about being a squash player.

What do you think could be done to raise the profile of the sport?

Why isn't squash on television? Don't tell me the ball is too small and you cannot follow it. Is it smaller than a golf ball? It's all about directing, marketing, advertising. Squash does not have it and other sports do.

What kind of training does it take to play squash at the highest level?

Squash is a balance between fitness, precision and mental toughness. At any point in the game your pulse beats from 110bpm up to 200bpm. Games last for up to two hours and if your heartbeat drops to 110 it's probably because you got a time out to argue about a let or something.

You have to train your heart to sustain that pressure.

I do a lot of interval training, running on the court, mountain training in the off-season.

When I do stuff like that I go near the Pyramids. There is a lot of hills up there and the sand is so fine. I'll run 15 minutes across sand and then run ten times up and down the hills. It is inspiring to run there. It's like when Muhammed Ali was doing his training in Africa or something like that.

It is so tough. I feel instantly tired, but after I finish it is like a natural high. Your body is tired but you want to do it again.

Do you enjoy training?

Sometimes you have to love your training. I do all my own training plans. I haven't had a fitness coach since I was 17. I want to do it for me, not because someone is telling me too.

When I want something I do it. I don't need a coach to make me. It has to come from me.

Top athletes talk a lot about the mental game. What mental characteristics do you think separate the very best from the rest of the pack?

There is no easy answer for that. All the players who put their name on the professional squash ranking board are just as dedicated and put as much work in as each other. I think it just comes down to sticking with it, trying to be better and always being able to improve on your weaknesses and just hope it works.

People can have mental coaches and things like that but at the end of the day it comes down to your personality. All your decisions are made in a split second. It's not like golf where you can take time and assess how you are going to play your shot.

When you are on the court, you are on your own. It's instinctive. n[[In-content Ad]]

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