January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Kyme following in dad’s footsteps
Looks for seventh club title
Kyme, 24, can equal the record set by his dad, Eddie Kyme, in the seventies if he is victorious in the end-of-year tournament, which starts on Sunday.
The world number 78 has never beaten his dad.
The last time they were on court together was eight years ago, when Kyme senior won 10-9.
“He’s been sitting on that victory for a long time. He hasn’t stepped on a court since,” said Kyme who is back in Bermuda preparing for next week's tournament after a jet-setting three-month schedule competing in Canada, Malaysia and Europe.
Kyme may not have the chance to prove he is number one in the family on the court, since his Dad has now officially retired from squash.
But if he can win his seventh title he will at least have equalled Eddie Kyme's island record for the most amount of victories in the tournament.
“I’m still Eddie Kyme’s little son to a lot of people, so I've got to try and change that,” joked Kyme, who was doing speed training at the club yesterday.
“He’s been coming up with all kinds of reasons not to play me. It would be nice to at least equal his record.”
Nick and Eddie aren’t the only Kymes on the honours board at the Bermuda Squash Club in Devonshire.
His mum Denise has won the female event six times.
Nick said he felt he was playing the best squash of his career and was looking forward to showing Bermuda sports fans how he has improved.
“I think it’s important to play in Bermuda and to show people where I have improved. They have only seen me against Thierry Lincou (world number one) and its hard for them to gauge how I’ve come on.”
Kyme comes into the tournament on the back of a hectic three-month schedule during which he has played in a series of Professional Squash Association tournaments in a bid to boost his world ranking.
After hitting the heights of 63 in the world after his creditable showing against Lincou in the Bermuda Masters he had slipped back into the seventies, due largely to his self imposed absence from the circuit to work on his game over the summer.
But a good run of results in a prestigious tournament in Hungary, an appearance alongside the world's elite in Malaysia, and a run to the quarter-finals in Barcelona should see him move right back up the rankings again next month.
“I've played a lot of the top guys this year and it really helps your game. You have to think that much quicker against these guys.”
He said one of the advantages of being Bermudian was that the top players on the circuit knew him from their visits to the island and often asked him to warm-up or train with them before tournaments.
Bermuda Squash Club pro Patrick Foster who is organizing the tournament, said Kyme was the top seed and obvious favourite.
But he said there were a series of plate competitions to ensure everyone who entered would get at least three games. There is also a veterans competition.[[In-content Ad]]
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