Matthew back as favourite with Willstrop lurking as a dangerous No.5 seed
By Alan Thatcher, Squash Mad Editor
Three-time world champion Nick Matthew will top the draw when the 2015 Canary Wharf Classic gets under way on March 23.
The super-fit 34-year-old from Sheffield added a 31st PSA World Tour title to his collection with a superb win over French World No.2 Gregory Gaultier in the final of the Case Swedish Open on Sunday.
It was his fifth Swedish title and he will be aiming for another high five at Canary Wharf. He and long-term rival James Willstrop have both won four titles at the East Wintergarden.
They both put their bodies on the line in a dramatic final of the Commonwealth Games in August when Matthew claimed another gold medal to add to his collection of honours.
But while Matthew went into the competition in Glasgow after a successful knee operation, Willstrop has only just returned to action after a hip operation in September.
Willstrop has slid down the world rankings and comes into the tournament as a very dangerous number five seed.
A strong draw features national number ones from Spain (world No.9 Borja Golan), Germany (world No.10 Simon Rosner), Hong Kong (Max Lee) and Holland (Laurens Jan Anjema). Lee produced an outstanding result at the East Wintergarden last year when he overcame Egyptian legend Karim Darwish.
Two hugely talented young Egyptians, Fares Dessouki and Mazen Hesham, add to the international flavor in this PSA $50k tournament.
Essex duo Peter Barker, the number two seed, and Daryl Selby (6), will be aiming to halt the Matthew-Willstrop domination in London. Adrian Waller and wild card Eddie Charlton will also be looking to impress.
Waller meets No.8 seed Dessouki, while Charlton has the toughest task of all, meeting Matthew in the opening round of London’s favourite squash tournament, with every ticket selling out before Christmas.
2015 Canary Wharf Classic (March 23-27). First Round draw:
[1] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [WC] Eddie Charlton (ENG)Adrian Waller (ENG) v [8] Fares Dessouki (EGY)
[6] Daryl Selby (ENG) v [Qualifier] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v [3] Borja Golan (ESP)
[4] Simon Rösner (GER) v [Qualifier] [Qualifier] v [5] James Willstrop (ENG)
[7] Max Lee (HKG) v Mazen Hesham (EGY)
[Qualifier] v [2] Peter Barker (ENG)
LIVE ON TV: BT SPORT TO SCREEN SEMIS AND FINAL
The tournament will be streamed live in its entirety on SQUASHTV www.psaworldtour.com/tv with the semi-finals and final broadcast live on BT Sport.
Picture by  TOMMI TUPOLA (Case Swedish Open)
Countdown to Canary Wharf as @nickmatthew aims for another high five http://t.co/tMDDYEIR0Z @PSAWorldTour @Tgsquash @CanaryWharf @the_wharf
— Squash Mad (@SquashMadDotCom) February 11, 2015