RICHIE FALLOWS, the former top Essex junior who is now making a name for himself on the PSA circuit, has drawn the golden ticket at next month’s 
$70,000 AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix in Manchester.
Richie, currently world ranked number 76, has a delicious if daunting first-round match against none other than Mohamed El Shorbagy, currently the world’s best player. The Egyptian heads a star-studded line-up and will provide a massive opportunity for Richie to mix it with the best in the business.
Nick Matthew, the world no.2, who will be bidding for his third successive British GP title from September 11 to 14, will be joined by Essex trio Peter Barker, Daryl Selby and Fallows, Yorkshire pair James Willstrop and Chris Simpson, and Surrey’s Tom Richards in the main draw, after Fallows was awarded a wild card.
However, the English contingent will face a strong international challenge for the title, since the three other players in the world’s top four – Elshorbagy, Frenchman Gregory Gaultier and Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez – will also be competing at the National Squash Centre.
Played on a brand new state-of-the-art ASB all-glass show court, Europe’s largest standalone men’s PSA World Tour event will also feature Australian no.1 Cameron Pilley and Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad, with the four remaining main draw places to be earned via an equally competitive qualification event.
“We are obviously thrilled that this year’s AJ Bell British Squash Grand Prix has attracted all of the world’s top four ranked players, but we are equally delighted to see such a strong international representation alongside a competitive British contingent, which will no doubt enthral squash fans from day one,” said internationalSPORTgroup Chief Executive Officer Paul Walters.
“We are very appreciative of the support of Manchester City Council and AJ Bell, as well as the PSA and our other event partners, and we hope that this year’s AJ Bell British Grand Prix will once again bring together a lot of our shared philosophy.”
Main draw entry list (seed, name, nationality):
1) Mohamed Elshorbagy (Egy)
2) Nick Matthew (Eng)
3) Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
4) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col)
5) Peter Barker (Eng)
6) Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy)
7) Daryl Selby (Eng)
8) James Willstrop (Eng)
9) Cameron Pilley (Aus)
10) Chris Simpson (Eng)
11) Tom Richards (Eng)
WC) Richie Fallows (Eng)
Qualification entry list: Cesar Salazar (Mex), Gregoire Marche (Fra), Alan Clyne (Sco), Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned), Zahed Mohamed (Egy), Lucas Serme (Fra), Joe Lee (Eng), Charles Sharpes (Eng), Piedro Schweertman (Ned), Steven Finitsis (Aus), Joel Hinds (Eng), James Earles (Eng), Ashley Davies (Eng), Nicholas Wall (Eng), Alex Noakes (Eng), Aqeel Rehman (Aut).