Matthew aims for world number one at Canary Wharf

Should he win next week's event at the East Wintergarden Matthew could find himself top of the world rankings, although he's taking nothing for granted.

The 29-year-old Yorkshireman crashed out of last year's Classic in the first round against Egyptian qualifier Mohammed El Shorbagy and he's realistic about his chances this year. He faces another, as yet unknown, qualifier in the first round next Monday.

He said: "I want to go at least one better than last year. It's about time I did better at Canary Wharf as my record there isn't great, so I'm desperate to make some progress.

"I've been in good form this season, but then I was in good form last season and look what happened. I feel confident but I'm experienced enough now to know not to get too far ahead of myself.

"Playing a qualifier can be awkward, as Mohammed proved, but it can go one of two ways. They get the benefit of having played some competitive squash in the pre-tournament qualification so they can be sharp, but then they might be shattered if those matches have been hard. I'm hoping it will be the latter."

Winning Canary Wharf would earn Matthew 875 ranking points, which could move him to the top of the world rankings above Egyptian Ramy Ashour. But he isn't counting his chickens.

He said: "I'm not really looking at the world number one spot at the moment. Ramy is playing in another tournament at the same time and could pick up points there, so it's out of my hands.

"But I should pick up more points than I did last year, so I could be pushing for that top spot and if I did reach it, it would be an amazing achievement for me."

Whatever happens at the East Wintergarden next week Matthew's form, which has seen him win the British National Championships and North American Open in recent weeks, is the best of his career.

"If I knew what the secret was I'd bottle it and sell it," he said. "There's no magic formula. You can't go up five levels overnight, so what I've achieved this year has been down to years of hard work, plus having the experience to cope with things.

"It helps that English squash is in such good shape, with six guys in the top 20. This is the best generation ever, so it means we have to be at our best when we play each other. But the nice thing is we all get on very well off the court."

Five of those Brits, including three time Wharf champion James Willstrop and local favourite Peter Barker, will be in action next week, so the rivalry will be intense but friendly.

Matthew said: "All of us are of the age where we should be coming to our best, in our late twenties. We're all great friends and we've all got a lot in common, so we do have a laugh when we get together for England squad training.

"There's a good camaraderie and a good spirit, although we're all fiercely competitive when we play each other."

Matthew is also eyeing gold at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October.

He said: "That's a big goal for me. It's our Olympic Games. I was there four years ago when Peter Nicol won and it was a special event. Hopefully I can carry my form through to that.

"There have been security concerns about holding it in India but that's something out of the players' control, so there's no point in worrying about it. I hope to be there."

Matthew is from Sheffield and is good friends with another native of the steel city, World Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis.

He said: "Yes, we're good friends. Jess is a perfect role model for aspiring young athletes and she's shown people how to do things properly.

"She's had to cope with a lot of setbacks, especially with the injury that ruled her out of the Beijing Olympics, and she's been rewarded with some amazing success. I'm really pleased for her."

Matthew will be focusing on his own success next week. After a few days rest he will travel down to London on Sunday to ready himself for the assault on the Canary Wharf title.

He said: "I'm trying to do things a little bit different to last year, when I came down on the Saturday and then got knocked out on the Monday. Hopefully, the change of plan will bring a change of luck as well."

The ISS Canary Wharf Classic is at the East Wintergarden from March 22-29. For tickets visit canarywharfsquash.com.