Stars prepare for Canary Wharf Squash Classic

Matthew, who has won the last three Canary Wharf finals and is top seed for the event which begins on Monday, said he felt flat.

"I have played a lot of squash in the past few weeks, probably more than any of the other guys, but I can't blame anybody other than myself because I make my own schedule," he said.

"I just want to make one more big push at Canary Wharf. I want to do well there, then take a rest and get ready for the British Open in May.

"I made more errors in the match with Daryl than I have over the rest of the year but I don't want to take anything away from him."

Selby said: "Nick is truly a class act. To call his own shot down at 9-6 in the third game, to give me match ball, shows his integrity.

"I have beaten him before and I'm happy with the game plan I had in Kuwait. It hasn't always worked before but it did this time."

Selby, who lives in Chelmsford, can rely on huge home support at Canary Wharf. But the 30-year-old, who faced Mohamed El Shorbagy in the last eight in Kuwait, might be a little jet lagged when he begins his Canary Wharf campaign against German champion Simon Rosner on Monday.

The 6ft 3in Rosner has recently climbed to 16 in the PSA world rankings, one place behind Selby.

There is lots of London interest in this year's event, with Kingston wild card Charles Sharpes, 21, meeting number two seed James Willstrop.

Sharpes' training partner, the Walton-based world No.12 Tom Richards, meets a qualifier on Tuesday, as does former Limehouse resident Peter Barker, the number four seed this year. Adrian Grant, who lives just a few miles away in Dulwich, also tackles a qualifier on Monday.

The qualifying competition takes place this weekend at Wimbledon Health and Rackets Club with four winners going into the sell-out main draw.

Go to canarywharfsquash.com for more information.

Alan Thatcher