Simpson faces the world number 26 in the first round

Chris Simpson, Guernsey's leading squash player and world number 45, is preparing to play in the most lucrative tournament the sport has ever seen.

The Men's World Open in Kuwait starts on Sunday, with almost $280,000 in prize money on offer.

Simpson, 22, will face Egyptian Hisham Mohd Ashour, the world number 26, in the first round.

Simpson said: "I'm looking forward to playing some good squash and hopefully causing some upsets."

He [Hisham Mohd Ashour] is known as one of the most talented players on the tour shot-wise but he's not a great mover Chris Simpson

And Simpson will go into the game with confidence having defeated world number 20 Daryl Selby last week.

Simpson added: "It's given me a lot of confidence and just made me realise that I can still do it and that my game is improving at the moment."

"I've seen him [Hisham Mohd Ashour] play a lot, he is known as one of the most talented players on the tour shot-wise but he's not a great mover," Simpson said.

"So I've already sorted a rough game plan of what I think I need to do... I've never played him before so once we get on there everything could change."

Simpson is now preparing to head to Switzerland on Thursday for a warm-up match before the tournament begins.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version