By Peter Nicol, World No. 1
During the Tournament of Champions in New York last month, Squash Magazine sat down with Peter Nicol to talk about life as the No. 1 player on the men’s tour. From his approach to reaching the top and what he does to stay there, Peter Nicol is one of the unique personalities on today’s PSA tour.
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Peter Nicol |
Squash Magazine: At what point in your career did you set a goal of being No. 1 in the world?
Peter Nicol: I always wanted to get to No. 1, but the goal was never to get to 1. It was to become the best squash player I could be. It was just a case of constantly trying to improve, constantly working on my game, physically getting stronger and just trying to be the best player I could.
SM: Would you say your approach is different from that of other players?
PN: Most players know exactly where their ranking is and what it’s going to be. And that’s crucial to them. And they know that if they get to a certain point in a tournament or if they don’t, where their ranking’s going to slip to or go up to. And, that’s not something I even know, and I don’t want to know.
SM: Regardless of where your ranking is at a given moment, how do you evaluate whether or not your game needs work?
PN: (Laughing) It always needs work. There’s no evaluation there. It needs work all the time. There’s nothing to think about—you have to do that.
SM: If the club player could take some of what you do, what might you suggest to someone who wants to improve but only has limited time to play?
PN: It’s basically, how much time do they waste when they’re actually on court? Just do everything properly, and that’ll make a huge difference. If you’re on court 45 minutes a day, which is usually the maximum most people can do, just make sure you’re ready for it and do the right things in those 45 minutes. And you’ll notice a vast improvement. Start to finish, just focus and do things properly for that 45 minutes. That’s all it takes.
To read more of the interview with Peter Nicol, please see the March 2002 Squash Magazine. |
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