Matthew Invites Fans To Follow His ROWE British Grand Prix Challenge On Twitter

England's Nick Matthew, top seed for the ROWE British Grand Prix Squash Championship in Manchester this week, has invited squash fans from around the world to follow his challenge for Europe's biggest squash title on www.twitter.com/nickmatthew

Matthew was hoping to be become the first Englishman to win a tournament on home soil as world No1 one since April 2002 when he was named as top seed for the ROWE British Grand Prix - Manchester 2010.

However, following an unexpected quarter-final loss in the recent Hong Kong Open, the 30 year-old lost his world No1 ranking to Ramy Ashour - the Egyptian rival he is expected to meet in the British Grand Prix final..

The ROWE British Grand Prix, one of only ten Professional Squash Association (PSA) Super Series events in 2010 and the only PSA Super Series ranking event to be staged in the UK this year, will take place at the National Squash Centre in Manchester from 15-20 September. Matthew is keen to keep his growing army of fans updated of his progress.

"The ROWE British Grand Prix has already received massive media interest and hopefully my Twitter updates throughout the event will help a lot of my supporters and well wishers who cannot attend the championships to keep updated of my progress," said the Sheffield squash star.

Matthew refuses to be downhearted by his slip to world No2: "Nothing has really changed - my aim is always to win the next tournament, whether I'm ranked one, two or 102," said Matthew.

"Ramy played exceptionally well in Hong Kong and over the course of the month away, his results added up to the highest total, so he deserves to take back the number one spot," explained the top-ranked Englishman.

"It just shows how close it is, and with Greg Gaultier coming back in to good form, as well as the likes of Karim Darwish, James Willstrop and Amr Shabana, I'm sure there will be a few more changes of hands at the top before the end of the year.

"The British Grand Prix is a good opportunity in my home country to stake my own claim to get that number one spot back, and finish on a high before the Commonwealth Games."

Matthew has shown formidable form on the spectacular all-glass showcourt at the National Squash Centre in Sportcity - where he won the British Grand Prix in 2006, his second British Open title last September and his third British National Championship crown in February this year.