Top seed in way as Moverley enjoys second age
HULL’S Fiona Moverley is looking to break a four-year spell of quarter-final exits as she gears up for the British National Championships in Nottingham.
As the qualifying stage begins today, world no 26 Moverley goes in as a 5/8 seed.
However, with four former champions in the draw for the women’s tournament – SarahJane Perry, Laura Massaro, Alison Waters and Tesni Evans – Moverley is expecting a battle for the title.
“There are four players in it that have won the Nationals before, so that’s four people who know what it’s like to hold the title,” said Moverley, 32.
“I’d say all four of those are the people that you’d bet on. If I was to win in the first round I will play No 1 seed Sarah-Jane.
“My first round isn’t easy, either, but if I do come through to play SJ, it shows that it’s a pretty tough draw.
“It’s an interesting one, I think it’ll be a pretty closely-contested competition.”
This year represents a new era for the Nationals. Having been held in Manchester since 1997, the tournament has relocated to Nottingham and Moverley is looking forward to a fresh start.
“It’s going to be different playing at the new Nottingham venue, so that’s exciting, especially on the glass court that they’ve got there,” she said. “I’m hoping to try and get out of the cycle of just making the quarters, so I’d really like to push on and try and get to the semis. I’m feeling pretty good. I don’t know how many I’ve played in now, but it’s always great to play the Nationals.”
Moverley played junior squash and immediately set her sights on playing professionally, but retired at 22 after struggling to fund her career.
Ten years on, she is back competing with the best after rediscovering her love of the game. “When I was 27, I got a wild card into the British Open, the first year it came to Hull,” she said.
“It sparked that love of competing again, and I made the decision to quit my job and have another go at it professionally. I started at the bottom again and I’ve risen about 200 places in the rankings in four years. So it’s gone pretty well, I couldn’t really ask for more.”