SQUASH - GRASSHOPPER CUP 2017 - Nick Down
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SQUASH
SQUASH - GRASSHOPPER CUP 2017 - Nick Down
Spent a day and a half on the road travelling to Zurich arriving in the evening on the 1st May ready to set up the next morning at the Puls 5 centre in the centre of Zurich , the venue for the 2017 PSA 100K ' Grasshopper Cup '. This was a first visit for me , to this rapidly growing tournament , and was as much a scoping exercise for me as anything else to see if it is suitable to pursue in future years . A great draw with the top four players in the world seeded 1 to 4 . I was asked to string here by a Wilson , who ' s leading sponsored player is Switzerland ' s Nicolas Muller and this is his Home City , they were also launching a brand new line of rackets on day 1 of the tournament . The tournament was a sell out from day one . Only a 16 draw and a schedule that used one all glass court in the evenings only ; doors open from about 4pm . The tournament organisers advertised my services about 6 weeks prior to the event encouraging spectators to bring their rackets and have them strung whilst they watch the pros . Business ticked over nicely throughout the five days with about a 50 / 50 mix of players and spectators rackets . I was placed very close to the court and was able to keep an eye on the matches too . Greg Gaultier of France won the event , his 5th consecutive world tour title ( at the age of 33 ), I ' ve been stringing for Greg since 2007 at various events , currently he uses Tecnifibre 305 1.1 , at only 7kgs ! He ' s been playing at that low tension for about the last 5 years to my knowledge and it must suit him because as of 1st June he will become World no . 1 again for about his 3rd or 4th stint . It was interesting to see the popularity of Swiss no . 1 Nici Mueller in his home venue , he was followed by a TV crew from a national channel , and had fantastic support all week , he played well and narrowly lost to current World no . 1 Mohammed El Shorbagy of Egypt in 5 sets after leading 2-1 . I even made it onto Swiss TV , for a split second , whilst discussing a restring with Nici Mueller ! It ' s a great tournament , with plans to expand next year by adding a ladies draw alongside the Men , it ' s definitely going to