Interview: World Champion James Stout

During an interview after his match last night [Nov 20], which saw him successfully defend his World Championship Rackets Title, Bermudian James Stout said, “It was strange I felt more nervous going into the second leg with a four nil lead than I did 2 years ago against Harry Foster (the then World Champion) when I led 4-1 at that stage. I thought Alex would come out with all guns blazing as he had absolutely nothing to lose.”

When asked how he felt about losing the first game he commented, “I wasn’t really worried, I had a lot of confidence in myself, and it takes just one point for momentum to change. You’re in the service box, you win a point and the momentum is in your favour. As in tennis, the service is a very important part of rackets: you win points with it, whereas that almost never happens in top level squash.

“Anyway I was feeling confident, I relaxed more and we had some very good rallies where I had him under pressure. We picked up the pace, I was pushing him up the court more and he was no longer able to play winners. It was just a matter of time before he started making mistakes.”

Stout’s parents, John and Karen Stout were on hand to see him retain his title as were two of his brothers.

When asked for his reaction to his son’s victory, John Stout admitted, “It was nerve-racking, especially as Alex is such a strong player. In retrospect there was no need to worry as the damage had been done in New York with the 4-0 lead. Some of the rallies in the second game were amazing, the ball was moving so fast. It’s incredible that the players can control it and judge where it’s going in order to hit it . Afterwards the spectators were very complimentary. All in all it was very exciting.“

#JamesStout

Category: All, News, Sports