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[Martin Heath summary and statistics]

by Ron Beck

Martin Heath likes to go against the grain. For Martin, doing it on his own is the ultimate challenge.

At the 1999 British Open, held in Aberdeen Scotland, Heath was up against Jonathon Power in the Quarter finals. The match was marked by considerable pushing and shoving, in which Heath's combative side showed through. Afterwards Heath remarked, "I wanted to beat him at his own game - attacking and shooting. A lot of players are afraid of Power's attacking game but I wanted to go right at him, attacking myself.... It probably wasn't so smart was it? I didn't succeed. But that was my game plan and I just have to improve it a little..."

TOC 2000 HEROICS
At the 2000 Tournament of Champions, Heath scored a great win over Peter Nicol in the semi finals. In the finals, perhaps aware of the spotlight he was in and the TV cameras rolling, Heath came out completely differently than at the British Open match three months earlier - there was no pushing, no shoving, no arguing. But the squash was great. Heath showed he could attack with Power. And though he fell short, he gained a lot of admirers for his creative and courageous play.

Martin was born in Stirling in Scotland and now lives in the coastal town of Oban in the Western Highlands, one of Scotland's most idyllic tourist attractions.

Martin has spent most of squash career in the shadow of his world No. I compatriot Peter Nicol. He made his professional debut in 1993, appearing for the first time in the January PSA world rankings at 251. By September 1996 he was in the top 20, leaping from 29 to 19, and in November 1998, he became one of very few players to make his top ten debut from a position outside the top twenty - soaring from 21 to 7, before moving on to a career-high No. 5 the following month, a position he currently occupies.

HEATH AND POWER
But the first of his stated goals was achieved in the Al-Ahram International in October 1998, when he beat Nicol for the first time since the pair were in their early teens.

ECLECTIC GOALS

Heath clearly has the self confidence, brash energy, and ability to make it to number one. The question is whether he can consistently overcome Jonathon Power's seeming psychological advantage over him and Peter Nicol's fitness and consistency advantage.

On the question as to whether Heath or Parke is most likely to challenge Nicol and Power, Heath seems the more likely candidate - his attacking style and creative tactics are suited to the current directions of the game.

The son of a basketball player and semi-professional footballer, Heath took up squash at the age of eight. He graduated from Glasgow University with a BS in Physiology, Psychology and Sports Science, and eventually plans to study for a Masters degree in the USA. While in his early career he was influenced by Jansher Khan and Chris Dittmar, but these days, he gets his inspiration from the likes of Herrnan Hesse, Buddha, and Allen Ginsberg.

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