After spending the last month in India and Saudia Arabia, where he reached successive PSA squash finals, Nick Matthew has been lent a 4x4 vehicle so that he can negotiate the adverse weather to his house in Sheffield's Snake Pass over Christmas.
The England No 1's form, though, is likely to see him scale new heights next month as he bids to topple Egypt's Ramy Ashour as world squash No 1 after a stellar 2009 season. The Yorkshireman won five times on tour and will climb to world No 2 in the January rankings.
Matthew and Ashour's final in the Saudi International last week - the Egyptian won in five games in just under two hours - was hailed as one of the finest matches in recent times. Ashour, 22, has flair, touch and counter-attacking skill in abundance. Yorkshire's Matthew, 29, is one of the sport's most consistent performers, who plays tight, controlled squash.
England and Egypt couldn't be further apart when it comes to style, but it has made for a seductive spectacle on court.
The two nations currently dominate the men's tour with seven players in the world's top 10. And at the top of the rankings it's Matthew who believes he can lead the home charge in 2010.
"Too many people show him [Ashour] too much respect and I am one of the few that knows he can have good and bad days," said Matthew. "I can hurt him as well with my game.
"It's not like he has won every tournament in the last few years and regarded as a Jansher Khan [Pakistan's former world No 1] figure. He's been beatable and brilliant in equal measures."
In the Saudi final, Matthew took the first games Ashour had lost all week and came within three points of becoming world No 1.
He said: "I have beaten him before and people obviously didn't believe that he could be beaten all week. So I went out there with a different belief and it nearly paid off.
"I was devastated after the defeat as I had come so close. But I knew it was the last match for a while after the end of a really long season."
And after spending most of 2008 on the sidelines, Matthew's mindset is such that he would rather focus on Delhi next year than the pressures of the world rankings.
"The Commonwealth Games are my biggest goals in 2010 and it is the only one I have considered. It is bound to be more special as it is the biggest honour we have."
Matthew and Ashour are likely to be seeded to meet in the final of the Tournament of Champions in New York next month.
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