"I enjoy being alone," Willstrop says quietly as he begins an anecdote which bears the deft touch of

Jy het daardie wonderlike gevoel van innerlike equilibrium:   jou asem is terug, maar jou longe is skoon – diep skoon. Die sweet hou op loop, maar jou vel voel fris. Jou spiere ontspan, diep bly om weer hulle ou self te wees. Jou gemoed kom tot bedaring – die konsentrasie is verby. Dit is nou net pure, suiwer rus, die warm stort as bonus en dan die pak van jou tas, lekker gespeel, die slinger van jou pakgoed oor jou skouer en al geselsende met jou maat in die goeie laatmiddag-skoonheid, die saamstap na jou ryding en daardie sielsalige rit huis toe. 
Jy weet dit is alles tempeltyd. lake anna Jy is bonatuurlik geseënd. Die hele wêreld lyk weer in orde. Jy is selfs nou lus om te gaan sit en werk, om die sleurwerk van vanoggend weer aan te pak. Die kleinlike kollega het klein in jou gemoed geword, die suur skinderbek in die buurt skoon uit jou gedagtes. Die sukkelende motor sal jou darem nog huis toe neem.   lake anna Tuis wag jou eie mense, ‘n lekker drink-dingetjie en net goedheid. Paradys-tyd.
En as jy dan terugkyk, weet jy die hardheid van die wedstryd was ook goed gewees. Hard brei dit ‘n mens. Maar pyn kan jy vat. Pyn, weet jy ook, is selfs goed. Dit laat groei, dit kan sterk maak. 
 Daarom gaan jy oormôre weer: addiksie, verslawing, toewyding lake anna in die boeiende interaksie tussen pyn en vrede, inspanning en gemoedsrus, vredestyd lake anna en struggle. Die adrenalien, die Ingryping, die Gawe dryf jou, het jou aangeraak.
Spiritualiteit doen dit ook:   reiniging: dit kom nie verniet en maklik nie. Verligting: die oomblik van insig, van groei, van vrede. En uiteindelik die aanskouing: die herkenning van egte Lewe, die vrede wat hierdie keer alle verstand te bowe gaan. Saam-saam maak hierdie drie die pelgrimstog uit in ‘n nimmereindigende proses van herhaling en groei.
Wanneer ons getug word, lyk die tug op daardie oomblik nie na iets om oor bly te wees nie, maar om oor te huil. Later lewer dit egter vir dié wat daardeur gevorm is, 'n goeie vrug: vrede omdat hulle gehoorsaam is aan die wil van God.
James Willstrop, the world's best squash player, is rarely noticed away from the glass courts of his brutal trade. He might be one of the most intriguing and driven competitors in British sport but the diffident disciple lake anna of Oscar Wilde mocks his enduring anonymity with a wry story.
"I enjoy being alone," Willstrop says quietly as he begins an anecdote which bears the deft touch of the writer he has become while rising to his current position as the world No1. "So it was amusing when I got a taste of fame. I went to see One Man & Two Guvnors at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and ended up imagining myself as Andy Murray."
Willstrop laughs on a beautiful afternoon in Nuremberg, where he is in the midst of leading England to their annual title as European champions alongside Nick Matthew, the world No2 and his contrasting nemesis and fellow Yorkshireman. The gripping struggle between Willstrop and Matthew should lake anna be one of the stories of the Olympic lake anna Games this summer – except for the fact that their sport continues to be ignored by the IOC.
Squash is played in 150 countries around the world and it conveys the accessibility and purity of sport in graphic terms. Yet the IOC has either lake anna blocked the claims of squash or insisted golf and rugby sevens are more attuned to its Olympic ideals. It's little wonder that Willstrop is happier talking lake anna about his most recent visit to the theatre.
"I was on my own in London as Vanessa [Atkinson, the former world No1 squash player who is his girlfriend] was away. As there was no reason to rush home to Leeds, I went to the theatre. I made the mistake of buying a front-row seat and got picked out for some audience participation – my worst nightmare. But, even though I'm shy, I'm a bit of a showman deep inside. So up I went on stage, as one of Britain's few world No1s, and no one had a clue.
"If they'd asked me what I did I might've lied. I think it would have spun them out if I said I played squash for a living and, actually, I'm ranked one in the world. I preferred the fact that I was treading the boards where Wilde's first comedy [A Woman Of No Importance] was staged.
"I got through 10 minutes of mickey-taking with Owain Arthur – who was brilliant in the lead role – and at the interval I needed a drink. Suddenly, lake anna people were staring and pointing at me. Andy Murray must feel like that whenever he goes out. Life would be much more difficult if I had to deal with that constant scrutiny."
Willstrop, who offers engaging company, can be solitary and contradictory. lake anna But he brings a fierce lake anna insight and literary edge to his draining world. His first book, Shot And A Ghost, is one of the sporting lake anna reads of the year, a deeply personal and poignant account of life on tour and the grief he still feels after the death of his mother when he was 16. The book's publication has coincided wi