Nick Matthew and James Willstrop resume their rivalry at Nationals

“But rivalries help make sports. It was Jahangir and Jansher [Khan] who got me interested in squash.

“Then it was Power and Nicol, and for me that rivalry was even better.”

Willstrop was also inspired by those halcyon days.

He added: “That interest [in the Khans] was almost inexplicable. They used to play in front of 2,000 people at the Wembley Conference Centre. It was becoming the Wimbledon of squash and I think, for whatever reason, we’ve lost that impetus.”

Make no mistake, the next generation of British squash players will be talking about Willstrop and Matthew and their rivalry could have been one of the stories of the Games.

Matthew said: “London 2012 was the best and the worst experience for me, if that makes sense, because I love Olympic sports and everyone in squash thought we’d be a perfect fit.

“That was a big opportunity for the sport and the thing squash will miss out on is ensuring a legacy.”

Willstrop and Matthew might be the answer – but one of the curious things about their head-to-head record is that it’s not that close.

Matthew has won 19 of their 24 competitive matches.

“I’ve never tried to work out why [I’ve got such a good record against him] because I think if I find out I might take things for granted.” Matthew said.

“But they’re always tight games. You don’t often have two-hour matches in squash – but we’ve had plenty.”

Willstrop, who spent 11 months last year as world number one, says he’s unaffected by the record.

“I try not to think of it as a negative,” he added. “I don’t go out there thinking ‘I can’t work him out’; it’s not like he’s chopping me up every time because the matches are close.”

The physical demands of squash mean that neither of these great British sportsmen will be around in 2020. If they are, they won’t be at the peak of their powers.

Matthew said: “In terms of marketing itself, squash is now light years ahead of where it was. TV broadcasters are taking coverage from Squash TV [internet streaming of live matches], so it’s looking promising for 2020.”

Willstrop agrees that momentum is building – but 2013 is all about regaining the world number one spot.

And he knows his old foe will be fighting as hard.

The men’s final of the National Squash Championship is at 17:00 GMT on Sunday 17 February.