Born: Sydney, Australia Age: 32 World Rank: 4 Tournament Seed: 1 Martin has recently dropped down to number four, but this is described as "only a temporary setback'.

He lost to Scotland's Peter Nicol in the quarter-final of the World Open in Barcelona last September, but before that he defeated Peter Marshall to win the Leekes Classic in Cardiff earlier that year, the first Super series event of 1994 and reached the final of the British Open in London and the Tournament of Champions in New York during April, where he lost to Jansher Khan and Rodney Eyles respectively.

He wrote his own chapter in squash history when he won the Mahindra International Challenge in Bombay in 1993 -- the first major event to be held in India and the first anywhere to be played in the open air. He made a brave bid to defend that title, but went out in the semi-finals to Eyles in a match which went the full distance and was the best game of the tournament.

Martin has won the first major title of his career in August 1993, when he defeated younger brother Rodney in the final of the Hong Kong Open.

"It's a bit late to start talking of breakthroughs, but I think I have a few more wins in me yet. I just think I am getting better as I get older,'' says the 32-year old, who is acknowledged as being one of the hardest hitters on the world circuit.

In the British Open he gave holder Jansher Khan a scare in the final, recovering from two games and 7-4 down to win the third game before finally going down in four. He also lost in four games in the final against Eyles in the Tournament of Champions.

A satisfying victory came during the quarter-finals of New York's Tournament of Champions, when he downed Scottish star Peter Nicol, who has scored shock victories over him at the same stage of the Portuguese and Australian Opens in March.

Nicol, however, would again prove a thorn in Martin's side by ending his dream retaining his Hong Kong title last year, beating the Aussie in straight sets during the quarter-finals.

Martin was one of the most consistent performers on the circuit back in 1993, finishing third in both the Super Series Finals in Zurich and reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Classic in Cardiff, the British Open, the Tournament of Champions, the Brazilian Classic in Rio de Janeiro and the Qatar International. He also reached the last eight of the World Open in Karachi and, for good measure, won the Bermuda Open.

This followed a fine 1992, where he was runner-up to Jansher Khan in the Singapore Open, reached the semi-finals of the Australian and Hong Kong Opens and was a quarter-finalist in the World, Spanish, German, British, Dutch, European and Pakistan Opens and the Qatar International.

Two and a half years older that brother Rodney, Brett -- aside from his power game -- is also recognised as the world's best `touch' player. A flick of the wrist at the last second can send even the best players racing in completely the wrong direction.

In 1991 he reached the final of the US Open in New York, scoring a fine victory over fellow Australian and then world number two Chris Dittmar in the semi-final before losing to Rodney -- the first time brothers had ever contested a final on the PSA Tour.

Having been overshadowed by former world champion Rodney for most of their careers, Brett has moved ahead of his brother in more recent times.

"We have played against each other since we were kids and I know you have to slow the game down against Brett,'' says Rodney. "Let him get on a roll and he can destroy any player before they know what is happening.'' Brett was also a member of the Australian squad which won the World Team Championship in Singapore in 1989 and retained it in Helsinki two years later.

Off the court Martin manages to cut himself off from the tension and the hustle of tournament by listening to music. He has a seemingly endless supply of tapes and is rarely seen without a pair of earphones.

Martin also spends as much of his leisure time as possible scuba diving in Australia's Gold Coast region of Queensland.

But his relaxed style on and off court belies his determination and many opponents have underestimated him at their cost.

"Because I like to relax and people don't see me training all the time, they assume I don't take it all too seriously,'' says Martin. "That annoys me, because of course I train hard.

"Anybody has to to stay at the top in a sport like squash. I just like to do my own thing.

A late starter in professional squash, Brett played in local leagues and had a number of jobs at home in Brisbane before following his brother on to the world circuit over six years ago.

Zarak Jahan Khan Born: Quetta, Pakistan Age: 29 World Rank: 11 Tournament Seed: 2 Zarak, despite reaching the quarter-finals of the Austrian and British Opens and the Tournament of Champions in New York last year, has dropped out of the top 10.

He did, however, regain the Asian Championship in Kuala Lumpur in January.

He was seeded number two for the Singapore Open at the end of August and duly reached the final, losing 15-8, 15-2, 15-4 to Scotland's young star Peter Nicol, who retained his title.

But it was 1993 that really made his mark with some dazzling performances which lifted him 110 places in the rankings.

The highlight was a record-breaking performance in the British Open where he became the first qualifier ever to reach the quarter-finals.

He defeated Australia's former world champion Rodney Martin in straight games in the first round, this was followed with victories over the higher ranked Mark Carlyon of Australia in the second round and England international Simon Parke in the quarter-final after being two games and match ball down.

By the time he lost to compatriot and world number one Jansher Khan in the semi-finals he had played 10 matches in as many days after playing every qualifying round.

In the Qatar International in Doha the same year he reached the quarter-finals, having scored a thrilling victory in the second round over Englishman Chris Walker, winning 15-14 in the fifth game.

Later that month he helped Pakistan regain the World Team Championship from Australia, having been recalled to the national team for the first time in four years.

Zarak's career has certainly provided its share of highs and lows. He played for Pakistan in the 1989 World Championships and reached world number 9, only to suffer a serious knee injury that put him out for more than a year.

He was making a comeback, wearing a brace to support the knee, when he was given a 12-month disciplinary suspension and missed the whole of 1992.

But since his return at the start of 1993 Zarak has made a tremendous impact.

Apart from his British Open exploits, last year he won the Alex Brown Open in San Francisco and the Abu Dhabi Open and reached the final of the El-Shams Open in Cairo. He was also a quarter-finalist in the US Open in Philadelphia.

Zarak started his career well, winning the Des Carnaux Open in 1985, when he also reached the last eight of the German Open. The following year he was semi-finalist in the Open de Paris and quarter-finalist in the Belgian Trophy, Canadian Open and PIA Masters.

During his career, he has also been a semi-finalist in the Prince Rainier Cup, Paris Open, Swedish Open, Austrian Open and Finnish Open.

Paul Gregory Born: London, England Age: 26 World Rank: 18 Tournament Seed: 3 Gregory, an England international, former British national champion and reigning Bermuda Open champion, has managed to stay inside the top 20.

His good run began after winning the Bermuda Open, where he defeated top seed and then world number two Brett Martin of Australia.

He went out in the opening round of the Internationaux de France in Tours in May, but had the satisfaction at least of taking a game off world number one Jansher Khan of Pakistan.

In August he traveled to South America, where he won three tournament in Brazil, defeating fellow Englishman Paul Johnson in two finals and Lucas Buit of the Netherlands in the other.

Winner of the Swedish Open in 1993, Gregory has been one of the leading English players for the past five years and would certainly be ranked higher in the world if he had decided to play in more events on the circuit.

Nevertheless, when he does take part in overseas tournament, Gregory is always a fierce competitor and a dangerous `floater' in the draw. As an example, in one of his first major events in Monaco in 1989 he beat top 10 player Tristan Nancarrow of Australia, then took a game from former world champion Ross Norman of New Zealand.

The following year he reached the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open, beating highly ranked Sami Elopuro of Finland and Pakistan's Mir Zaman Gul en route.

In 1991 he was a quarter-finalist in the Dutch Open and last year, as well as his success in Sweden where he again defeated Elopuro in the semi-final, Gregory put up a superb fight in the World Open in Karachi.

Having come through the qualifying rounds he kept holder and top seed Jansher Khan on court for nearly an hour before conceding defeat in the first round.

He was also runner-up in the L'Acqua Di Fiori in Brazil and semi-finalist in the Rio and Sao Paulo Opens.

He won the British National title in 1991 and has represented his country 14 times. At junior level, he helped England win the European title and finish runners-up in the World Championships in 1986.

Top seeds Hansi Wiens Born: Nowosibrirsk, Siberia Age: 27 World Rank: 21 Tournament Seed: 4 Wiens is showing that he is on the way back after a brief down period.

Ranked 27 six months ago he has climbed back to the 21 spot. This is still some way short of the world number 11 spot, the highest position claimed by a German player, which he held, but he is convinced that he can get into the world top 10.

Wiens finished the 1994 season by going down after a thrilling five game match against world number four Brett Martin in the quarter-finals of the Mahindra International Challenge in Bombay back in December.

This after struggling to find his form earlier in the year, falling at the first hurdle at the Portuguese Open, Tournament of Champions and Internationaux de France and in the second round of the Leekes Classic and British Open.

However, despite his struggles he was able to lead Germany to the runners-up spot at the European Team Championships in Rotterdam last April.

Wiens really made his mark in the world rankings with a sensational performance at the European Open in Kiel in November 1992, when he swept through unseeded in reaching the semi-finals.

Eventually he would bow out against then world number 2 Chris Dittmar of Australia, but he had already achieved the best performance in a major tournament by a German player -- and the satisfaction of doing it before a home audience.

In 1993 Wiens was a quarter-finalist in the Spanish Open in Madrid in March and later that same month reached the semis of the Internationaux de France in Tours.

Born in Siberia of German parents, Wiens moved to Germany when he was four- years-old. He achieved the distinction of becoming the first player for his country to win an ISPA International Tour title at the New Zealand Open in Auckland in August in 1992.

Indeed 1992 was a dramatic year for Paderborn based Wiens, who was also a quarter-finalist at the Singapore Open. In March that year he became the first player ever to beat Jahangir Khan before the semi-final of a tournament -- although he claimed little satisfaction from the feat.

The end of Jahangir's remarkable record came in the Spanish Open in Madrid where the Pakistani tried to play despite suffering from a back injury. The gamble failed and Wiens was the lucky opponent, winning the first game 15-8 before the Jahangir was forced to retire.

BRETT MARTIN -- Tournament's number one seed.