LAURA Massaro knows that if she is to defend her British squash title she will have to do it the hard way.

The Chorley ace – who became the first Lancashire woman to be crowned champion last year – is seeded three and due to meet world number three Madelaine Perry in the semi finals.

But the 28-year-old has received a timely boost ahead of the championships to be held in Manchester this week – both on and off the court.

For Massaro goes in to the Nationals fresh from pushing world number one, Nicol David, all the way in the final of Cleveland Classic.

There is also the small matter of securing a new sponsorship deal.

Massaro, who lives in Hoghton, has been sponsored by Bolton-based Whitespace Consultants, the office refurbishment specialists.

Among other things, the deal will help fund her coach Phil Whitlock travelling to tourna-ments with her.

“With Whitespace’s support it means I can have Phil coming to a few events with me,” said Massaro, the world number four. “That will make a huge difference to my performances in the tournaments I play and hopefully improve my ranking further.

“So I am really grateful to be sponsored by Whitespace. They are a local business and I am pleased to be associated with them.”

However, this is not just the usual case of flashing the cheque book about.

Andy Wyn-Jones, who set up the company with Nicola Young back in 2004, is a squash fan.

He has been a member of East Lancashire Squash Club – where Laura and her husband Danny both play and coach – for more than 10 years and helped set up the club’s thriving junior section, which is son Max is a part of.

“First and foremost I am a squash fan and I know Laura and Danny very well from being a member of the club,” said Wyn-Jones who is originally from Chorley but now lives in Wilpshire. “I have a lot of confidence in Laura and seriously believe she become British number one and number two in the world.

“Hopefully, this sponsorship deal will help achieve that.”

As well as winning the British title last year, Massaro also won two ‘gold’ events – one of which was the Cleveland Classic – where she beat Nicol for the first time.

While she could not repeat the feat this time around, Massaro, who was named World squash player of the year in 2011, was encouraged by her performance in America.

“I thought Cleveland went well,” added Massaro who lost a very close finalto Nicol in four games. “I had been struggling with a few injuries and did not do as much training as I would have liked.

“So making the final and pushing Nicol as much as I did was a brilliant result for me.”

The former Albany High School pupil kicks off the defence of her title against a qualifier with possible show-downs with British number six Victoria Lust and Ireland’s Perry.

Last year, she beat British number Jenny Duncalf in the final to win her first title and she is eyeing another final appearance.

She added: “My aim for the nationals is to try and make the final. I have a tough draw and I am seeded to lose in the semi finals.

“If I could make the final and get past my seeded position then that would be brilliant. Then I’m in conten-tion for the title and anything can happen in the final. Most of all, I am looking forward to getting started in the event. I’ve got nice memories there from last year.”