The sport of squash has taken Mike McCue around the world, from all over South America, North America and Europe, but being in Sudbury is something special for the 22-year-old.

He’s here, in the Nickel City, back home. Back to where it all started, playing two roles at the 2015 Northern Ontario Open squash tournament at the YMCA: co-organizer and player.

"It’s been really good so far," McCue said of how the tournament has gone. It began on Monday and runs until Saturday, with games taking place daily from 5-10 p.m., with free admission for spectators. "We’ve done it enough years now where things are mostly routine. I mean, there are hiccups here and there, but having organized the tournament for six years now that (experience) has helped out. You learn about what you have to focus on. It’s not too stressful.

"But it’s tough because a day before your match, you want to prepare like it’s any other tournament and not take on too much, so I’ll probably start winding down now, until (today)."

That’s because McCue plays his first match today at 7 p.m. against Ryan Cuskelly of Australia.

Keeping busy with organizing the tournament has helped McCue not get worked up about today’s match.

"The draw came out a month ago, so I’ve known who I’m playing," McCue, a national team member, said. "I’ve thought about it, but it could be a good thing sometimes (that you don’t get to think about your opponent) too much. Sometimes you sit around all day thinking about your match and psych yourself out, get too nervous, get too excited."

McCue lost to Cuskelly in last year’s Northern Open. And in a single elimination type of tournament, those defeats sting. A competitor builds up their expectations, mentally picturing what a win would look like, feel like, and then one game goes by, you lose, you’re finished. "You build up these expectations and you have a surprise loss and it’s just an awful empty feeling. Everyone goes through it, but sometimes it’s really, really tough to accept."

But this time around, at this tournament, McCue, who has moved up to No. 114 in the world rankings, isn’t getting ahead of himself. He’s up against stiff competition. Marwan El Shorbagy of Egypt is here. He’s ranked No. 12 in the world. Cukelly is No. 43 in the world. So McCue has reasonable expectations. He doesn’t see himself competing in Saturday’s final at 4 p.m., which holds a $10 admission free, but he’s expecting to go down swinging. In a tournament like the Northern Open where the prize money is $25,000, there likely won’t be any championship photo taken for McCue, but he’s fine with that. He’s accepted his fate and is here to battle.

"It’s nice because I know what to expect," McCue said of today’s match. "I’m comfortable playing against his style of play, so I’ll be able to get settled in, get into a nice rhythm. He’ll be extremely tough, but I’ll definitely be able to have my say in the match, express myself a bit out there.

"This is a tough tournament for me," McCue added. "Now, I think I would have been able to come through the qualifying and make the main draw, but being in the wildcard in years past has been a bit above my level, so I’ve been playing guys much, much better than me. It’s been a bit frustrating, but last year I did very well. I did better than expected against Ryan Cuskelly. (Today), I’ll try to implement some things I learned playing him last year. I think a lot of it is going out and imposing yourself on the game. If you go out and worry about their specific choices or their certain style of play, you land up getting sucked into their game.

"So, you have to realize what your strengths are and show your opponent that these are my best shots, I’m gonna play them when I get a chance, and we’ll see how you do to respond. So, I’ll play my strengths and do what I do well against any player and not worry about the opponent."

Which is exactly what a player like Shahier Razik will be doing. At 37, he’s a veteran at this game. He won this tournament a few years ago, but with Canadian Nationals just around the corner, he’s playing it lightly and playing it smart. Canadian Nationals is obviously a bigger event, so Razik is here to rack up some points, maybe a couple wins, and prep for the next the big tournament. He swept Albert Shoihet 11-8, 11-2, 11-3 on Tuesday, booking his spot in the main draw, which begins today.

"This is a good chance to get some matches under the belt, see where you are, and sharpen up," Razik said. "Obviously, the No. 1 goal is always to win and get further in the tournament as much as possible but when you have such a big event (Canadian Nationals) a week after, you always have to put things in priority and that one needs to take the priority in the long-term. But we’re here, playing for ranking points. It’s a two birds with one stone type of thing."

Different athletes, different perspective. But Razik makes a valid and understandable point.

And so does McCue, who admitted he’s feeling the pressure heading into today’s match, mainly because he’s playing on home court, in front of friends and family.

"This is essentially the only competitive match I get to play in Sudbury all year," McCue said. "A lot of the local squash fans are great. They follow my career and support me, but it’s one thing to see results on the Internet, and another thing to watch me in person. So that’s why I find it frustrating I haven’t been able to get much of a result at this tournament, ever, but it’s because I’ve been out of my depth. But I’ve been improving."

And sometimes that’s all one can ask. McCue has a lot to do with the Northern Ontario Open being in Sudbury. The tournament thrives because of McCue. He’s likely not going to win, but that’s not the point. His effort is what matters.

"As soon as we swing the racket to see who serves and the ref calls ‘love all’, it’s game on like any other tournament," McCue said. "And like any other tournament I’m going to play until I die, basically. Play my heart out. Leave it all out there."

Twitter: @keith_dempsey