Tuesday 15 June – Day 0
The best thing about being based in Europe is the reduced travel times to most tournaments. There is no jetlag and players usually get to the venue a day before their match rather than a week before how I have done many a times travelling from Auckland. I was kindly offered a ride by Davide Bianchetti who was driving from his home in Brescia, Italy to Toulouse through the southern French coast – a distance of 966 kms. He hosted me at his place last night where I was treated to nice Italian food and dessert alongside watching Italy vs Paraguay in the World Cup with the passionate Italian.
It took us ten hours to get to the Squash club in Toulouse with an hour’s break for lunch and coffee in Antibes. The weather wasn’t the best for most of the drive otherwise it was comfortable. Time flew talking to Davide about various things and I managed to squeeze in an interview as well. At the club I met up with flatmates Brad and Steve as well as other players. We all waited for the qualifying matches to finish to find out that I play the young Frenchman Fabien Verseille tomorrow afternoon. Time to get some rest.
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Good breakfast, morning hit and rest after lunch – all set for the first match. I was expecting a tough match with the talented and in-form young Frenchman. I started well but my hip was sore for some unknown reason and was playing on my mind a bit. I told myself that it cant be helped and I should focus on playing well to try and get a win. A bit distracted through the first, I lost it to go down one game. The second was tight and I had to push hard at the end to take it and level the match. It was hard to do a lot with the ball in the hot conditions and the higher tin but I tried to be as steady as possible in the third and totally controlled the game to win it. I felt a loss in energy at 3-0 up in the 4th and he played well to come back and win the game to take the match into the 5th. It could have been anyone’s match but I broke through at 7-7 to get matchball at 10-7. He kept fighting hard and I made a few mistakes for him to get level and then have matchball at 11-10. I played the last two points well and stayed steady waiting for him to attack – which he did and eventually made mistakes for me to take the match 13-11 in the fifth. It was a long one and I will have to go through the recovery routines to make sure I feel good tomorrow. I will be playing our experienced Italian friend Davide Bianchetti and if I want to win this one it will be a hard, long and tough.
Thursday 17 June
Had a good hit and stretch in the morning. The sweat out felt good and the hip felt much better. I had a good rest in the afternoon and was ready for the match against one of the most experienced players on the tour. The match started well and we were both steady. I felt I could attack a bit more but hesitated with the higher tin and the hot conditions. We played a steady game which I won. He came back strong in the second to level the match. He totally controlled the third with accurate length and had me do a lot of the running. We were both feeling it by then but he led 2-1. I played good attacking Squash in the fourth – going short when I had the opportunity and volleying more often. He found it hard and I leveled the match at 2-2. The fifth could have been anyone’s. I felt confident because I knew I was fitter than him and could push more. I was also aware that I shouldn’t let them game be played at the back and be controlled by him and that I had to attack which can be risky. I started really well and took a 3-0 lead. He dug deep and played excellent Squash to keep coming back. After a few hard rallies that he controlled he took the lead and I was left fighting and struggling for points. He used all his experience to stay in the match and take it 11-7 in the fifth to my disappointment.
Now its time to go back to the drawing board and see what can be done better. The next few events will be big and need to be focused upon well. I have a few weeks before I play in the Malaysian Open so that’s a good amount of time to work on things. Lets see how it goes.
.JPG)
