Victorian Open - 28 July
The first of these events was the popular Victorian Open in Melbourne. Run brilliantly by Squash Victoria at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, the event is a popular destination for the PSA World Tour.
I was in the main draw in this one and had a huge five sets win in a battle against Swiss qualifier Manuel. In the second round I came up with the young in form Indian Kush Kumar. Kush did very well to exploit my movement in the front with his soft backhand drops. In four games, I was out of the tournament. I made sure to hit the following day to keep the body moving and to get some more court time for the Aussie Open the following week. I had the weekend off and used the time to relax as well as watch some good games.
Australian Open - 3 August
My favourite event on the PSA World Tour was back after a few years' absence. I was in the qualifying rounds for this one where I sneaked past Caillin Jay Austin of Australia in 3 games to get through to round 2. The highlight of the day tho, was a catch up with old time squash mate former world no.4 Paul Price after many years. Great to see you buddy and catch you again soon.
I got through to the main draw after a 3-0 win against Adrian Ostbye of Norway in the second qualifying round. I thought I played and moved well which was great. In the main draw, I drew my buddy, former flatmate, travel and practice partner from my days in Holland, world no. 58 Steve Finitsis. I looked forward to playing Steve after a couple of years and hoped to play well.
The match was fierce. A big five setter that Steve won 11-6 in the fifth after an hour of high intensity squash. It was probably the best match I've played this year which was encouraging. I controlled the rallies and used the lower tin to my advantage. Disappointed to not start well in the 5th and playing catch up all the way but not letting the result overshadow the performance. I will take a lot of confidence from it.
A big thank you to Gemma for fixing me, Victor for his guidance and former top pro, hk national coach and good friend Abdul Faheem for his valuable advice. Nothing beats experience. Thanks a lot team.
As for me, it's now home time!
NSW Open 28-30 August
This one was a complete disaster - from a Squash point of view anyway. Seeded 7th, I was hoping to get a Quarterfinal match against top seed Matty Hopkins. However, I made some juvenile mistakes (as Victor called them) and took my opponent too lightly to pay the price by being bundled out in the last 16. A disappointing end to my first NSW Open in a long time. Another disappointment was the low points this result would add to my ranking - certainly a step backwards from my goal of qualifying got the world individual championship in Seattle in November.
Back in the room, frustrated with myself, I gave myself only one choice - to pack it in and head home to Palmy and say goodbye to my dream for this year. I called the airlines to prepone my flight. Couldn't get through after a half hour wait. How I wished I was out of there.
Slowly I began to gain control again. Talking to friends, family and loved ones helped. I decided I did have another choice - to not give up and keep going - like I always have. Victor' s advice to relax and blow off steam came in handy as well. I started turning things around in my head and thought postively. Soon, I was back on track - planning things with family and friends to relax.
After an amazing few days in Sydney, I was over the disappointment and ready for the next one. Pleased to turn around a disaster into opportunity. Regardless of results I am determined to enjoy my last event of the year at this beautfiful place - Coffs Harbour.
North Coast Open, Coffs Harbour 04-06 Sep
A beautiful, warm place with equally warm and beautiful hosts at an excellent venue in Coffs Harbour, NSW. Staying at a squash club, sharing a room with 5 other players was an experience as well. One of them sleep talked, yelling 'downstairs!' repetitively the first night and telling himself to stick to the plan and not miss his flight the next night provided excellent entertainment.
My draw was a hard one but I liked it. Two tough matches against skilful Korean players and I was in the quarters against you, up and coming Martin Svec of the Czech Republic. It was a great match!
I controlled the lefty's attack pretty well and took the first two. Had two matchballs in the third but Martin kept fighting and won the game. Fatigue kicked in the fourth and it was 2-2. A big push in the fifth by both of us saw a quality last game. I saved a matchball and after a long rally at 9-10 Martin took the match - to his extreme delight. Well done him.
Not the result I wanted in my last event of the season but I'm happy it has ended. The results from my 10 PSA events wouldn't be good enough to reach my goal for the year - to qualify for the World Individual Champs. However, I'm glad I dared to dream and gave it a shot. It's been a tough 6 months for me trying to manage playing, training, coaching and work.
Now, it's over - I can relax.
