GRANITE CLUB OPEN 2012

TORONTO (26TH – 29TH MARCH 2012)

Monday 26th March: Round 1

Opponent: Thaisa Serafini
Country: Brazil
World Ranking: 61
RESULT: Won 3-0; 11/5 11/6 13/11

I had a good start to the match, playing the game i wanted to play, and getting a good feel of the court conditions.
Thaisa fought harder in the third and i had to stay focused in order not to let the third slip away.

On Sunday morning I had a little accident by cutting my playing hand with a broken glass. I managed to practice with it, and strategically placed some band aids to cushion it well …and fortunately it held up nicely during the match.

Tuesday 27th March: Quarter Finals

Opponent: Tesni Evans
Country: Wales
World Ranking:  55

Tesni caused an upset by beating Olivia 3-0 (WR no.45), so she will definitely bring her A game tonight…and so will I, band aids and all.

Full results on: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/graniteclub201.htm

ATWATER CUP 2012

MONTREAL (20th – 23rd March 2012)

Line Hansen

Kasey Brown

Round 1: Monday 20th March

Opponent: Line Hansen
Country: Denmark
World Ranking: No.24
Tournament Seed: 5 
Result: Lost 3-2; 8/11 11/8 11/5 6/11 11/7

 

I knew the match would be a tough one, considering I had played her twice before and lost 3-0 on both occassions. Even though i lost  the match, i am not entirely disappointed because i was able to put into play the things i have been working on, and have seen lots of improvements. The results will eventually come, once the right foundation is put in place. I am very excited to see things falling into place.

I got off to a good start and seemed relaxed and played good squash to move her around the court, and making sure i was placing the ball to a good length. In the second game, she settled down more and my length became a little short. The third game saw me play a few too many errors, but I managed to tighten things up in the 4th game.

She got off to a good start in the fifth and was 3-0 up too early. I was 7-3 down before i realised i needed to dig a little deeper and keep her behind me, because she was already showing signs that she had been working harder than me – but unfortunately i had given her too big a lead, which an experienced player like her knows how to capitalise on. 

All in all, a better performance, could almost taste victory, but as they say “almost doesn’t count”, so I will just have to make it count next time. I also got a chance to train with Kasey Brown, World No.7 the day before my match…that was nice!

NEXT UP…

Granite Open 2012, Toronto
26th – 29th March 

Watch this space. Full results on:
http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/atwatercup2012.htm

SAVCOR FINNISH OPEN FINAL

MONDAY 13TH FEBRUARY 2012

Finals

Opponent:  Emily Whitlock

Nationality: English

Tournament Seed: 1

World Ranking: 33

LOST 3-0; 11/6 11/8 11/3

 

I lost a bit of confidence on the court today. In the process of trying to do the basics right, i kind of left out my aggressive and positIve attacking style to all corners of the court. I needed to take it up a gear, but played it too simply. Emily played her game well, placing me in the corners first, and consistently so.

 

Thanks to all the support in the last week. The live streaming has really helped people at home to take part in the action with me.

 

 You can watch the matches on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Squashfi?ob=0  (quarter final uploaded, but the semis and final will be on in next couple of days…)

SAVCOR FINNISH OPEN SEMI FINALS

Finnish Open Semi’s vs Carrie Ramsey

SUNDAY 12TH FEBRUARY 2012

Relief surpasses happiness today. I was relieved to get off that court as the winner, because in some moments, it could have easily gone the other way, especially when she had match point at 10-9, or match point again at 11-10. Fortunately, lessons I had learned somewhere from squash experts about keeping calm under pressure, or memory of Rudyard Kipling’s poem studied in high school saying “if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs”, all those lessons came in handy today. 

Savcor Finnish Semi Final

Opponent:  Carey Ramsey

Nationality: English

Tournament Seed: 8 

World Ranking: 68

Won 3-2; 7/11 11/8 11/6 8/11 13/11

 

At the start of the game, i just wanted to settle into things quickly and adjust to the court as soon as I could. I played a little more conservatively at first, but soon realised that she was comfortable with that game. I played more confidently in the second and third game, imposing my game well. She stepped things up in the 4th game and we both tried to move each other around the court. I made quite a few unforced errors, trying to finish off rallies too quickly, and that let her back in the game. The fifth game, is always anybodies’ game. It didn’t help that I decided to take the rollercoaster root to become the winner. I was 7-4 up, the 9-7 up, then all of a sudden, it’s 10-9, matchball to her. I certainly gave my home support a few heart attacks, but I am just happy that the match was not decided by me putting another ball in the tin.

 

In the final tomorrow, I will be playing a young English player, Emily Whitlock (no.1 seed). I have never played her before, but am ready for battle.

 

Monday 13th February 2012

Savcor Finnish Open Final

Opponent:  Emily Whitlock

Nationality: English

Tournament Seed: 1

World Ranking: 33

 

Live internet streaming for the Finals at 17h00 SA time (15h00 UK time) http://www.squash.fi/live/

 

 

SAVCOR FINNISH OPEN QUARTER FINALS

Finnish Quarters vs Birgit Coufal

SATURDAY 11TH FEBRUARY 2012

Quarter Final

Opponent:  Birgit Coufal

Nationality: Austria

Tournament Seed: 6

World Ranking: 62

WON: 3-1; 7/11 12/10 11/7 11/9

 

I has slower start than my opponent, while she came out firing. Pretty quickly, I was down 7-2, with the rallies far shorter than what I had intended them to be.  Glass courts often require players to take  a little time to adjust to them. In the first round I played on normal court, while Birgit has played her first match on the show court. I soon settled into the game, but had left the gap to wide to close up.

As the match progressed, I found better ways to keep my opponent working hard out of the back corners, which made it a little easier to use opportunities to the ball to the front.I am happy to be through that match with a win.

It was nice to know that I had the support of family and friends watching at home and around the world through the live streaming on the internet.

 

Semi Final

Opponent: Carrie Ramsey

Country: England

Tournament Seed: 8
World Ranking: 88

 

 SUNDAY 12th FEB 15h00 RSA time or 13h00 UK time,  LIVE ON INTERNET STREAM again: http://www.squash.fi/live/

 

 

 

 

1st ROUND IN FINLAND 2012

FRIDAY 10TH FEBRUARY

I thought arriving to below freezing temperature was bad enough, but today brought a different meaning to the word “chill”. -25C. Just walking one minute in that weather is enough to make a single drop of liquid freeze instantly. Good thing we only walk 2minutes to the shopping mall where they have erected an All Glass Court.

1st Round Main Draw
Opponent: Sally Skaarenborg
Nationality: Denmark
Tournament Seed: Unseeded
World Ranking: 101
RESULT: Won 3-0; 11/4 11/5 11/9 (27min)

More Info: http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/finnishopen2012.htm

Other South African matches provided the tournament with a few surprises and heart attacks, but unfortunately were unable to prevail today.

Steve Coppinger lost 3-2 against an Egyptian player, and Milnay Louw lost 3-0 against the no.1 ladies seed, Emily Whitlock.

LIVE MATCH STREAMING TOMORROW, SATURDAY 11TH FEBRUARY

My match is live on internet stream at 13h45 RSA time (11h45 UK) http://www.squash.fi/live/

Quarter-Finals
Opponent: Birgit Coufal
Nationality: Austria
Tournament Seed: 6
World Ranking: 62

Gather a few friends to watch…and bring your SA flags and pom-poms!!!

SAVCOR FINNISH OPEN

10TH – 13TH FEBRUARY 2012

I have arrived in Finland for the first time, to be greeted by -11C temperatures in Helsinki, which dropped to -18C by the time I reached my tournament destination of Mikkeli, at 01h30 this morning.

There are two other South Afircans here, Milnay Louw and Steve Coppinger. It’s always nice when we can travel together to tournaments, then we can support each other through our matches. Milnay will be playing a qualification match today at 16h00, while Steve is the no.2 seed in the men’s draw.

ROUND 1: Friday 10th February
Opponent: Sally Skaarenborg
Country: Denmark
World Ranking: No. 101

For the full draw, please visit: 
http://www.horizonsolutions.tv/entry/wispa/rankpdf.php?page=tourdraw&tour=11SQWI2M