MAIN DRAW in HONG KONG

MAIN DRAW ROUND 1 (Wednesday 27th January)
Opponent: Lauren Siddall
Country: England
World Ranking: 39
Tournament Seed: 6
Result: Lost 3-0; 11/4 11/6 11/7

It wasn’t my day today, folks. She took control of the match from the start, and whatever i tried, i just couldn’t penetrate her game plan. Lauren also played in India and we have been training together for the last two weeks. Therefore, she knows my game inside out. Of all the seeds to be drawn against, I was quite sad it was her.

The game started off at a very high pace, which we both seemed to be comfortable in, until we gave away a weak length, and one of us would put it away. My length ran into a bit of trouble because of the walls. Here, the walls are such that if the ball touches the side wall, it looses speed instantly, and bounces away from the wall. This meant that the ball didn’t reach the back as I desired, but instead was set up for her to kill it off. I got really frustrated and instead of slowing things down, i just went faster, which left me more vulnerable to attack because I ended up being a reactive player instead of executing my game plan.

Three cheers to her for keeping it together and closing the game off as a winner in three sets. I’ll keep watching the top players and see what i can learn. It would be good to get on court with them as well, as i’m sure i’ll run into them in a tournament in the not-too-distant future.

Next up…

CAPE TOWN (home sweet home)
-training for the next leg of tournaments!!!

HONK KONG CUP

QUALIFIER ROUND 1 (Tuesday 26th January 11h45)
Opponent: MIWA MAEKAWA
Country: Japan
World Ranking: 112
Qualifying seed: 5
Result: Won 3-1: 8/11 11/5 117 11/9

QUALIFIER ROUND 2 (Tuesday 26th January 17h00)
Opponent: ZOE PETROVANSKY
Country: Australia
World Ranking: 82
Qualifying Seed: 1
Result: Won 3-1: 11/9 4/11 11/5 11/6

We must always find things to celebrate. Today, it is the fact that I’ve made it into a main draw of Tour 12 event. To keep you informed, the tournament levels (from lowest to highest) are:
Tour 4
Tour 8
Tour 12
Tour 20+ (Silver event)
Tour 45+ (Gold Event)
Tour 60+ (Platinum Event)

It gets harder to qualifier for the bigger events. My current world ranking means I would be on a reserve list for a Tour 45, not close to event qualifying for the event.
It also means that when you eventually qualify, you’ll be playing against a Top 20 player! It doesn’t get easier, does it?!

Next up…

MAIN DRAW ROUND 1 (Wednesday 27th January)
Opponent: Lauren Siddall
Country: England
World Ranking: 39
Tournament Seed: 6

INDIA RESULTS

MAIN DRAW: QUARTER-FINALS (Thursday 21th January)

Opponent: Laura Pomportes
Country: France
World Ranking: No.90
Results: Won 3-0; 11/6, 11/9, 16/14

MAIN DRAW: SEMI-FINALS (Friday 22nd January)

Opponent: Joey Chan
Country: Hong Kong
World Ranking: No.35
Result: Lost 3-2; 11/6, 11/8, 5/11, 4/11, 11/9

After battling with the tournament No.4 seed, Dipika Pallikal in the first round, I met with the very agile Laura Pomportes. My game plan was to apply pressure by taking the ball early and using pace. This strategy seemed to work well. In the third game, i tried to wrap things ups too quickly, which meant the rallies were too short or i made errors trying to play winners. Taking it point-for-point, I was able to finish the match winning in three straight games.

The match against Joey was interesting. I knew she was quick and clever, and she pounced at me in the first too games, and i couldn’t quite settle or move in the way i wanted to. In the third game I exploited a weakness of hers, and just sat on it…which seemed to work well. It all had to be accompanied with some hard work of fetching many of her boasts or tricky shots to the front, and also concentrating on winnign points at the back of the court, rather than the front – where i’m likely to make more errors. In the 5th, I had the lead and seemed to be dominating, but again rushed to capatalise on the pressure i was building, but I forgot to sustain it long enough…or to continue to exploit her weakness. An experienced player like her, remained steady, fought back, and played some impressive finishes. She knows there will be war next time 🙂

NEXT UP

Hong Kong Chairman’s Cup
Qualifier: Round 1 (Tuesday 26th January)
Opponent: Miwa Maekawa
Country: Japan
World Ranking: No.112

Updates

Apologies for lack of updates due to internet availability.

Please see: http://www.squashsite.co.uk

MAIN DRAW INDIA

MAIN DRAW: ROUND 1 (Wednesday 20th January)

Opponent: Dipika Pallikal
Country: India
World Ranking: No.46
Results: Won 3-2; 10/12 8/11 11/9 11/9 11/8

I was 2-0 down in games and not feeling comfortable on court, not feeling myself because the pace was odd…but that was her game plan. She attacks any chance she gets, most of the time to the front of the court. I picked up many balls in the front, which began to frustrate her in the end. In the games i won, i was more patience and kept working hard, waiting for the opportunity to attack. I’m happy to be off that court as the winner.

MAIN DRAW: QUARTER-FINALS (Thursday 21th January)

Opponent: Laura Pomportes
Country: France
World Ranking: No.90

INDIAN CHALLENGER

WISPA INDIAN CHALLENGER No.4 – Chennai
18th – 23rd January 2010

Chennai, Chennai, Chennai. I’m looking for the one word that could decribe this place . . . “Hoot!” Strange choice of word, but I’m sure you’ll see things my way. I thought Cairo traffic and driving skills were hectic, but I take my hat off to this place. That’s all you here on the road: the sound of vehicle horns going “beep-beep” left, right & centre, while buses, scooters, bicyles AND people weave amongst each other creating a tapestry of marvelous, ordered and “normal”, accident free chaos. My favourite form of transport must be the 3-wheeled passenger motorcyle which they call an “auto” or “chug-chug”. I’ve been fortunate to have the same driver fetch me from the hotel to the courts – I have become accustomed to his methods of making it through the merciless roads. However, I did find it somewhat exhilirating once I relaxed and realised that nothing is in my control.

The squash on the other hand is not as frantic, but that ball is moving really quickly through the air here. It’s also bouncy, therefore you could easily find yourself dragged into a “who-can-hit-the-ball-the-fastest-contest”, which does not leave much room for the brain to be activated.

QUALIFIERS (Tuesday 19th January)

Opponent: Ankita Sharma
Country: India
World Ranking:
Result: Won 3-1; 11/3, 9/11, 11/1, 11/3

In that second game, I was trying to win that contest. I soon pulled myself back into the game plan, and now I’m through to the main draw.

MAIN DRAW: ROUND 1 (Wedensday 20th January)

Opponent: Dipika Pallikal
Country: India
World Ranking: No.46