World Open: Qualifying Round 2

Today I was up against rising young star Nour El Sherbini who is 29 in the new World Rankings.

In the first two games I possibly gave her too much respect and mixed with a bit of nerves, I put a lot of balls in the tin. In the 3rd I dug in and with a better length worked myself into more winning positions and kept more of them out the tin than earlier in the match! I managed to sneak the game 12-10. I played good squash to take the 4th 11-7, getting forward to volley as well as keeping a better length.

The 5th was a see saw, I went 7-4 down before bringing it back to 7-7, 8-7 down, 8-8, 9-8 down, 9-9 and I played a straight drop from the back at 9-9 which was too tight for her to get back giving me 10-9 and match ball. On a crosscourt drive to the forehand I broke my strings but thought it was going to die in the back corner. However, she managed to scrap a boast back but left the ball in the middle of the court for me to hit any shot. Unfortunately I couldn't control the ball with the newly broken strings and the ball came straight back at me to give her a stroke. I was unfortunate again in the following 2 rallies, catching the frontwall/sidewall nick on both and the ball squirted out into the middle of the court leaving me unable to avoid giving away strokes. This made the score 10-12, meaning I was out of the tournament.

Gutted I couldn't get the win today, probably a win on any other day. However, I will take plenty of positives out of the match and the tournament overall.
I am flying home on Tuesday and then will have the rest of November training at home before my next event which is the Coronation London Open and runs from 1-4 December at the Cumberland Club.

World Open: Qualifying Round 1

Today I played Nayelly Hernandez from Mexico. As to be expected I was slightly nervous but I managed to turn that into concentration and started the match really well. I managed to put my opponent on the back foot from the start and quickly leapt to a 10-0 lead in the first game before taking it 11-2. It was a similar story in the second which I won 11-1. In the 3rd she got into the match more and played some nice shots but I kept my concentration and composure to take the game 11-6 and move into the 2nd Round of Qualifying tomorrow. I will be playing Nour el Sherbini from Egypt, who has gone up to 29th in the most recent world rankings. It will be a really tough match but I showed today I am playing well so hopefully we will have a really good match!

World Open - Rotterdam, Pre-event

I'm heading off to Rotterdam (Netherlands) tomorrow for the World Open. I start in the first round of qualifying, which is on Saturday. The draw was done today and I have a tough path to qualify but I am going to give it my best and see what happens. My first match is against Nayelly Hernandez, world ranked 57 and Mexican number 2, at 3pm on Saturday (2pm GMT I think). You can follow the tournament here and for updates in the mean time follow me on Twitter.

University of Birmingham vs Duffield

Last night I played my first PSL match of the season for my new team, University of Birmingham. It was the first home match of the season and they literally had to turn about 30/40 people away because it was packed to the rafters! Seeing as Birmingham Uni is possibly the biggest of the PSL venues, that is a great achievement, but when the world number 1 is on show there is always going to be plenty of interested parties!

So onto my match! I played Kiwi Jaclyn Hawkes, currently ranked 15 in the world. I played reasonably well but made a few errors at the wrong times and eventually lost 3-0. All the games were close and it's encouraging to know I can compete and at times dominate play against a player ranked so highly in the world. I have taken positives from the match and was back on court this morning working on aspects of my game which I believe will help me improve and be able to begin to trouble the top players further.

It was a great effort by everybody in the team but unfortunately Duffield were too strong and we lost 5-0. The next home match is 6th December against Oxford.

Next for me is the World Open, which begins on Saturday in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The draw is being done tomorrow so then I will know who I will have to play to qualify. I will try and keep the blog updated whilst I am out there.

First Round

Today just wasn't my day. I lost 11-8 in the fifth, so 2-3. My opponent played well and was making me work hard for every point. I played better towards the end of the 2nd and then the 3rd but couldn't win the vital rallies at the end of the 4th or 5th games, which I am disappointed about as it is usually one of my strengths. The court was extremely hot today and I struggled building and finishing off rallies. This is something I will take forward and work on for next time I face hot conditions. It is disappointing to lose in the first round after doing so well in America, but I will bounce back and take as many things from match and my time here as possible.

On a more positive note I will now have 6 days at home to prepare for the World Open in Rotterdam which begins on the 29th October. The draw hasn't been done yet, so I will have to wait to see who I will be playing.

Arrival in Spain

So after a horribly early flight from Stansted, I have arrived in Santiago de Compostela which is in the NW of Spain, above Portugal. Thankfully not quite a cold as it was in England, but not as warm as I had hoped.

Checked into the hotel, which is IN the shopping centre. Novel to say the least. My view out the window is the inside of the shopping centre, so could be brilliant for some people watching if I get bored.

Unfortunately, my original opponent had to pull out Ill a couple of days ago, so the seeds have been moved around and I am now playing Birgit Coufal from Austria at 5:30 tonight (4:30 GMT). Off to find the courts now!

Final

I started the final well today, taking the ball early and attacking at the right times. I managed to get a 9-5 lead in the first but lost the next 6 points through errors and good play from Dipika, so she took the first game 11-9. In the second I was not patient at all trying to play winners instead of building rallies. I hit too many tins and my length was too short which allowed her to dominate the middle of the court, which is exactly what she likes to do! In the 3rd I was more patient but couldn't keep the ball away from the middle enough and although I put up a good fight, Dipika closed out the match by taking it 11-7.

Although I was slightly disappointed with today's scoreline, I have had a great week here in Washington. The organisers and everyone involved have been fantastic and I would not hesitate to come back here again (I hear they are putting us in the Ritz next time!)

Getting to the final will boost me up the rankings next month so I'm really happy about that.

I am currently at Washington Dulles airport waiting for my flight back to Heathrow. Then less than 48 hours in the UK before I head to Stantiago, Spain for a $4k WISPA event where I am playing 4th seed Laura Pomportes from France in the first round. Hopefully I can take everything I have learned this week into practise and push my ranking up further.

Semi Final

I won my semi final today 3-2 against Latasha Khan of the USA (WR 25). I played really well to take the first two games. She stepped it up in the next two, playing some awesome shots and controlling the majority of rallies. I managed to stay in the rallies and keep the errors down in the 5th to take the match 3-2.

It was a great win to get me into my first WISPA final! Tomorrow I will be playing Dipika Pallikal from India who is the number 1 seed and world number 20. It's scheduled for midday (5pm GMT) and will be streamed live here

You can watch a replay of my match below

Semi Final Stream

Just a quick note to say my semi final today at 4pm (9pm GMT) will be streamed here

Quarter Finals

Had a tough match today but managed to come through to win 3-1 against Tesni. It was scrappy and I didn't play my best squash by any means but glad to win for sure. I will need to up my game tomorrow in the semi finals against Latasha Khan (WR 25). The match is scheduled for 4pm (9pm GMT). After all the matches tonight we went to the sponsors house for a small party. It was nice to chat to all the new people I've met outside the squash environment and there was some great food also! Now for a good nights sleep ready for tomorrow :)

Reports and Streaming

Reports and scores from the tournament as well as live streaming of the matches can be found here My match is scheduled first on at 4pm (9pm GMT) tonight.

First Round

Won my first round match 3-1 against Alex Norman from Canada. I started really well taking the first game quickly before she got into the match more. After that it was pretty even but I managed to scrape the 4th 17-15, a good win against a player ranked in the top 60. Tomorrow I'm playing Tesni Evans from Wales, the 7th seed (and also sharing our hotel room!) at 6pm.

Qualifying/Match Day

Yesterday (Wednesday) had a couple of hits and watched some of the qualifying matches but the highlight of the day was definitely the taxi back to the hotel.All of us and the taxi driver were in hysterics the whole way. Probably the first time I have been in a cab where all 5 people were from different countries!

So today is first round and I'm playing at 5pm so just going to grab some breakfast then head to the club for a light hit and then a bowl of pasta! I'm playing Alex Norman who is originally from England but has been living in Canada for a few years. She is 3rd seed but I have never seen her play before so will be interesting and hopefully we can have a good match.

First Impressions

A taxi, a coach, a metro and a long walk later I arrived at the squash club. A tad more posh than I am used to but we all deserve to be treated now and again right? I found 4 nice glassbacked courts and had a good solo session for an hour or so, managing to keep the damage down to just one set of strings. The walk to the hotel should have been simple but I got directed the wrong way, I ended up 7 blocks NORTH instead of WEST! Eventually I made it to the hotel and was joined by Tesni. We were a bit stunned at the size of our 'suite' to say the least; 2 bedrooms, 3 toilets, 2 showers, dining table for 6, lounge and fully function kitchen. Took a few pictures so you can see for yourselves.

5am

The awkward moment when your racket decides it wants to fly

Caught a couple of films on the flight over, I wouldn't particularly recommend either though ('Bad Teacher' and 'Something Borrow' seeing as you were asking).

Usual random plane food. Having 2 out of the 3 parts of the main dinner having nuts in is a bit of an odd decision and one I in particular was not a fan of, however the chicken and leek was nice enough. Note - Request nut free, mayonnaise free meal. 


My legs definitely appreciated the exit seat and weren't feeling too bad after 8 1/2 hours on board.

As the guy was getting his bag out the overhead locker, he managed to knock my racket out and send it flying across the other side of the plane, narrowly missing several passengers heads. Slightly embarrassing retrieving it!

They really do love their security here, had to have all my fingerprints and photo taken before being allowed through passport control.

Staying at a hotel near the airport tonight, head into the city in the morning for a hit and check out some of the qualifying matches. But for now...SLEEP!

Heathrow

So I've started a blog so my Family and Friends can follow me as well as for me to look back on as I have a terrible memory (as any of you who know me will have found out by now)

Today I am travelling to my first Professional tournament outside of the British Isles. The destination of choice is Washington D.C. for a tour 8 WISPA event. I have been drawn to play the 3rd seed Alex Norman, but training has been going well so feeling positive.

Off to Heathrow now, see how terminal 5 looks! Managed to book an exit seat when I checked in online so 8 1/2 hour flight should be bearable!