Irish Open Qualifying Finals

In the qualifying finals yesterday I had the unfortunate luck of coming up against Alison Waters, former world number 4 on the comeback trail after injury.

I knew it was going to be very tough and was prepared to get stuck in and expect some long rallies from the start.
I played well in the first game and was 'in' most of the rallies but she was keeping me away from the T and I couldn't get in front and attack as I like to do! I started the 2nd much better, spending much more time controlling the T and then being able to use my hold from the front of the court. I got to 6-5 but after this her experience really shone through as she didn't give me anything to attack, keeping me pinned way in the back and punishing anything I put back short, especially on the backhand. She continued this ruthless play throughout the 3rd and I didn't help myself with a few unforced errors snatching at simple shots.

There is no doubt that Alison is back playing to the top 5 standard she was before her injury and I feel pleased that I competed so well in the 2nd game. I can also take away some things to work on before my next tournament which is the British Open in just over 2 weeks time, where I will be attempting to qualify also. 

I am looking forward to watching some of the maindraw matches before flying home tomorrow and heading to Sheffield for the weekend to represent Warwickshire in the Intercounty finals, where we are reigning champions!

Irish Open Qualifying

After a bright and early start I arrived in Dublin this morning. Managing to somehow avoid the rain, I made it to the club with a few hours to spare.

I was drawn against Milou van der Heijden from the Netherlands. We are very similar in age but didn't actually play too many times on the European junior circuit, with the last time being at least 4 years ago. Currently ranked 59 to my 65, there wasn't much between us on paper.

After a slow tempo start I picked the pace up and from 2-4 down, took the next 9 points and give me first blood. In the second she began to play better and I lacked patience at times. I was relieved to get the game 14-12 and an all important 2-0 lead. This proved pivotal as I once again took the initiative in the 3rd game, flying to a quick 5-0 lead which she was unable to claw back. I won the 3rd 11-5. A relief to get through a potentially tricky match 3-0 and conserve energy for the qualifying finals tomorrow.

In the qualifying finals tomorrow I face Alison Waters at 2pm. She is on red hot form, winning her last 2 tournaments after a long injury lay off but as always I will give it my best and play the best squash I can.

On a side note we found these ridiculous chocolate bars at the local petrol station (see picture)

British Under 23 Championships

This weekend was the British Under 23 Championships at Hunts County Squash Club near Huntingdon, Cambs. I went into the tournament as number 1 seed and hoping to go one better than last years' runner up spot!

I played a couple of younger girls in the first 2 rounds and although they both put up a fight, I won through reasonably comfortably 3-0 in less than 20 minutes. The semi final was a similar story with some better rallies but unfortunately (for my opponent) she was hitting a lot of errors. So I was through to the final against Carrie Ramsey of Yorkshire, whom I defeated 3-1 last year at the semi final stage. I came out firing and made a great start, taking the first game 11-3. After this Carrie was playing better and I had both let off the pace a bit and let errors creep into my game. This made for a close few games with no more than 2 points in any of the rest. However, I managed to take 2 of the next 3 to give me the match 3 games to 1 and a second British Title to add to my Under 19 one from way back in 2009! Report on the finals can be read here.

I felt it was a good tournament considering it was just 3 months since my horrible injury and it definitely was good to get back to winning ways! I am only (ha!) 21 so I will be back to defend my title again next year.
Thanks to the club for hosting a great tournament and everyone involved in the organisation.

I am off to Dublin next week to try and qualify for the Irish Open, which is looking especially strong this year with Laura Massaro (WR 3) and Madeline Perry (WR4) heading the seedings for the main draw. The Fitzwilliam Club is a good venue and Dublin a fantastic city so I can't wait to get over there and play now.

Last Tournament: British U23 
Venue: Hunts County Squash Club, Cambs
Opponent: Carrie Ramsey
Score: 3-1 11/3 11/9 10/12 11/9 (42m)

Current Tournament: -
Venue: -
Next Opponent: -

Next Tournament: Irish Open $25k
Venue: Fitzwilliam Club, Dublin

Seeded: -

Date/Time: 23/04/2012
Opponent: tbd

Current World Ranking: 65

April Goings On

I have a few more days at home this week before a hectic rest of April. Friday sees the start of the British Under 23 Championships being held, once again, at Hunts County Squash Club in the idyllic Hemingford Grey, Cambridgshire. After reaching the final last year, I am heading the seedings this time. My first match is at 5pm on Friday against Georgie Ingham from Surrey. The last time we played, I was 14 and she was 9 (I think??). A preview of the event can be found here.

I didn't have much time to get over the jetlag last week before my team, Kenilworth, faced a visiting challenge from the multi-time European champions, Pontefract, in the National Clubs Championships. We knew they were going to bring a strong team and it was always an uphill battle. By the time I went on, the rest of my team had all gone down fighting but unable to get a single game off quality opponents.

This left me with the job of retrieving some pride from the dead rubber! All the more daunting when I knew I was up against Vanessa Atkinson, former world number 1 and world champion as well as winner of our previous 4 encounters; the most recent being a 3-1 win on her way to the Nottingham WISPA title last August.
Vanessa started the better, taking the first game 11-5 and racing to a 4-0 lead in the second, before I started to get her off the 'T' a bit more and keep the ball straighter, to stop those damn drop volleys!! I snuck the second 11-9 to make it 1-1. She dominated the middle of the 3rd game and although I closed the gap, I could never quite catch up, eventually catching the tin to give the game and 2-1 lead to Vanessa, 11-7. I came out firing in the 4th and flew to a 5-0 lead. This proved enough as I took the game 11-5. The 5th was close with never more than a few points in it. Vanessa pulled away from 8-8 to get 2 match points but a nicked cross court and a volley boast later I had it back to 10-10. The rallies that followed were tense, both wanting to go for it but determined not to make the mistake. I closed the game out on my third match point, 14-12, to take the match after 55 minutes and retain some pride to Kenilworth. A great match for the Kenilworth faithful to watch, even a few tennis members ventured past their normal boundaries to never before seen territory of the squash balcony.
As we beat Nottingham in out other match in the competition we have to wait and see if we progress to the National finals weekend in June.

Plans for a new show court to be constructed at Kenilworth were passed at the AGM 2 weeks ago, so in the not to distant future matches like this can be showcased more effectively and the new court could possibly even entertain a PSL team in the future.


Last Tournament: National Clubs Championships
Venue: Kenilworth Squash Club
Opponent: Vanessa Atkinson
Score: 3-2 (5-11 11-9 7-11 11-5 14-12) 55 minutes

Current Tournament: -
Venue: -
Next Opponent: -

Next Tournament: British Under 23 Championships
Venue: Hunts County Squash Club, Hemingford Grey
Seeded: 1
Date/Time: 5pm 13/04/12
Opponent: Georgie Ingham

Current World Ranking: 65