Pyramid Open, NY and Abierto Mexicano de Raquetas

Sorry for the lack of blogging, crazy few weeks! But seeing as Fram is telling the world to read my blog, I should update it!!

A couple of months since my last WSA tournament meant I was raring to go. The journey to New York was uneventful and I was completely oblivious to the incoming Hurricane Sandy. The tournament was in Tuckahoe, a town on the North side of NY where the local pizza shop owners could well be extras from the Godfather. In a city famous for it's pizza, it was particularly difficult to avoid the temptation until after my matches had all finished! The Pyramid club is quite a new club with 4 glass backs, a nice gym and plenty of friendly members (always a plus!). The owner is Egyptian, hence the Pyramid link.

I was seeded 7th so knew I would have to play well to progress anywhere in the tournament.
First up was the tournament organiser and wild card, Katja Amir. She did a good job of not letting me get into any rhythm but I managed to get through in a reasonably comfortable 3 games.

Next up was 3rd seeded fellow Englishwoman, Lauren Briggs. The only time we played before, was 18 months ago and Lauren came out on top 3-1. I started well and took the first game but Lauren fought back to take the second. I managed to take the third 11-3 and despite a strong come back from 6-10 down, back to 9-10 I managed to close out the match in 4.
I was pleased to get off in 4 in the end as the Semi Final was waiting only 6 hours later that same day.

In the Semi Final I took on top seeded Dane, Line Hansen. Having never played her before, I wasn't sure quite what to expect. Again I made a good start to the match and played well to get a 2 game lead. Line came out firing in the 3rd and reeled off the winners. In the 4th I managed to keep my nose ahead the whole way and take the game 11-7 and the match 3-1.

Kanzy El Dafrawy, seeded 2, from Egypt was waiting for me in the final. She had only dropped 1 game so far in the tournament so I knew it would be tough but I was up for the challenge!
This time I didn't get a good start and was 6-1 down before I knew what was happening. I started to get more into the match but the game was too big to make up and Kanzy won the first game 11-7.
A quick change of tactics and I edged the 2nd game to 8. The start of the 3rd was too similar to the 1st for my liking, going 7-1 down this time. I refocussed and as I started to come back, my confidence grew and with some good play I managed to squeak it 11-9 to take a 2-1 lead. This proved crucial as I controlled the 4th from the start, taking a 10-2 lead before closing out the match 11-4 to take my 3rd WSA title and biggest to date.

The win came just in time to count for the November rankings and helped push me to a career high ranking of 35!

TBC with the Hurricane Sandy Chronicles and Mexican Long Weekend

Next Tournament: World Open
Venue: Cayman Islands
Seeded: - 
Date/Time: 13/12/2012
Opponent: TBD

Current World Ranking: 35