9-5 No thanks!

I’m writing this blog from a rainy Kuwait which is the last stop of a 3 week tour. The tour has taken me to Macau and Hong Kong before arriving yesterday here in Kuwait city.

Previous to that was the World Open in Rotterdam where I annoyingly lost in the 2nd round and missed a chance to play at what looked like an amazing venue. The atmosphere for LJ and Greg’s match sounded like one of the best in recent times, and I believe that when you have the crowd passionately wanting either player to win it makes for a much better cauldron of emotion, and the level of squash only goes one way. Regarding my match, I felt like I lacked some match sharpness as I had been unable to train for so long and credit to my opponent Marwan El Shorbagy who played exceptionally well. Even though I believe he lacked any class and respect, I hope he will learn because as a World Junior Champion he obviously has a bright future.

Macau was an interesting place and is nicknamed the ‘Vegas of the east’. It’s full of casinos and not much else, but the casinos are pretty spectacular. Not in the league of Vegas but with the amount of money made by the casinos apparently a lot lot more. I’m not surprised when myself and Pilley went to play blackjack only to find the minimum stake was about £30 a hand! With a first round loss and £6.40 in my pocket we decided against it and instead lost any money we had on roulette. I didn’t play too badly in my first round match but wasn’t good enough to beat a pumped up Olli Tuominen.

A trip back to hong kong on a particularly bumpy ferry couldn’t come sooner as after a couple of disappointing tournaments my confidence was at an all time low. I don’t think some fans understand the mental turmoil us squash players go through sometimes. Other sportsmen and women often encounter similar problems but have the silver lining that they are probably still earning a good living. (tennis, golf, athletics, football etc). If we get injured or lose form we are not really earning too much money, and we still have to pay the bills and look after families etc. This equates to a heck of a lot of added pressure and I’m sure I’m not the only player who has seriously considered giving up and getting a job with a ‘regular’ pay-packet. So when I was 2-0 down against Saurav Ghosal in the first round, another lower ranked opponent but a quality player, I was struggling! But I was proud of myself for fighting back, digging in and winning 3-2. Maybe it was the thought of a 9-5 that pushed me through?!
In the next round I played probably my best match of the season so far and I pushed Nick Matthew, the recent double world champion, hard in all 3 games for over an hour. I was disappointed not to win the first as it would have given me a chance.
It did mean that I could enjoy the sights of hong kong for the next few days, and with a few mates from home and my main man on tour Pete Barker we did just that. It’s truly a great city with a mix of cultures. If you haven’t been I definitely recommend it!

I’ve realised I’ve written too much, I think I might try and shorten the next one, if you’ve made it to here you get a free racket! Not really I’m not a tennis player but well done, pat yourself on the back. All 2 of you….until next time!