Forexx World Open.
After the British Open i've been working on a few things in my game to try and do as well as I can this week. I arrived to Amsterdam with Danny on Monday night and got to the hotel about 9pm.Tuesday, I hit at the club 11-12 and then watched some of the qualifying matches. It's a long day when your at the club all day so I went back to the hotel and got an early night before my match against qualifier Joey Chan at 13.45 tomorrow.
I practiced with Latasha on the court I was playing on at 10am. I hit well and after showering got some lunch before getting ready to play. Joey and I went on court at 13.45 and I made a good start. I was hitting the ball well and getting the ball deep in the corners. I felt comfortable on there and won 11-6, 11-6 and after being 7-0 up on the 3rd dropped a few points towards the end but won the 3rd 11-8.
I was happy with my performance and now can relax and watch the rest of the matches before thinking about my last 16 match against Annie Au tomorrow.
My match today against Annie is on the glass court and we are first on at 1pm. This means I had an early practice session at 9.30am. I got the 8.45 bus from the hotel and got a good practice with Sam Terran. The glass court is nice.
I got a snack about 11am and then prepared for the match. I had a good warm up and we went on court on time at 1pm. I made an ok start and the game was tight until about 6-6. I let a couple of points slip and then we shared the points until she was 10-8 up. I put a forehand volley drop in the tin which was a disappointment and lost the game 11-8. I needed to get the ball in the corners more. She is very tricky at the front and has good deception on her left handed forehand. I was feeding her strong areas too much and this carried on into the 2nd game. I was 8-3 down before a couple of loose shots from her allowed me 3 or 4 easy quick points on my volley drop. I got it back to 8-8 ish and tried to play more disciplined from there. I managed to sneak the 2nd game which was great after the position I was in at the beginning of the game. The 3rd was more comfortable from my point of view. I got a better length and that set my short game up more. The court is nice but like all glass courts it's crucial you get a length and it's even more important against Annie who's such a good shot player. After a good start to the game I found myself a few points clear at 8-5 up and then 10-6 up. I eventually converted the game 11-7. The 4th was abit tighter. Both of us fighting for a good length and then to finish the ball. It was close up until 9-9 and I managed to win the point and go 10-9 matchball up. I was pushing hard to finish the match 3-1 and managed to close it out 11-9.
It was a close match. I didn't feel like I played great and the rhythm was broken up alot. However, I got through and that gives me a place in the quarters against Natalie Grinham tomorrow at 6.30pm. No pressure now and I won the last time we played so hopefully I can enjoy the match.
The day of the quarter final went well. I practiced well and was looking forward to the match. We were on first at 6.30pm and I had a good warm up and was feeling good. I started the match well and was feeling energetic, moving well and hitting the ball well. I was in the match but I felt like Natalie was playing really well. She was moving well and I felt like where ever I hit the ball she was there. I tried a few different tactics through the match but couldn't get control of the points. I played ok and so I just got outplayed on the day. I lost 11-6, 11-4, 11-6. The score looks like a hammering but it didn't feel as bad as the score looked. I'll take some things from it and work on them before Hong Kong in a couple of weeks.