Marsh Apawamis Open & Harrow Greenwich Open.
Having arrived safe and sound into New York I met the family i'm going to be staying with for the next week or so. They made me feel really welcome and I was so tired after the long flight that I headed for bed quite early. The next morning I woke up early....normal for being in the U.S. I practiced with Vicky Botwright and felt quite good considering the jetlag. My ankle was also holding up well. After one more day of practicing I was ready to play today (Fri).
I was playing fellow Englishlady Tania Bailey. Having not played since the World Open because of my ankle I didn't know how the match would go. We both made a good start. Tania was a little more consistent than I was and took the first game 9-5. The second was tight and I became aware of Tania breathing quite heavy, which for her was unusual. It was quite hard to concentrate because I could see there was something not quite right and it's hard to play when your thinking of that all the time. Eventually after a struggle I took the second game 10-8. The 3rd was tight again and although Tania seemed to be struggling between rallies she seemed to be the same as normal once the ralley started, I was feeling abit confused. Then at 7-7 I turned to receive serve and Tania was bent double unable to breathe. It ended up being quite scary. She couldn't get her breath and eventually an ambulance was called. Slowly she seemed to get better but having alittle oxygen from the medics helped. She seemed alittle better after about 20mins or so. This meant I was through by default and now play the winner of Shelley Kitchen or Madeline Perry.
Day 2... Shelley Kitchen beat Madeline Perry in a tough five setter. I now play at 2.30pm against Shelley. My ankle held up well through my 3 games with Tania yesterday but my bum was certainly feeling the fact I was back playing competitve matches. I hit with Vicky again in the morning and then prepared for my match. I was feeling lathargic on court and it showed in my movement in the 1st game. After losing the 1st easily I tried to pick up my game and managed to take the next 3 games...although they were tough. I'm really pleased to have made my first ever gold level semi final!
Day 3..... I play Vicky Botwright today who beat Omneya Abdel Kawy 3-1. I was feeling the stiffness even more today but warmed up well. I did a solo before playing so I was feeling good. Vicky played well today and I was off the pace going forward. My legs were alittle tired from my match yesterday and this showed. I lost the match 3-0, (9-5, 9-5, 10-8). I am disappointed to have lost 3-0 as I should have taken the 3rd game but pleased with how my ankle held up. This week playing 3 back to back matches will help my confidence and my match fitness loads. I'm now really looking forward to playing in the Harrow Greenwich Open next week.
Greenwich Open.
I arrive in Greenwich on Tuesday, 2 days before I was due to play. I was staying with the Scotts where I had satyed the year before, who made me feel very welcome. I played alittle hardball doubles on the Tuesday before I played which was good fun. Then on Wed Vicky and I hit for an hour and I did my ankle rehab in the gym after.
Thursday was playing day. I had a really tough 1st round draw. Natalie Grainger. Especially considering I had got to the semi finals of this event last year when my ranking was lower. It shows how strong this event is. I was last on so after hitting in the morning I played at 7.30pm. The match was quite even. Whoever was managing to play their gameplan was winning. Natalie came out fast in the beginning and I tried to hang in there as much as possible. After being down in the 1st 8-5 a few errors came from Natalie and I won the game 10-8. The 2nd was tough. We both played well until about 5-5 and then she pulled away abit. I lost thats game 9-7. In the 3rd I dropped off my game. My length was too short and Natalie was able to pull off some good kill shots and volley drops. I lost that 9-4. In the 4th I was determined not to go down 3-1. I came out with a better length and was a lot more patient. I played well and won that game 9-3. In the 5th I got a little tired. Still not feeling like I was moving as well as I had before I hurt my ankle. Natalie played well and after such a big ffort to win the 4th I didn't have much left for the 5th. I lost 9-2. I was really disappointed!
On reflection I am happy with my 2 weeks away. My plan was to go and not damage my ankle any further. If someone had said I would have made my first gold event semi final and taken Natalie Grainger (who went on to lose in the final) to 5 games I would have not believed it. I am pleased and look forward to BSPA Edinburgh 26-28th Jan and then the British Nationals in Feb.