Seoul Open.
After arriving home from Kuwait and Qatar I only had 3 days turn around time before I left for Seoul. Although I was adding a fair bit of flying onto my trip by coming home I was pleased of the break from squash and was glad i'd made that decision.
Seoul was a massive flight away. Probably the furthest I've ever been. It was 7 hours from Manchester to Dubai and then another 9 from Dubai to Seoul with a 3 hour wait at Dubai. To say I was pleased to get there would be an understatement. Luckily we arrived at 5pm so I had some dinner and went to bed early.
I had 3 days in Seoul before my match and I liked it there. The tournament was very well run and we were well looked after. Not many people spoke English but that was the only problem really.
After 3 days of practising and getting to know my way around I was due to play. I had a qualifier whaich was drawn as Elise Ng from Hong Kong. We'd never played before and so I made sure I prepared well. Half the matches were on the glass court in the centre of Seoul and the other half at the University 30mins away. It wasn't ideal but I was at the University for my first match. I watched the other matches and went on about 4pm. I won 3-0 and was pleased to get off court relatively quick. I was now due to play Tania Bailey again!!!
The quarter final matches were all on the glass court and so the morning of my match I plactised with Nicol David on there. It went well and I liked it. I spent the rest of the day waiting to play.
I went on court about 8.30pm and the match was another long one. I played well in patches and average in others. Unlike the other times we've played this time I went 2-1 up and was playing well. I thought I was playing well enough to win but Tania upped her game and finished well. I lost 3-2. Although I've lost twice 3-2 now this time felt closer than the last as I was in more of a position to win.
This was the last WISPA tournament of the year and I think the season can go down as the year of the 3-2 defeats. Next Year i'll turn them around!