The first PSA tournament of this season for me was the Egyptian Open.
This was the first ever “Diamond” level event on the PSA Squash tour. A few years ago the PSA removed qualifying, which personally I was quite happy about. It was good to have the opportunity to get into the biggest events, but it was a big financial commitment if you traveled far and didn’t win a match. There was no prize money for first round of qualifying, and no hotel bonus until you reached the main draw. Therefore, I think that removing qualifying altogether was a wise decision, seeing as playing professional squash can be an expensive hobby much of the time.
This August, the PSA brought back qualifying for the Egyptian Open Diamond event for the first time in years. However, this time they added in prize money and points for all qualifying participants, so it was much more financially viable. This was a big improvement to the previous qualifying situation, although there was still no hotel bonus.
I was second seed in qualifying, and had quite a tough draw to get through to the main draw. In order to qualify, you had to win 3 matches. My first match was against Lowri Roberts, to likely play Nour Heikal, and then possibly Marina Stefanoni in the qualifying final. Yes- I would need to win ALL of those matches to get through. All three of these women are very accomplished player- especially Marina and Nour, who actually went on to not only qualify but also win their first round matches in the main draw. With only 4 qualifying spots up for grabs- this shows just how competitive my quarter of the qualifying draw was.
I was mentally prepared to take on these matches, but was admittedly quite relieved when I received a message 2 days before my scheduled first round to say that I was into the main draw because of two withdrawals.
This not only guaranteed me more prize money and points, but it also meant I had all week to train and get used to the time zone and courts in Egypt. I still had to pay for hotel, but I didn’t mind, because I just treated it as a training trip and worked on an upcoming program launch (Squash Shape). There were also loads of qualifying and main draw players around preparing for the tournament, so there was no shortage of extra hits. Between squash practices, gym, solo, and a bit of sun and pool time, I was feeling rested and excited to play my first round. In the past, I have often found myself feeling rushed and stressed at foreign tournaments, because I would be desperate to feel like my body and hitting was in a good place before my first match. If I didn’t feel sharp, I would stress more and worry that it wouldn’t come together on match day. Having a few extra days in Egypt gave me more space and time to be able to settle in and look forward to the competition.
The morning of my match, Tim Garner approached my breakfast table, where I was sat with a few other players (including my opponent, Sarah Jane Perry). He told us that because of another withdrawal, our draw had changed, and I was now due to play Nadine Shahin instead of Perry.
I’ve had some competitive matches with Shahin in the past, so this didn’t throw me off, as I knew I could get stuck in against her.
I started off the match really poorly. I quickly went down 9-3, but clawed my way back and narrowly lost 15-13. My hitting and movement was too passive at the start, so I got picked off with quick kills and boasts. After the matches, Joel (who had coached me through), noted that I should have included more explosive movements in my warmup so I would be more prepared to retrieve those boasts from the start. That’s the thing about the Egyptians- they don’t “settle” into a match. They are ready to fire in their attacking shots from 0-0, and if you’re not switched on mentally and physically it can really take you by surprise. My movement improved loads throughout that first game and remained steady throughout the match, and I certainly took Joel’s comment on board for the future.
In the second and third games, I played really well and achieved a better balance of length and attacking short. I was able to settle into a good groove, and no longer felt the tension of the first game in my arm or my movement. I felt physically solid and confident going into the 4th game with a 2-1 lead.
In the 4th, I saw a big response from Nadine. She has been a top 15 player, so I expected a gutsy pushback from her. Throughout the 4th, I maintained a 2 point lead until 9-7, but I wasn’t able to pull away to a 3 point cushion. This would have helped me relax and play a little more freely. Credit to Nadine, she played very well and came back to snatch the 4th game out of my hands.
I can’t lie- I had my eye on the finish line in the 4th. I could all but taste the victory, and gave the slightest bit of mental attention to the result, which distracted me from being in the moment. Despite my 2 point lead, I didn’t feel that I had “cracked the code”. This created an edginess about me, as I felt I needed a lucky break to be able to breathe a small sigh of relief. Either a tin from Nadine, or a lucky bounce, or a stroke, would have sufficed. But Nadine gave me nothing, and played aggressively to take over and win the 4th.
In the 5th- things went completely awry. I got off to a terrible start, and began shooting early in the rally. I wasn’t fatigued, but I was rattled by the fact that I’d given so much to the 4th game and still lost. I completely threw the baby out with the bath water, and she steamrolled me in the 5th.
In hindsight, the 4th game was close and I didn’t do much wrong, so I didn’t really need to alter my tactics too much. But I totally threw out the game plan. As you can imagine, I was very disappointed afterwards, because I didn’t go down swinging. I was scared to put myself out there in the 5th for the fear of gassing out, but in reality, losing the way I did (soft and quickly) was much worse.
The main positives from the match were:
I played pain free and moved really well
I didn’t give up in the 1st game after getting off to a slow start
That gave me momentum to be able to work my way in, and play well to win the 2nd and 3rd
I got myself into a winning position in the 4th
The competition level was much higher than it was a few weeks earlier in Lima for the Pan Ams
All in all, it was a productive week in Cairo and a good match to build upon for the next event in 2 weeks time- the Nash Cup.
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