NASH CUP REVIEW
It has been a while since I’ve played the Nash Cup in London Ontario. I think the last time I played it was pre-Covid, back in 2019. Funnily enough, I don’t actually recall playing it, so it can’t have gone very well!
The event has grown over the past few years, and this time around it was a Copper event (30K). I was the 6th seed, and had my work cut out for me in my part of the draw. There are no “easy” draws or matches anymore- especially when you are a top 8 seed and playing an opponent who has earned their spot into the next round.
In my first match, I was up against Saran Nghiem. Saran is currently at Harvard, and is a skillful, smooth English player. I’ve seen her play a few times before, recently at the Egyptian Open and also on SquashTV at the Manchester Open where she had an impressive run through as the wildcard. In Manchester, she took down the likes of Sarah Jane Perry, so I knew she was capable of producing a high level on her day.
I came out of the blocks firing in the first game. The court was fast off the front but took a good length, and I used this to my advantage by hunting the volley, hitting a good length, and simply staying in front of my opponent. I didn’t give her any time to use her skills, and forced a lot of errors. I barely hit any balls short because I didn’t need to and the ball was lively. I forced her to open up the court which I then punished to the back by taking the ball as early as possible. In particular, I was impressed with how much I was volleying. I felt like a wall, and my movement felt really springy and pain free. I won the first very comfortably, 11-2.
The second game wasn’t quite as smooth. Saran stepped up her game, and my length started to fall slightly short. That springiness I had in my step was gone by only about 5-10%, which meant I was no longer hunting the volley the same way. I wasn’t fatigued- I just hadn’t produced that intensity in competition in a while, and slightly doubted myself. The rallies were closely contested, but I found myself getting stuck behind her more and more often. My length was no longer reaching the back wall and creating the distance on the court needed to expose Saran’s movement to the front. At the very end of the game, I hit a weak backhand drop error to give Saran a small lead. Then, when down 10-9 game ball, Saran’s backhand drive squirted into the middle, and I turned and asked for a let, for which I was given a no let. This was a really harsh call, as I actually made contact with her as I brought my racquet back! That call shouldn’t have had such an impact on my game, but it did. It really switched the momentum of the match, and I could tell that from then on, my body language was completely different from the first game.
The 3rd and 4th games were quite similar to each other, and not that close. I kept getting stuck behind Saran, especially on the backhand side, and gave her too many volleys on her forehand, which was quite strong. I didn’t expose her movement enough to the front with counter drops, or work her forwards with kills.
I felt an ever so slight drop off physically after the first. I wasn’t tired by any means, but that explosive pep in my step that allowed me to hunt the volley and expend all that proactive energy was diminished by about 5-10%. This meant that my main weapon- pace of play- was no longer a factor. I needed to adapt by hitting higher when under pressure, building the rally more with straight drives rather than cross courting by default. I also needed to be willing to take her on at the front with working drops and kills to move her. Because I was edgy, I desperately wanted my short attacks to be outright winners, but that was always going to prove difficult because of the bouncy court. This “working” short game is still a work in progress, and I need to continue to improve it so it holds up under greater pressure.
The biggest hurdle for me was mental. Because I came through the first game so easily, it actually kind of took me by surprise. When Saran responded, I wasn’t sure how to adapt and counteract/weather that storm. I needed to adapt my length hitting so it was putting pressure on her and getting her off the volley, and trust myself to use the middle and front of the court more. Although my Plan A worked so, so well in the first, my game plan needed to adapt as my opponent responded. I was too rigid, and not resilient enough to overcome this.
Next up is Open Squash Classic, at my home club here in NYC. I’ve had a good period of training, and my body has consistently been feeling a lot better than it has in the past few years, so I am going to give it my all and put my recent work to the test.
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