Baltimore.... 1 star ($10,000 tournament)

I had now played three tournaments and with very average results, I was lacking in confidence to say the least... Baltimore was my next stop and I needed to perform...

It was my second visit to Baltimore, and I was fortunate to be staying with the lovely Millers again. Jay Bewley was the organiser, who did a great job, and was very friendly.

I met a good buddy Ben Coleman, at the airport, who was an English squash professional with a great array of achievements and results. We continued on to our billets and shared the details of our previous tournament and adventures. The following morning we arrived at the club for the qualification draw. I was seeded 1, as was unfortunate as this meant I needed to play two rounds in order to make the main draw. Everyone was present for the draw at 12pm, and the players were seeded and matches were drawn.  Unfortunately, I got two of the toughest rounds possible, with my first round match against a very athletic Patrick Chifunda. If I won I was to play my good friend Ben Coleman, who was the British Junior Champion. And English number 1 the previous year.

I was really looking forward to these matches, as I believed they were matches I should win, but would be a great test to my current form. My first round against Patrick was tricky. He is very skilful, and his shot selection is very random. Anyways, my length was on, I felt good, moving well and continued to take control and dominate the T area. I won the first 11-, and continued my form to win 11- in the second game. A slight relaxation and a minor dip in energy meant I lost focus and dropped the third game.  I wasn’t ready to loose and came out fired up, pushed the pace and my shot selection improved. I took the forth and the match 3-1 (11-7 11-5 4-11 11-7).

Next I was playing Ben Coleman, and from watching him play, I knew he was a great athlete, retrieves most balls, and very patient. I thought about my game plan, and knew I needed to create the openings and seize the opportunities when they arose. This would only come from a good length. Good advice had come from a fellow player years before in Arthur Gaskin. “Good length comes before a good shot”. I took control of the match and felt I had Ben doing slightly more work than myself.  I saw Ben began to grow in frustration and pushed on to win the match 3-0 (11-5 11-5 11-7).

I had qualified, not easily, but the wins had helped my mental state, and gave me confidence. They drew the qualifying places, and I was up to play the gigantic Adrian “Wall dog” Waller.  He was currently ranked firmly inside the top 60 in the World rankings, and I knew I had to produce my best in order to make an impression on his game.  I was a little stiff, but was playing better. I played hard, gave it my best and was toe to toe with Adrian. I was under pressure, but producing good squash. Towards the end of each game I failed to produce enough quality to convert and found myself losing the match 3-0 (11-8 11-9 11-9).

The loss was tough, but the lessons I learnt were important. Not to be content with your achievements until you fulfil your goals. You have to be confident and believe you can win otherwise you have already lost before you step on the court. You can always push more that you believe you can.

I had also been playing in the hardball Doubles competition alongside the PSA event, and had progressed through to the finals with two separate partners.  Hardball courts are twice the length and one and a half times in width. The ball has no air inside, and resembles a gold ball in hardness compared to a spongy squash ball. Patrick Miller my billet and I picked up the winners trophy and cheque to round off the week.