Swedish Round up

Well the Swedish Open turned out to be a pretty successful event for me. I beat 7th seed Shorbagy in the first round 3-2 in about 70 odd minutes, which was the second 5 setter we've had in a few months. Next up was Guiltier. I beat him 3-2 in about 80 minutes. This was the first time I had taken more than 1 game off him, let alone beat him. He spanked me in the first game 11-4 but then I found my rhythm and kept him at bay for the next 2 games to go 2-1 up. He went 8-1 in the 4th before I broke a string then took 7 points on the trot. I had a match ball at 10-9 but couldn't close it out. The 5th was tight all the way. It started getting a bit scrappy and there was a heap more body contact compared to the other 4 games. At 10-9 I played a little backhand flick from the front left corner and managed to deceive him perfectly. I was over the moon about the win and it will be the start of many more to come.

The semi final against Matthew started the same way as the Guiltier match. Nick killed me 11-4. The legs felt a bit heavy but in the 2nd it was OK. I had several game balls but Nick saved all of them and closed the game out 14-12. Nick played very well to be honest and he went on to win the match 3-0, then beat Willstrop in the final.

My next event will be Malaysia in March and I am really keen to do well again. Back to basics in the training, start over again, and get stuck in!

First event of the year

The Swedish Open starts on Thursday in Linkoping and from all reports it sounds like a great tournament to be involved in. I'm looking forward to see if that rings true. It is run as the same time as the Bluenose Classic over in Canada, which I played last year. The Bluenose is a great event and if any promoters wish to run a good event for players and spectators alike, then that is the event to learn from!

I play Shorbagy first round in Sweden which will be a rematch of our World Open 2nd round clash which I won in 5. Let's see if I can get off court quicker this time ;) All matches in the main draw will be broadcast live online though www.psasquashtv.com so be sure to get online and have a look. Much better quality than some previous live streaming events they've had apparently so check it out!

Trash talk and sledging!

Due to a recent request I'd thought I'd write about what goes on, on-court and off-court, in terms of trash talk and sledging between the players. I hate to disappoint but there really isn't a lot of it going on. That's not to say that it doesn't happen at all though! You will always get match ups between players where there might be a bit of history or players who simply don't get on, but it's not usually anything vicious.

To be honest I don't think there's anything wrong with a bit of chit chat on court. I know Goughy was a master of it back in the day. I've seen him play matches where he literally didn't shut up the whole match! He tried to get in my ear when we played in Bermuda years ago but I managed to laugh it off and beat him in 4.

A current player who loves a bit of a sledge would be Liam Kenny. He's a funny bugger! We were playing in Halifax a couple of years ago in the first round and I got the first 2 points of the match in about 5 seconds. He served, I volley dropped. Winner. I served, he drove, I volley dropped. Winner. After the first point he's just gone, 'Bit early for that isn't it?!'. After the second he's gone, 'Yeah that's 2 cheap points. Well done'. He said both comments with a totally serious look on his face. I've just started pissing myself laughing! I couldn't stop! I've had to walk to the front wall and back to get myself together!

So although there's nothing personal going on, there's always a cheeky little comment or two being thrown around. It's all fun and games really and I see it as a part of sport. If someone can crack mentally from a comment or two then you'd take advantage of it. No?

Cam

2009 - Year of the Bagel

Well that's the end of another year of squash on the PSA World Tour. Even though our season goes through to about March-ish, it's still the end of 2009, it's the festive season, and most players like to take a quick (or long) break to re-charge the batteries and get stuck into the new year.

During the year I couldn't help but notice how many bagels were being handed out. (11-0). Once a tournament had finished I would sometimes flick through the results and see what happened. Every few tournaments someone seemed to be on the end of an embarrassing 11-0!! I came close to copping one from Darwish in the Qatar Classic. He got to 10-o in about 3 minutes but I had it all under control really. At 10-0 down I broke a string during the rally, he hit the tin, then I went on a 4 point rampage! But seriously, I couldn't believe how many bagels I saw this year. I saw one result where the player who copped the bagel, then went on to win the match! What the hell's going on there??? I've handed out a few bagel's during practise over the years but I've also been on the end of one too - in a tournament - in the final. Names will not be shared...

So, although it's been a very positive year on the PSA World Tour (apart from missing out on the Olympics, which by the way, may have been different had Tiger Woods been exposed BEFORE the inclusion of golf), I still see 2009 as the 'Year of the Bagel'.

Have a good Christmas and New Year everyone.

Cheers,
Cam

Dutch Open

I finished Runner Up in the Dutch Open to Daryl Selby, losing the final 3-1 in 104 minutes. It was a pretty tough final and Daryl managed to play the bigger points better on the day so all credit to him. I am pretty happy with the way I played throughout the event, just felt a little heavy come the final. It was a real shame to see LJ pull out of his semi with Daryl. He was looking extremely sharp in his first 2 matches and it promised to be a great semi. Hopefully the big guy will get it sorted in the next week and be right for India.

Nest event is the PSA Masters in India which starts the 5th. I'm playing local hero Sourav Ghosal first round which should be very tough indeed!