18.03.2013, 11.00
After a very pleasant journey from Malaysia, I am now safe and sound in my suite in Kuwait City Kuwait. I am surrounded by Subway, KFC, McDonalds and Starbucks, and no one speaks English. Yesterday was spent eating and relaxing after a full day of travels, having to turn time another 5 hours back, which was quite a lot easier than the other way around. The hotel is located in a nice area called Hawally, but there is still a 10 min drive to the squash centre and the city centre.
Some players pulled out of the tournament, which bumped me up to 6th qualifyer. The way it looks, will I probably be playing a local in my first match. I have no idea how the level of the players are, but I know the senior players are good players. The draw will be out in few hours
19.03.2013, 08.09
We had a hit on the courts yesterday after a half day mission of finding a taxi to take us there. Finally finding a taxi that does not speak english or even arabic, it was a mere miracle that we found the place. I was not feeling too good yesterday and had the runs, maybe after some bad food, but I still went for a hit with the rest of the boys. The courts are good in the national squash complex, wich is a nice building with a built in glass court. Low on energy the hit was so and so, but it was even worse trying to get back to the hotel. Not eating for 9 hours is tough on a body like mine. Finally back at the hotel and getting some food, I collapsed in bed at 9pm. The draw is out, and I am the only upper seed not facing a local or getting a bye. I am playing a pakistani called Kahn at 11 am, and I have a tough way through if I am to reach my goal for this tournament, but it is not impossible.
19.03.2013, 14.05
Pathetic. Thats what I have to say about that performance. Absolutely horrible. I could not shake the negative mindset from Malaysia and even though my mind really wanted to push and win this, my body did not. Could not hit the ball, movement was horrible and the balls I actually could retrieve went everywhere and nowhere. I hit 9 good balls in the entire match. 2 good serves, 3 good lengths and 3 winning boasts..oh wait. Thats 8. That doesnt belong on a professional level. This wasnt a bad player at all, and he just beat a top50 player, but I can easily recognize when a good player makes me bad, and when I play badly myself.
Someone tells me I should just play, and dont think about how I am hitting, but if I am not hitting the ball well at all, i need to change that. I was on court 2 hours after my match practising, and I still didnt find my flow.
I went down here because I have a great chance of boosting my ranking. I was far from ready to compete on a high level, and I know that, but as long as I am here, naturally I want to win. I have still been in situations like this before, where my hitting isnt perfect, but I still go on court and put up a fight. These 2 weeks I did not do that at all, and I am noting some of my worst performances ever down here.
Thing is, I would probably do it again. I still believe it was the right choice to come. I cant anticipate to play poorly. And I refuse to quit. But I really need to sort my S### out. Because this is not good enough. Far from it. And the european championship is coming up soon, and then it is not just myself, but my entire team I must perform for....
19.03.2013, 08.09
We had a hit on the courts yesterday after a half day mission of finding a taxi to take us there. Finally finding a taxi that does not speak english or even arabic, it was a mere miracle that we found the place. I was not feeling too good yesterday and had the runs, maybe after some bad food, but I still went for a hit with the rest of the boys. The courts are good in the national squash complex, wich is a nice building with a built in glass court. Low on energy the hit was so and so, but it was even worse trying to get back to the hotel. Not eating for 9 hours is tough on a body like mine. Finally back at the hotel and getting some food, I collapsed in bed at 9pm. The draw is out, and I am the only upper seed not facing a local or getting a bye. I am playing a pakistani called Kahn at 11 am, and I have a tough way through if I am to reach my goal for this tournament, but it is not impossible.19.03.2013, 14.05
Pathetic. Thats what I have to say about that performance. Absolutely horrible. I could not shake the negative mindset from Malaysia and even though my mind really wanted to push and win this, my body did not. Could not hit the ball, movement was horrible and the balls I actually could retrieve went everywhere and nowhere. I hit 9 good balls in the entire match. 2 good serves, 3 good lengths and 3 winning boasts..oh wait. Thats 8. That doesnt belong on a professional level. This wasnt a bad player at all, and he just beat a top50 player, but I can easily recognize when a good player makes me bad, and when I play badly myself.
Someone tells me I should just play, and dont think about how I am hitting, but if I am not hitting the ball well at all, i need to change that. I was on court 2 hours after my match practising, and I still didnt find my flow.
I went down here because I have a great chance of boosting my ranking. I was far from ready to compete on a high level, and I know that, but as long as I am here, naturally I want to win. I have still been in situations like this before, where my hitting isnt perfect, but I still go on court and put up a fight. These 2 weeks I did not do that at all, and I am noting some of my worst performances ever down here.
Thing is, I would probably do it again. I still believe it was the right choice to come. I cant anticipate to play poorly. And I refuse to quit. But I really need to sort my S### out. Because this is not good enough. Far from it. And the european championship is coming up soon, and then it is not just myself, but my entire team I must perform for....
Try and put it behind you Kim, everyone has a bad day and even a week or two. Sometimes a rest is the best thing, regain your hunger, go on to enjoy and your game will flow withought thought. Know what you are capable of and be confident in that beleif. Put your mistakes behind you and concenrate on the next point ;)
ReplyDeleteMike
Mike