Yesterday I managed to get past World No.5 Nick Matthew, 3-1, to earn a place in the Quarter Finals. The 90 minute match was kind of played in two parts. I feel I dominated the match until I was 2-0 and 10-6 match ball up. Yep, 4 match balls... Then Nick played some great squash from 10-6 down and managed to force the tie break and sneak the game. He had a 3 point lead at 7-4 up in the 4th, and at this point I just had to hang in there, make it tough, and play each rally as it came. There was no thinking about winning the match, it was literally point by point.
It's so pleasing when you can see the hard work you've done in training, pays off. As I can suffer from cramps from time to time, it was also a great feeling to feel quite strong at the end of the match.
I found it funny to read in the press that maybe the reason Nick lost was that a) he played the wild card in the first round (had no rhythm and no feel for he court); and b) he was 'still flat' from the British Open. Does that mean he was 'flat' during the British Open? I would love to see him not flat then! Correct me if I'm wrong but if you've just won the British Open, or any big tournament for that matter, you have a fair bit of momentum and confidence going into your next event. And playing the wildcard, surely that's a nice way to ease into the tournament.
I play Karim Darwish tonight in the Quarters and as the glass court is in absolute shambles, the matches will be played on the traditional glass back courts in the club. It's a massive challenge playing the World No.1 in his home country and I can't wait to test him out.
