Never, ever, ever give up

US 45+ Nationals Finals

US 45+ Nationals Finals

 

Finals of the US 45+ Nationals were today. Going into the match I knew that I would need to take the initiative in order to beat him – he is a very solid player who is at his best camped out on the T. However, right into the first game he took control of the center of the court, and I was not able to dislodge him. And then he started hitting nicks – off the forehand, off the backhand. He took the first game. Then he took the second game. I stayed very much in the moment, and my goal was to figure out how to dislodge him. I started taking the ball earlier, putting more pace on the ball and hit more cross-courts. I started to get my chances at the T and started attacking with authority rather than pushing the ball. I got a lead and started to increase it. I kept pushing. I won the third. I kept up the tempo in the 4th and got a lead and extended it with a good mix of attacks to the front and attacks to the back. At times I reminded myself to stay in the moment and not worry about the score or about winning or losing – just be in the moment and hit the ball well and hit the right shot. I won the 4th

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With 45+ champ Steve Wren after 5 grueling games

and felt good heading into the 5th. He came out of the gates in the 5th with tremendous pressure, got a few nicks and a few good bounces and suddenly he was up 5-0. I stayed calm, kept pushing, but the nicks kept coming. He increased his lead and was hitting the ball really, really well. He got to match point, and ended it with a fantastic hard forehand nick. Final score: 11-7, 11–7, 5-11, 7-11, 11-3. I don’t like to lose, but if I am going to lose it better be to someone playing fantastic squash – and I better never give up. Both of those things were true. So I’ll try not to be too hard on myself, try to learn as many lessons as I can from this tournament, train hard, and be ready for the next match.

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